If you have a Best Buy nearby, try taking it in to the laptop area and asking for some help with Windows 8. My dh works on huge mainframe computers and is pretty computer savvy, but the Microsoft rep at our Best Buy was able to show us both quite a few tips in just a few minutes.
One tip I think is very helpful is that, if you are on the screen that has all the tiles you can simply type in whatever you are looking for. Try it. Also, that tile screen is fully customizable (in that I need to get rid of the many tiles I will never use).
One thing my dh noted, though, is that Windows 8 is a lot better when you use a touch screen with it. It is much more tiresome using a mouse with it. Of course, all of our desk computers are not touch screen.......