Most new Windows 8 Pro machines have UEFI with Secure Boot enabled

For many of you, though, that's not a choice. It's difficult to appear Aunt Bertha in the eye and explain why you traded in her oh-so-au-courant (and dear!) clever, colorful folding Christmas gift for a boring brushed-aluminum clamshell. I guess you could tell Aunt B that office 2013 pro plus provides you with "gorilla arm" -- per the most recent Scientific American -- even if the assertion doesn't make much sense. But I digress.

Windows 8 Pro systems be eligible for a "downgrading" (I hesitate to use the word) to buy windows 7 . Windows 8 systems don't qualify.

You need to look for a "genuine" copy of Windows 7 Professional. If your company has a volume license, that's easy; the VL distribution kit includes all the bits necessary to do the downgrade. Otherwise, you need to look for a retail version of office professional plus 2010 or an OEM copy. (Hint: If you know someone having a TechNet or MSDN subscription, they are able to have it for you personally.) If you're downgrading a lot of machines, you need just one copy of Windows 7 Professional. In the end, Microsoft is selling a license -- embodied within the product activation key not the bits.