Hi Ronin,
Yes, I was having that same issue with windows 8. I downloaded and installed windows 8.1(x64) pro (preview) and have not had that issue since.
Bare in mind, 8.1 is just a preview, so when it goes live, the preview will expire.
btw, Microsoft fibbed. They said that they are reimplementing the classic style start button in 8.1. all the new start button does in 8.1 is take you straight back to the Apps window, Lame!!!
Right clicking on the new start button however, does give a new context menu with lots of options, even has shutdown/restart/sleep options.
However, most people don't even think to right click things in windows 8 or 8.1...