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Microsoft has removed the “use offline account” option when installing Windows

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Re: Microsoft has removed the “use offline account” option when installing Windows

#71

Post by blahedo »

chank wrote: post #47
tenebrisalietum wrote: post #42

Microsoft is clearly taking moves that enable "PC as a service". I imagine the end game is something like you pay Microsoft so much a month on a subscription, receive hardware that is preconfigured with and tied to your Microsoft account details or your company's Azure AD configuration and locked down with InTune, unhackable with properly implemented Class 3+ UEFI and Secure Boot, etc. You then purchase additional so…

Deal is, big corps want it. Everything as a service. Easy to write off. Easy to ramp up and down as needed.

Do they though? My friends that work IT in corporate settings seem to tear their hair out every time MS (or anyone) tries to auto-push an update that they haven't had a chance to rigorously test for compatibility and security with their existing stuff. Some of them have fiduciary responsibility to not add/change/upgrade software without carefully testing it first. That doesn't seem compatible with the trajectory Windows is now on (and that Apple has been on for some time).

Re: Microsoft has removed the “use offline account” option when installing Windows

#72

Post by swiley »

maple3142 wrote: post #58
NotSammyHagar wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

why do people still use windows? It's stupid and naive to ask that, but I keep wondering why devs aren't successful in getting changes made at their companies.

Able to play many games without hassle?

It's been a long time since I've run windows but I remember quite a lot of hassle playing games. With DRM being more common and all the crappy stuff that comes with "windows as a service" I doubt it's gotten better.

Last year one of my friends had windows update remove their graphics drive so machine ran with vesa graphics. Their description of it was something along the lines of "everything is big and slow and I don't know why."

You want to play games without hassle? Install arch and play the stuff in AUR. Honestly compiling everything is less hassle than dealing with the misbehaving blobs programmed by the changing whims of manipulative corporations.

Re: Microsoft has removed the “use offline account” option when installing Windows

#73

Post by ocdtrekkie »

mentos wrote: post #2

“They have not removed it, it just is not visible by default if you are connected to the internet. Either run the setup without being connected to the internet, or type in a fake phone number a few times and it will give you the prompt to create a local account.”

I imagine another good path is to state it's owned by an organization, then clicking "Domain join instead". I can't imagine they removed that, but it just dumps out to a local account because you can't domain join in the OOBE.

Re: Microsoft has removed the “use offline account” option when installing Windows

#74

Post by JoshMnem »

xeeeeeeeeeeenu wrote: post #41

I don't understand why so many people on HN praise Satya Nadella. I guess good PR is worth much more than actions. Before Nadella, Windows wasn't nearly as user-hostile as it is now. There was no mandatory telemetry, there were no forced updates, end users weren't treated as betatesters and QA wasn't non-existent. And now they are taking away the ability to use Windows without Microsoft Account. Of course there are a…

They watch what companies like Google get away with to see how far they can push things.

> Activity history helps keep track of the things you do on your device, such as the apps and services you use, the files you open, and the websites you browse. Your activity history is stored locally on your device when using different apps and features such as Microsoft Edge, some Microsoft Store apps, and Office apps.

> If you've signed in to your device with a Microsoft account and given your permission, Windows sends your activity history to Microsoft. Once your activity history is in the cloud, Microsoft uses that data to enable cross-device experiences, to provide you with the ability to continue those activities on other devices, to provide personalized experiences (such as ordering your activities based on duration of use) and relevant suggestions (such as anticipating what your needs might be based on your activity history), and to help improve Microsoft products.

https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/privacystatement

Re: Microsoft has removed the “use offline account” option when installing Windows

#75

Post by tim58 »

JMTQp8lwXL wrote: post #46
tenebrisalietum wrote: post #42

Microsoft is clearly taking moves that enable "PC as a service". I imagine the end game is something like you pay Microsoft so much a month on a subscription, receive hardware that is preconfigured with and tied to your Microsoft account details or your company's Azure AD configuration and locked down with InTune, unhackable with properly implemented Class 3+ UEFI and Secure Boot, etc. You then purchase additional so…

To the end user, what makes this model preferable to buying the operating system software? For some businesses higher up the stack, it makes sense-- e.g., people spend $X per month on the Adobe Suite, and people tend to enjoy that.

It's a total managed solution. Predictable. Requires less human capital to administer. Contract is negotiable with M$.

Re: Microsoft has removed the “use offline account” option when installing Windows

#76

Post by maehwasu »

blahedo wrote: post #71
chank wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Deal is, big corps want it. Everything as a service. Easy to write off. Easy to ramp up and down as needed.

Do they though? My friends that work IT in corporate settings seem to tear their hair out every time MS (or anyone ) tries to auto-push an update that they haven't had a chance to rigorously test for compatibility and security with their existing stuff. Some of them have fiduciary responsibility to not add/change/upgrade software without carefully testing it first. That doesn't seem compatible with the trajectory Win…

I think he means more that you can make it an operating expenditure and not a capital one, for accounting.

Re: Microsoft has removed the “use offline account” option when installing Windows

#78

Post by saghm »

mentos wrote: post #2

“They have not removed it, it just is not visible by default if you are connected to the internet. Either run the setup without being connected to the internet, or type in a fake phone number a few times and it will give you the prompt to create a local account.”

I think it's been that way for a while? Maybe six months ago I wanted to add Windows to a Linux box I had, and I ran into this

Re: Microsoft has removed the “use offline account” option when installing Windows

#79

Post by haolez »

xeeeeeeeeeeenu wrote: post #41

I don't understand why so many people on HN praise Satya Nadella. I guess good PR is worth much more than actions. Before Nadella, Windows wasn't nearly as user-hostile as it is now. There was no mandatory telemetry, there were no forced updates, end users weren't treated as betatesters and QA wasn't non-existent. And now they are taking away the ability to use Windows without Microsoft Account. Of course there are a…

Since I’ve migrated to web IDEs, my daily driver has become a Chromebook.

Privacy concerns apart, it gets the job done and the battery life is over 14 hours. I’ve migrated from Linux, which is also pretty good as a desktop, but feels a little less polished than ChromeOS.

Re: Microsoft has removed the “use offline account” option when installing Windows

#80

Post by IAmGraydon »

JMTQp8lwXL wrote: post #44
xeeeeeeeeeeenu wrote: post #41

I don't understand why so many people on HN praise Satya Nadella. I guess good PR is worth much more than actions. Before Nadella, Windows wasn't nearly as user-hostile as it is now. There was no mandatory telemetry, there were no forced updates, end users weren't treated as betatesters and QA wasn't non-existent. And now they are taking away the ability to use Windows without Microsoft Account. Of course there are a…

Most people on HN, I would postulate, don't use Windows. We might use VS Code, we might use Azure, but we aren't using Microsoft's operating system.

Pretty sure you couldn’t be more wrong.
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