I was actually among the very first wave to try the Windows 8 Developer's Preview, and kept it on a dual boot tower and devoted a Toshiba laptop to it up until it was RT'd and they wanted money for it. It was kind of neat, and snappy, for most of its development, and I (and quite a few others) figured the Metro would remain optional, like it was in the DP. The actual release was pretty far off the DP mark when it hit the shelves. It was terrible, frankly. It was overwhelmingly less popular than Vista (and still is, by the numbers) and an absolute fail. By the time the "8.1" update hit it was too little, too late. I believe that was in large part due to M$' decision to tell consumers they'll take what they get and like it.
That's why their tactics changed with W10. Nadella leaned the wrong lesson from the W8 fiasco. Instead of listening to consumers, he thought that meant he had to be sneaky and more arrogant, force us to do what he wanted. That level of disregard and outright hostility I blame on a cultural difference. You can pull that crap in India, but it will backfire here. The percentage of computers using the Waffen OS is in no way indicative of the the level of acceptance.
They've caved a little, in some areas, but it amounts to no more than throwing scraps at a particularly whiny dog. They've left the market ripe for a new OS, but I haven't seen any real strong efforts to take advantage of that opening. It won't last forever, because eventually the dog gets used to being kicked and accepts it.
