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Microsoft is plugging more holes that let you use Windows 11 without MS account

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Re: Microsoft is plugging more holes that let you use Windows 11 without MS account

#21

Post by incompatible »

wyldberry wrote: post #18
Havoc wrote: post #7

Had to edit a .docx today to refresh my CV today...and realised oh...I don't have any more windows machines on hand anymore. Interesting how smoothly that faded away psychologically after 20+ years of windows use without me even overtly noticing. Think MS is in for a rough ride on Windows. Short of corporate world - Excel/Sharpoint/AD - there is just no moat. Browsers work fine on all platforms, dev work is better on…

It will depend on if gaming studios continue to invest in a Linux Desktop experience. It's common to run your game server on Linux, but MS, partially through DRM support to the big media companies, creates an environment very strongly suited towards shipping your game binary to a hostile environment. This is partially why major (effective) anti-cheats have migrated to the Kernel. Windows allows the big-budget games,…

If you have to play games, just have a separate Windows computer for that, and do everything else on a Linux box.

Re: Microsoft is plugging more holes that let you use Windows 11 without MS account

#23

Post by bbkane »

incompatible wrote: post #21
wyldberry wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It will depend on if gaming studios continue to invest in a Linux Desktop experience. It's common to run your game server on Linux, but MS, partially through DRM support to the big media companies, creates an environment very strongly suited towards shipping your game binary to a hostile environment. This is partially why major (effective) anti-cheats have migrated to the Kernel. Windows allows the big-budget games,…

If you have to play games, just have a separate Windows computer for that, and do everything else on a Linux box.

I agree, but I'm not sure that's acceptable to the general population

Re: Microsoft is plugging more holes that let you use Windows 11 without MS account

#24

Post by RestartKernel »

Havoc wrote: post #7

Had to edit a .docx today to refresh my CV today...and realised oh...I don't have any more windows machines on hand anymore. Interesting how smoothly that faded away psychologically after 20+ years of windows use without me even overtly noticing. Think MS is in for a rough ride on Windows. Short of corporate world - Excel/Sharpoint/AD - there is just no moat. Browsers work fine on all platforms, dev work is better on…

> And mac side is obviously competitive on various fronts too.

After a lifetime of Windows use, I'd even say MacOS is almost on par with Linux for development, while Windows' best feature on this front is WSL so you don't have to use Windows.

Re: Microsoft is plugging more holes that let you use Windows 11 without MS account

#26

Post by bil7 »

incompatible wrote: post #21
wyldberry wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It will depend on if gaming studios continue to invest in a Linux Desktop experience. It's common to run your game server on Linux, but MS, partially through DRM support to the big media companies, creates an environment very strongly suited towards shipping your game binary to a hostile environment. This is partially why major (effective) anti-cheats have migrated to the Kernel. Windows allows the big-budget games,…

If you have to play games, just have a separate Windows computer for that, and do everything else on a Linux box.

Dual boot seems like a more obvious recommendation? Or better still, play games on linux, except those that require kernel AC?

Re: Microsoft is plugging more holes that let you use Windows 11 without MS account

#27

Post by jacquesm »

At this point if you are still willingly part of the MS ecosystem I'd say that's a case of Stockholm Syndrome. At the time of the SCO lawsuit I decided enough is enough and I haven't looked back. Software development is actually easier on Linux, there are good enough alternatives for most applications so unless your job demands that you use a particular package you might as well bite the bullet.

Microsoft will never change its ways, no matter how much windowdressing they use underneath it is the same evil empire that it always was.

Re: Microsoft is plugging more holes that let you use Windows 11 without MS account

#28

Post by lucb1e »

lax4ever wrote: post #19
mindslight wrote: post #4

Is there a worry that torrent packagers won't be able to work around these, or what's the actual concern here? I mean if you're using Windows for anything beyond a VM binary compatibility layer for some software you must use, aren't you kind of asking to be abused at this point?

If you are getting your OS from some third party torrent packager you are doing it wrong. There are far easier ways to get around this without trusting that some mysterious third party hasn't embedded some malware in their custom Windows deployment.

With Microsoft allegedly trying to close down all those ways, it sure sounds like OS modification (or not using Windows) is the reasonable endgame here? I'm not sure how this comment, saying to not use modified OSes but use the "far easier ways", fits with the submitted article. Not everyone has the skills to modify the compiled code files that make Windows require a Microsoft account

If it's so easy, which are these ways, then? Do you think they'll remain available indefinitely?

Not that I don't underwrite the risks involved in getting your OS from untrusted or unreputable sources

Re: Microsoft is plugging more holes that let you use Windows 11 without MS account

#29

Post by 0xTJ »

typpilol wrote: post #12
Havoc wrote: post #7

Had to edit a .docx today to refresh my CV today...and realised oh...I don't have any more windows machines on hand anymore. Interesting how smoothly that faded away psychologically after 20+ years of windows use without me even overtly noticing. Think MS is in for a rough ride on Windows. Short of corporate world - Excel/Sharpoint/AD - there is just no moat. Browsers work fine on all platforms, dev work is better on…

They've been saying this for years now. The problem is there's no real alternative. Your grandma is not going to use Linux. So the choice is between windows and mac.. and the truth is a lot of apps people use are windows only. I don't see windows losing desktop share anytime soon.

The average grandparent isn't installing an OS, they're using whatever comes on the device. If you had Ubuntu pre-installed and automatically updating, there isn't going to be that much of a difference for how many less-tech-savy people use the computer.

Microsoft has a strong cycle of "applications run on Windows" -> "device vendors choose to bundle Windows" -> "people use applications on Windows", but that has been eroded, in part thanks to Wine and the work put in by people at Valve.

If someone who uses their computer to browse the web and check the email picked up a laptop pre-installed with Ubuntu, they'd likely be perfectly fine with it.

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