And isn't that a better use of time than coming up with the Copilot ... opted to stick with the Windows XP user interface rather than issue apologies for the mess the Start Menu has become?

Yes, I still used floppy discs with Windows XP; they were much cheaper than a CD-RW burner drive. In fact, I didn't buy a 128MB USB flash drive until 2005, and (I think) I still have it in a box ...