The problem is that this separation between mouse navigation (for the two Desktop panels) and keyboard navigation (for the Metro panel) keeps breaking down -- either because a particular Metro app refuses to respond to the keyboard, or because Metro is just unable to do everything I want to do on that panel.

ENGADGET: Windows 8 upgrade diary: multiple monitors make my mouse mad

It's certainly a unique approach to browsing from your couch -- and no less awkward then sluggishly dragging a virtual mouse across your TV -- but the view centric navigation can break the illusion of a well designed website, showing blank space on a page's borders if the user isn't looking at it dead-center.

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Meanwhile Google Earth, though it works just fine with a regular mouse and keyboard, cries out for experimenters to devise cooler navigation techniques.

CNN: Getting to grips with Google Earth

While Windows 8 will work with a mouse or touch pad and a keyboard, it will be heavily oriented toward tablet-type touch-screen navigation.

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