I don't really like w8, it looks really good, but it is confusing that there are 2 homescreens and some programs open in one homescreen and other programs open in the other one. It looks way to chaotic. I have to be honest, I haven't used it for long yet, but there is indeed a (sometimes frustrating) learning curve, and I'm wondering if the learning curve is worth all the trouble.
There are things you can do to prevent what you are describing. There are two types of apps on Win8; touch optimized and keyboard/mouse optimized. You need to configure your default programs and start screen with apps that are appropriate for the system you are using. By default, Win8 leans more towards touch optimized apps. For example, if you double click on a JPEG image it will open in the full screen touch optimized "Photos" app. On a tablet this would probably be fine, on a laptop/desktop with one or more large screens it's usually not. However, the default program for images can easily be changed to "Windows Photo Viewer" (or your favorite third party program) so that it stays in desktop mode. Try some of these things and see if they help...
1)
Install the desktop programs that you actually plan to use on your system. This may sound silly, but a lot of people complaining about Win8 have just played with a fresh install or even just a store demo PC. It's easy to get the feeling that Win8 can't do much when all you have to play with is notepad, calculator, and some stock touch apps.
2)
- Open control panel (you can click the start button and just start typing "control panel") >> Programs >> Default Programs >> Set Default Programs.
- Select Windows Media Player (or your favorite installed third party media player) from the list and then click "set this program as default".
- Repeat this step for Windows Photo Viewer and any other programs that you want to use instead of the touch optimized versions. Some desktop programs may need to be installed first if they don't come with Windows (i.e. Adobe Reader for PDFs in desktop mode). Windows Media Player and Windows Photo Viewer are the two big ones though since in Win8 all media files (images, audio, video) have been defaulted to open with the Photos, Music, and Videos touch apps.
3)
On your Start Screen, right click on the touch optimized apps that come with Win8 and unpin them (or at least the ones you don't plan to use). You can also uninstall them if you are sure you have no use for them. Pin "My Computer", "Control Panel", and any other desktop programs you know you will use frequently. In other words, customize your start screen with programs you actually intend to use on that system.
When you are done doing these things you wont be jumping out of the desktop (except when you want to get your Angry Birds fix) and you will probably find that Win8 is just as productive as Win7 on a desktop computer.