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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

#521

Post by le-mark »

anal_reactor wrote: post #460
ivolimmen wrote: post #440

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally migrated to seniors (70+) to Linux. They both enjoyed it for years. One even found and installed a new driver for their printer when he switched. Plus most ChromeOS users can easily migrate to Linux. For Office I recommend ONLYOFFICE as that looks and behaves mostly the same as Microsoft Office. I haven't experience any issues with drivers but then again I never use NVIDEA, I used AMD and currently an In…

When I put my computer to sleep and then wake it up, sometimes there's no video output until I switch to a different terminal and then back to GUI. How on Earth is a non-IT person supposed to figure this out. Also, my parents bring home documents from work, and they often get documents from different institutions, which means they already hit edge cases of compatibility issues between different office suites, and tel…

Is office 365 an option? What are the issues there? I thought web based office would solve this problem?

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

#522

Post by chithanh »

SeanAnderson wrote: post #190
presto8 wrote: post #188

Discovered Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC edition recently. It's great! It is supposed to get security updates through 2032. It doesn't have Cortana, OneDrive, CoPilot, Edge, etc. (Which is a good thing IMO.) Nor does it require a cloud account to use.

Are there any limitations with this to be aware of? Are Hypervisor/Docker/WSL2 all supported? I'm trying to decide if I want to transition my work computer to Linux or Windows 10 LTSC. Most of my day is spent working inside of WSL2. So, it kind of seems like I should just get on with using Linux native, but several decades of sunken cost have kept me on Windows. I don't think I have a desire to 'upgrade' to Windows 1…

Yes, limitations are that some services do not come preinstalled by default.

Some like the Microsoft Store can be installed afterwards.

Some like Windows Mixed Reality cannot be installed afterwards.

So check carefully what you actually need and decide based on that.

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

#523

Post by pragma_x »

Lately, what I've been asking people is: what do you use Windows for, exactly?

When the overwhelming majority of their stuff is in a browser, Steam, or Office, it's pretty easy to lay out Linux as an alternative. Nobody actually _uses_ windows itself, unless you're running some specialized software that requires it.

Also, a lot of people treat computers as appliances: boxes of fixed capability that ship from a factory as-is. Basically, a very complicated toaster. Windows machines run windows, Apples run MacOS, and so on. The idea that you can deviate from factory spec is, frankly, not even a thought most carry around. One must take the time to be kind and show the path through this wilderness of choices and technology decisions.

As for the MS Office thing, O365 and LibreOffice are the Linux-compatible choices I recommend. Depending on their use-cases, the latter is usually enough. I'll give O365 credit for multi-user Office and 1:1 capability with the current desktop option. That said, those aren't always compelling uses for the home-gamer.

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

#524

Post by chithanh »

nwellinghoff wrote: post #288
SeanAnderson wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are there any limitations with this to be aware of? Are Hypervisor/Docker/WSL2 all supported? I'm trying to decide if I want to transition my work computer to Linux or Windows 10 LTSC. Most of my day is spent working inside of WSL2. So, it kind of seems like I should just get on with using Linux native, but several decades of sunken cost have kept me on Windows. I don't think I have a desire to 'upgrade' to Windows 1…

Wsl2 features like nested virtualization only work in the win11 version. The ltsc releases seem like the only viable option at this point.

Nested virtualization is a problem for systems with AMD CPUs I think, Windows 10 Hyper-V supported nested virtualization on Intel only. Since Windows 11 it is supported on AMD too.

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

#525

Post by dspillett »

globular-toast wrote: post #334
mythz wrote: post #300

The best thing to happen to Linux Desktop is Windows 11, with perfect timing too as modern Linux has been a joy to use as a daily driver. Normally I'd be unhappy when a sleazy corp forces me to give up on 25 years of muscle memory of using my preferred OS, but I'm thankful they gave me the push I needed to rip off the ad/spyware laced Windows Band-Aid that I only need to do once in my life. It's been over a year sinc…

I did it 15 years ago and never looked back. Vista was enough to give me the nudge. On the occasion I've had to use Windoze over the years I've laughed harder and harder each time. It's hard to explain to people who only know Windoze, but it's just really nice to use software made by people who don't hate you.

While I don't disagree with you at all, I'd advise against calling the OS “Windoze” (or “Winblows”, or the company “Micro$oft”). This gives off a very “From my parent's basement, I stab at thee!” impression and reduces how seriously a lot of people will take you and what you are saying, and those people could apply the same impression to the rest of us too. I used to do the same thing, about 1½-to-2 decades ago.

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

#526

Post by ivolimmen »

anal_reactor wrote: post #460
ivolimmen wrote: post #440

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally migrated to seniors (70+) to Linux. They both enjoyed it for years. One even found and installed a new driver for their printer when he switched. Plus most ChromeOS users can easily migrate to Linux. For Office I recommend ONLYOFFICE as that looks and behaves mostly the same as Microsoft Office. I haven't experience any issues with drivers but then again I never use NVIDEA, I used AMD and currently an In…

When I put my computer to sleep and then wake it up, sometimes there's no video output until I switch to a different terminal and then back to GUI. How on Earth is a non-IT person supposed to figure this out. Also, my parents bring home documents from work, and they often get documents from different institutions, which means they already hit edge cases of compatibility issues between different office suites, and tel…

Well I never had any issue as I never put my machine to sleep. I actually turn my machine off and on. Yes that includes my laptops, sbc's and desktops. I also advise everyone (even Microsoft users) to never use hibernation. It's not that faster than a full reboot cycle and can cause issues you really do not want. Sorry I am old-fashioned.

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

#527

Post by john61 »

qwertox wrote: post #487

Microsoft doing this with Windows, Google doing that with sideloading... It's a horrible situation. Specially what Google is doing, as there is no real alternative, like Linux is for the desktop. We grew up with computers where you could install anything, code programs to run them for yourself on your machine. This was also valid for smartphones to some degree, and it's terrible to see that you're now in a position t…

We united coders have the power to change that. We have done it in the past. We are going to do it again.

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

#528

Post by xtiansimon »

xela79 wrote: post #520

So I just figured out a workaround that actually works! At least until Microsoft puts out a new Windows installer that fixes this, here's what you can do: First, make sure you unplug your ethernet cable or turn off WiFi before you start installing Windows. This way your computer isn't connected to the internet during setup. When you get to that screen where it's asking you to sign in with a Microsoft account (you kno…

Hopefully Rufis will have a solution as well.

https://rufus.ie/en/

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

#529

Post by ambentzen »

Filligree wrote: post #429
romanovcode wrote: post #428

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it works great, actually. But you have to have specific hardware, for example AMD gpu instead of Nvidia. Also, nearly anything with anti-cheat (many online games, esp shooters) won't work.

Nvidia works great, and has since this summer. So long as you’re on a recent release you shouldn’t have issues. Nvidia on a machine with an AMD iGPU requires you to blacklist the amdgpu module.

Nobody tell my machine that. I have a 5080 paired with an 9800X3D, no blacklisting of kernel modules necessary (for me at least).
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