Okay, okay. Win8 THE UNDERLYING OPERATING SYSTEM was fine. We agree.
Win8 METRO UI on a non-touch desktop (the primary user base) sucked swamp water, and not even very well.
Okay, is that better?
Microsoft could have saved Win8 from being a losing proposition very easily, as you so accurately state. I sincerely wish they had done so.
But they didn't. And so it was a disaster in terms of acceptance and uptake. Even being forced down people's throats on new gear didn't save it from resounding rejection. It didn't make it to even a third of the user base of the version it was supposed to replace (Win7). And its representation in the overall Windows version mix barely exceed the active user base of the long-obsolete XP in the final month before it was officially replaced. That's hardly a success.
I truly hope Win10 gets straightened out and is successful. I would hate to see Windows disappear from the landscape. Much as I enjoy both Linux and OS X in the areas where they shine, there's nothing to replace Windows in the enterprise business world. So let's hope Win 10 picks up its dropped trousers and starts running.