Best way to run Windows 8.X: In a virtual machine?

[utu]

Greetings, Capricorny; two questions for you along these lines:

1. Is it not possible to actually use Windows 8 or 8.1 as is and
mount some Linux system as a Virtual machine and ignore all the
uefi and secure boot stuff?

2. My reading of Klaus K's approach to Windows 8 is that he will work
with uefi as a useful upgrade, but wants nothing to do with secure
boot. If so, seems to me that only allows legacy bios operation
as the means of mounting Knoppix on (most or all) Windows 8 machines.
Is this your understanding? If so, this is not a useful dual boot
approach in my book.