I'm not sure what hidden commands in Win 8 you are referring to. Maybe they're so well hidden I haven't found them? Win 8 works great with a mouse and keyboard.
I don't own a touchscreen monitor but have played with them in stores and I found that a touchscreen is terrible on a computer with a larger screen such as a laptop or desktop and is really only useful on a small screen device such as a phone or tablet. The need to take your hand off the keyboard, reach all the way to the screen and then make a large arm movement to do something that could be done far more efficiently with a flick of my hand with a mouse, completely destroys productivity.