Is the full-screen touch interface for Windows 8 'just a shell' on top of Windows?
Not really; there isn't an application running like Media Center that you could shut down and it isn't just a browser – this is another mode for the interface that you can switch in and out of. But it is the browser that powers it.
Apps for the immersive Windows 8 interface are written in HTML5, JavaScript and CSS (and presumably, Silverlight – this is the IE10 engine and there's no reason for it not to run plug-ins) and packaged up in an AppX container.
In fact, if you dig into the web standards support that Microsoft has added to IE10, it's clear to see that despite the resemblance to the Silverlight-powered... »read more

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