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Windows 11 is closing a loophole that let you skip making a Microsoft account

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Re: Windows 11 is closing a loophole that let you skip making a Microsoft account

#32
post #24
post #7

Enhanced security, if you connect your device to the internet. Can they at least stop bullshitting? It's shameful

Security updates do come from the Internet.

Aren’t those needed overwhelmingly as a result of being connected to the internet?

Re: Windows 11 is closing a loophole that let you skip making a Microsoft account

#33
Last time I activated a Windows 11 system, I had already entered my Wifi credentials, and then couldn't find any way out of the online account trap. Eventually backed out far enough, deleted my wifi credentials again, forward again and created a local account. Have they closed that loophole too, i.e you can't activate it at all without cloud connectivity?

Another question, once you've activated it with an online account, is it possile to then create another local user and simply use that?

Re: Windows 11 is closing a loophole that let you skip making a Microsoft account

#34
post #26

I have a recent (2024) Gigabyte AMD motherboard and Windows 11 refuses to recognize the Ethernet NIC or onboard wifi. I can't load the drivers during setup either because they're .exe installers and it wants .inf files or something. I got mad and installed Fedora Kinoite, which somehow just worked out of the box. My games all worked too. I've been mulling over installing a Windows partition for the inevitable game wi…

I've mostly dropped it, I have a couple of windows machines for dev stuff but I really don't enjoy using the OS, each time I log in there is a new annoyance.

If I got to a point where I couldn't use it without a Microsoft account I would just drop it entirely.

Re: Windows 11 is closing a loophole that let you skip making a Microsoft account

#36
post #15

What is MS's motivation to push so strongly to have everyone on a Microsoft account? I really hope it's not primarily so that they can more effectively target your computer for ads. Or upsell some service subscriptions.

Bad leadership/ direction of product. These decisions are bad in the long term as people find alternatives. Windows will just be used by large non-tech orgs that need excel and are locked in that ecosystem. Then there is the gaming crowd and I think Steam is in a unique position to do something here. Everything points to Windows 11 being the last Windows, but not for the reasons MS intended.

Re: Windows 11 is closing a loophole that let you skip making a Microsoft account

#37
Oh, another M$ account creation trick. When they discontinued Skype they said you could just log into Teams with your Skype credentials. Not so! That just forces you to enter an email address (that's not already associated with a M$ account) and guess what.. now you have ANOTHER M$ account. After this the Skype credentials are invalidated.

Re: Windows 11 is closing a loophole that let you skip making a Microsoft account

#38

What are you supposed to do if you have no Internet connectivity? You basically have a brick on your hands until you can connect it to the Internet? That's ridiculous.

Well you see, contrary to the rampant speculation you get on sites like HN, when we deployed a telemetry update to report on how many of our users have no internet connectivity, the data showed 100% of respondents had internet connectivity.

/s obviously

Re: Windows 11 is closing a loophole that let you skip making a Microsoft account

#39

Last time I activated a Windows 11 system, I had already entered my Wifi credentials, and then couldn't find any way out of the online account trap. Eventually backed out far enough, deleted my wifi credentials again, forward again and created a local account. Have they closed that loophole too, i.e you can't activate it at all without cloud connectivity? Another question, once you've activated it with an online acco…

I think its enough to disconnect your wifi/router and installer will give you an option to proceed without internet.

Re: Windows 11 is closing a loophole that let you skip making a Microsoft account

#40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's standard practice for corporations to lie about their motivations for decisions. Why is this acceptable?

It's not. But not all unacceptable things are illegal. And just as immoral people will do legal-but immoral things, immoral corporations will do the same.

What they're doing might actually be illegal under antitrust law, since it's effectively 'tying' a market-dominant desktop OS to provision of online services. If they are genuinely determined to get rid of the existing workarounds, there might be grounds for a formal complaint on that basis.
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