I have been running W8 on 2 older computers. One is an HP desktop and the other is an Acer netbook that originally came with XP. Both computers I have set up to run both W8 and W7 so I can boot between these two operating systems. Once I got use to using W8 (I do not have a touch screen) I now prefer W8. It boots fast and runs well on both computers. I cannot get all the live tiles to work on the netbook. W8 is built for touch but keyboard and mouse is well supported.
I got to play with the new Microsoft surface last Friday at the Eaton Centre. What a cool tablet! but be aware Windows 8 RT and Windows 8 Pro are different operatings systems and W8 RT cannot run older Windows programs but it does come with Office 2013 which is also cool.
As for IE you get two versions of IE10 wiht W8. One is the new Metro syle you access from the Start screen. The other runs on the W8 desktop and it supports tabs.
If you miss not having the Start button in W8 you can get it back if you go to
www.stardock.com and download a program called Start8. It cost $5 and it will put a W7 style Start button on you W8 desktop. I am using Start8 on my netbook. I find I don't need it on my desktop.