Alienware m14xr2 wifi hardware switch (Fn+F3) doesn't work in Windows 8?

Hi All. 

When I first tried Windows 8, this was one of the annoyances that caused me to revert back to 7. Lately I tried 8 again and this seems to still not have been fixed. Furthermore, it causes a breaking bug that REQUIRES one to revert to a previous version of windows!

Basically, I cannot use my wireless. I disabled the adapter via network settings->disable adapter because I was in a "wireless free zone", noted that the Function-F3 combo (still) wasn't working,  and had not noticed the 'airplane mode" switch. Later I went to re-enable the wireless via the same method, and it never came back. The adapter is enabled under the network settings section of windows, but there is no functionality - like it was switched off via the hardware in W7. 

I have all my drivers up to date, and specifically, the Alienware OSD application is installed. The Function keys work for other things, like brightness & volume.

Am I screwed or is there a workaround?

Dell, fix this! Windows 8 has been out for over six months, that there are basic problems like this in the drivers is inexcusable!