I hate that operating systems are becoming like cell phones. You use to have to know a thing or two to get around a pc. I will use my XP as long as I can.
Mark- due to tablets and phones all being "instant-on," they are really trying to discourage a full shutdown with Windows now. Particularly with your little box and SSD, there's almost no reason to. Just use Sleep instead. Power consumption should go down to within a watt or two of OFF, and it should wake up in 5sec or less. That's a plus.
When I got 8, the upgrade to 8.1 was free. It's worth it. It will add a shutoff icon for you. I did one myself though, (you can find that thru goggle if you don't want to upgrade). PITA to share stuff from one user to the next, especially apps.