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Upcoming Windows 11 builds cannot install without internet and Microsoft Account

infosec.exchange

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Re: Upcoming Windows 11 builds cannot install without internet and Microsoft Account

#111
post #45

I'm also 100% convinced Microsoft will introduce mandatory code signing at some point and make it so that you can only ever install software from Windows Store. They are envious of the Google and Apple walled gardens/cashcows and are now determined to turn Windows into one. Windows is no longer a product for users, the users of Windows are the product for Microsoft to be shoved into the Azure sales funnel.

> They are envious of the Google and Apple walled gardens/cashcows and are now determined to turn Windows into one. Which is perplexing, because this is essentially the opposite strategy than what gave windows value to begin with.

It would be amusing for Microsoft to end up in a situation where developers don’t want to target Windows anymore, just like Apple in the 90’s.

Perhaps they think it doesn’t matter once everything is in the cloud.

Re: Upcoming Windows 11 builds cannot install without internet and Microsoft Account

#112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you install anything from the windows store without a Microsoft account, or from google play without a google one? I assume this is already the state of affairs since ever, but except iOS all the rest allow you to install stuff outside their stores.

You can install things from Windows/Microsoft Store without an account.

I’m sure it has forced me to login. I suppose I could have fallen for some dark pattern in the UI though.

God I hate what this industry has become.

Re: Upcoming Windows 11 builds cannot install without internet and Microsoft Account

#113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Until you need to download something from the app store (happened to me the other day on a mac I wiped and then needed to bring on holiday so now I need to go through the process again afterwards)

Can you install anything from the windows store without a Microsoft account, or from google play without a google one? I assume this is already the state of affairs since ever, but except iOS all the rest allow you to install stuff outside their stores.

Just a matter of time. Look at where their interest are. Apple will probably be second on this, but if it happens it will be for both and the argument of security will be cried out loud at whoever complains.

Re: Upcoming Windows 11 builds cannot install without internet and Microsoft Account

#114
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

wait, you need internet connection to even login? this means root cannot use computer when you do not have internet connection for any reason?

I’m not in Windows ecosystem for more than 25 years now. But I had to buy couple of windows laptops for sales team at my business. I tried very hard but windows wouldn’t allow me to set it up without first creating Microsoft Account online. I’m in Apple ecosystem, not that they are significantly different but they atleast allow me to use the system albeit in limited capacity. I’m seriously considering going back to L…

We’ve been running our company (6ish people) solely on Fedora and it’s been a breeze, but then we’re a bunch of nerds, so not necessarily a surprise. The real test how much the Linux desktop has matured happened when I set up a fedora laptop for my parents to get around hp desperately coaxing them into some kind of subscription and an endless stream of ads/complaints from Microsoft to buy into a cloud service. After setting up the laptop and explaining the very basics of Plasma, I’ve had to deal with it again. Because with printers, it just works (tm)

Re: Upcoming Windows 11 builds cannot install without internet and Microsoft Account

#115

A while ago, I needed to get into safe mode to rescue a laptop that wouldn't boot. Since it uses Windows 11, I originally logged in using my Microsoft Account and a Windows Hello pin. Safe mode doesn't load wifi drivers and the laptop didn't have an ethernet port, so I couldn't log in to my Microsoft Account to get into Windows safe mode. Didn't have a dongle with ethernet port at that time, so I had to backup the dr…

Reinstalled windows recently, now it has the window resize bug, which apparently has something to do with display sleep mode. Reportedly linux struggles with sleep modes too, but to think I should try linux for better hardware support, duh. And new windows is very fiddly, constantly tries to install new metro apps, adds them to lock screen, installs new services, runs a shit ton of services that constantly write a lot of data on the disk. Enshittification is in full overdrive now.

Re: Upcoming Windows 11 builds cannot install without internet and Microsoft Account

#116
post #104
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's the main reason why Valve is investing in Linux and Steam Deck.

Apropos, running Steam on my Archlinux Desktop with Windows compatibility turned on works really, really well. Much better than what I remembered from the bad old days of trying to get stuff running in Wine.

I second that, everything "just works" as you'd expect it to.

If StreamOS can get widespread and they start to introduce desktop apps to the store, I think they can take some market share.

Re: Upcoming Windows 11 builds cannot install without internet and Microsoft Account

#117
post #46
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> No app forces account on me What apps? You can't use Google Play to download apps without an account.

No google acct here, I use fdroid and the Aurora store. I have no doubt though that google is working on killing the Aurora store. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41773781

Do banking apps work normally if downloaded from the aurora store? I'd very much like to fully degoogle my next phone when I get to replacing it, and it's the last stumbling stone

Re: Upcoming Windows 11 builds cannot install without internet and Microsoft Account

#118
post #22

All these user hostile behavior finally tipped me over the edge last year after I started to get Windows 10 EOL popups. No way I was going to "upgrade" to a ad/spyware/subscription ridden MS marketing platform and be constantly nagged at to try out more of their services. Moved to a Fedora Desktop, liberating to move back to an conflict-free OS whose primary focus is to serve its users, imagine that.

Windows is a launcher for games, there is no other use for this system (correction: it still runs some specialized professional software that is too expensive to port). And now, even most of the games work on Linux too.

I was looking to move to Linux for my gaming PC, just about pulled the plug when Respawn decided that all cheaters in Apex Legends were supposedly using Linux and decided to block Linux users from playing...

Re: Upcoming Windows 11 builds cannot install without internet and Microsoft Account

#119
Microsoft knew they were losing the client device market to iPhone and Android (after their Windows Phone flopped). So they essentially gave up on improving Windows, and decided to turn it into a thin client for Microsoft cloud services. For this model to work well, they need to force users to have a stable identification, aka Microsoft account, in order to login to the thin client.

Windows is over. I moved to Apple silicon a while ago and never looked back. Even though macOS has its warts, it's not hostile to its users.

Re: Upcoming Windows 11 builds cannot install without internet and Microsoft Account

#120
post #97
post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That would never work, they would have to have some kind of override. Microsoft doesn’t have that kind of leverage over Windows users because they don’t have tight vertical integration. If Windows 12 enforced that, users would just stay on Windows 11 and MS’ leverage would decrease even further.

I can’t believe people didn’t stay on Windows 7. It seems to have slid into some always-online ad-filled cloud hellhole since. Office365 is worse than Office 2000. This is the OEM strategy still at play. You gotta hand it to Bill Gates for capturing PCs for decades. People truly don’t care how poor their operating system behaves, because your only other option is to buy a Mac.

>I can’t believe people didn’t stay on Windows 7.

Normal mainstream users can't stay on very old operating systems like Windows 7 because they'll eventually be forced to install newer software that's not compatible with it. Outside actors other than Microsoft force os upgrades.

- buy a new printer and it only has drivers for newer os like Windows 10/11 and later

- need for installing newer software like latest versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Adobe suite, TurboTax 2024, etc. They don't install on Win7. For Windows 7, the last version of Chrome was January 2023. Last version of Firefox was August 2024.

So setting aside commercial apps like Adobe, TurboTax, etc. -- why can't a user just stay with old version of Mozilla Firefox that's compatible with Win7 and turn off updates?!? Because bank websites like JP Morgan will block the user with an error "You need to upgrade your web browser" because the SSL/TLS encryption algorithms in old Firefox versions are obsolete.

Deliberately trying to freeze your computer on Windows 7 or Windows XP means relegating it into a "museum piece" that becomes less and less useful for practical real-world tasks. That's ok for an isolated machine that runs old video games but no good for online banking.

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