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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

#911

I guess I'll be the contrarian in the thread: My main machine is Windows 11. I recently bought a refurbished laptop to make it a Linux torrenting machine with ProtonVPN. I first installed Fedora, which I hated. Where's the mininmize window button? Why are scrollbars practically invisible? What's with the hideous cartoonish desktop? I switched to Ubuntu, which I'm more familiar with. Installing ProtonVPN was an absolu…

I've stopped recommending Linux to other people. I use Linux every day as my main OS. I haven't used windows in over 5 years and I'm happier for it. But there is a learning curve no doubt. I happen to love what Gnome does, but it's definitely unlike any other desktop environment. If you're up for learning something new, and/or software freedom is important to you, I think Linux is definitely worth it. If you just wan…

Honestly KDE probably gets close enough to windows. I have only used it on top of arch, which was a decision knowing that I'll be messing about more with the system, but if you installed KDE over something like Debian, it may be very close to the Windows experience. It certainly feels like Windows 10, and KDE's settings page has most of the important configuration in it.

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

#912

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 factor…

Multiplayer games with anti-cheat. Only works on Windows, or of course, I can risk my account banned.

Heavy MS Office usage. MS Office is preferred for compatibility (toward other people's MS Office documents), and heavy usage means that the web variant are struggling.

Windows-only apps like Photoshop, audio software etc.

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

#913

My biggest annoyance is that I specifically bought a Windows 11 license, from the MS store, using my MS account. I did this because I assumed that if something went wrong, I would always be able to recover it. I could never 'lose' the key if it was tied to my account. Well unfortunately, MS screwed me. When I upgraded my PC I was apparently supposed to transfer the license before deleting the old PC from my account.…

This seems like a situation where you could run a pirate kms server and license yourself. I imagine you would gave a strong case should it come to trial.

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

#914

I hate to say it, but the vast majority of users are going to just adapt and keep going. Probably north of 70% of computer users see these and just automatically accept, sign up, all of that. It's not that they don't care, they just don't understand.

And of the rest of the 30%, 29+% is going to grumble, and then accept and sign up anyways. MS knows their power well.

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

#915

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The issue is cost. You're going to have to pay considerably more for a computer to have a human ready to help you with it.

Have computer prices gotten considerably cheaper since the days when companies had human support employees? Some components have gotten considerably more expensive, so it seems like they haven't, at least on average.

Relatively speaking yes. My Macintosh Quadra 605 was around $1000 in 1994 and was a low end model at the time. Today that $1000 would be around $2100 or so. I can get an entry level MacMini for $499.

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

#916

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Speak for yourself, I tried again to switch to Linux last year with standard Ubuntu and had multiple issues, the machine wouldn’t wake from sleep, would lock up with a grey graphics glitched login screen when locked, I tried to upgrade the OS and it broke all my graphics drivers, after I spent another few hours trying to fix it (and seeing a lot of very unfriendly and unwelcoming “help” from the Linux community), and…

Linux is generally a rock solid delight on any AMD desktop, but insists on being at least an occasional pain in the ass on basically every laptop in the world and anything with Nvidia.

Yep I only buy laptops/computers that are known to be compatible with linux or outright allow it as an option. Drivers are the biggest issue by far, especially video and power suspend modes. Life gets a bit easier when you get windows off the brain

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

#917

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That was impressively delusional. > having a standard on menu structure, a standard for all UI controls etc You mean all the stuff apple brought to personal computers? By the way, you can use a Mac (and iPhone) without an Apple ID and there's no sign that this is changing.

Facts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Common_User_Access

Thanks, I couldn't have said it better myself:

> The detailed CUA specification, published in December 1987, is 328 pages long. It has similarities to Apple Computer's detailed human interface guidelines (139 pages). The Apple HIG is a detailed book specifying how software for the 1984 Apple Macintosh computer should look and function. When it was first written, the Mac was new, and graphical user interface (GUI) software was a novelty, so Apple took great pains to ensure that programs would conform to a single shared look and feel.

Windows NT came out in 1993 by the way.

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

#918

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The issue is cost. You're going to have to pay considerably more for a computer to have a human ready to help you with it.

How about giving less profit to the shareholders? How about making customer support legally mandated so companies don't have the "greedy shareholder" excuse?

> How about giving less profit to the shareholders?

Then the shareholders will sell their shares.

> How about making customer support legally mandated

Then you'll have to pay higher prices for the product. Every mandate put on a company costs money and so higher prices are the result.

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

#919
post #668

I doubt it’s going to happen, but a part of me prays that people will eventually get sick Microsoft’s increasing bullshit and it really can become the Year of the Linux Desktop. Gnome has genuinely gotten pretty great in the last couple years, and I think a lot of former Windows would genuinely like it if they gave it a chance, and virtually any Linux you install will have less tracking bullshit than Windows. I suspe…

To be honest, I think KDE is a better alternative to transition to from Windows. Maybe it's just personal preference but I could also never really get the hang of Gnome.

I moved my parents from Windows 10, MS Office, Edge, Starpage.com to Kubuntu, ONLYOFFICE, Thunderbird, Firefox, qwant.com.

Most questions came because of the Outlook to Thunderbird switch. I can attribute zero questions to KDE. Though I said the new System is called Linux, they refer to it as Windows 11. ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

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

#920
post #904

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nvidia graphics? How much care did you take in getting a machine for running Linux? Did you get one specifically with that in mind? Or did you slap it on the machine you already had?

Endless raving about how painless and troubleshoot-free Linux is and then you try installing it on your very standard-built PC and face major glaring issues and then get told you're the idiot for not junking your perfectly good GPU from the most popular GPU maker and most valuable company on the planet. I'm sure it's Nvidia's fault for whatever reason but Linux proselytizers need to stop being so dishonest about how…

It is painless on hardware that's compatible. Nvidia issues are well known too.

It's like you running Windows 7 on a PC designed with Windows 11 in mind and expecting a good time. If you wanted a good Windows 7 experience you'd want a PC with parts that are actually compatible and have good drivers. Linux is the same.

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