I'm still downloading it but briefly used the Technical Preview that was released late last year/early Jan. I also think the Start Screen is not a good idea for Desktop PC users, although MS had some interesting stats regarding that here:
#1 Evolving the Start Menu: Evolving the Start menu - Building Windows 8 - Site Home - MSDN Blogs
#2 Designing the Start Screen: Designing the Start screen - Building Windows 8 - Site Home - MSDN Blogs
#3 Reflecting on user comments: Reflecting on your comments on the Start screen - Building Windows 8 - Site Home - MSDN Blogs
However I'm of the belief that enough clever people also prefer the old Start Menu and will find a way to bring it back for us, if Microsoft doesn't.
For those who like reading there's also some MS blog posts following the Beta release here:
#1 What's changed since the last release: Welcome to Windows 8 – The Consumer Preview - Building Windows 8 - Site Home - MSDN Blogs
#2 System recommendations: Running the Consumer Preview: system recommendations - Building Windows 8 - Site Home - MSDN Blogs