We knew that using a ribbon for Explorer would likely be met with skepticism by a set of power-users (like me), but there are clear benefits in ways that the ribbon:

Exposes hidden features that they already use but which require third party add-ons to use in the Explorer UI today.
Provides keyboard shortcuts for every command in the ribbon, something many people have been asking for.
Provides UI customization with the quick access toolbar, taking us back to a customization level that is basically equivalent to Windows XP.
We also knew that, similar to when we added the ribbon into Office, there would be concerns about reduced screen real estate. We worked

Hmmm.... maybe i dreamt it but i think they're dropping WMC.

While not a central topic of feedback, I received about 50 emails about Media Center. I want to reassure customers that Media Center will definitely be part of Windows 8. No doubt about it. Knowing how strong the support for Media Center is among pre-release testers, we still have work to do to make sure the quality and compatibility with add-ins is what you would expect even in pre-release (as with any release of Windows, compatibility is a major effort and when we work on the underlying video engine, as one example, we have to make sure features that push these areas receive adequate coverage).