Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I Will Never Use a Microsoft Account to Log Into My Own PC

extremetech.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

481–490 of 657 posts

Re: I Will Never Use a Microsoft Account to Log Into My Own PC

#481

Post by michaelmrose »

AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #394
nickjj wrote: post #377

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Running native Linux for non-technical users ends up being a great move as long as the programs they want to run work on it. For example imagine a retired non-technical person who occasionally trades stocks. Even major trading platforms like Interactive Brokers have native Linux clients. Non-technical users want a stable system that doesn't constantly change. Windows loves to hit you with popup notices or UI changes…

> Non-technical users want a stable system that doesn't constantly change. ...and you're recommending Linux Desktop for that? An operating system famous for breaking compatibility with itself every 2 years or so? Not to mention between distros. I mean, I suppose you can just leave them on some arbitrary un-updated version of Ubuntu forever, but the same could be said for Windows 2000.

Nothing is making you run arch Linux with gnome wayland on your btrfs raid 5 with pipewire sound.

One could have installed mint mate 16 in 2013 and painlessly updated between versions without huge difference between then and now.

Linux isn't a product like windows it's an ecosystem use whatever works for you.

Re: I Will Never Use a Microsoft Account to Log Into My Own PC

#482

Post by fsloth »

hulitu wrote: post #161
fsloth wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I think it’s as simple as it being a better experience for the type of people who would buy the Home edition. ... allows MS to provide a lot of the services people expect using Android or iOS as their primary devices. This. 100 times. The main compute device people as a population are familiar with is the cellphone/tablet, and usage patterns that differ from this are becoming the odd man out. Consumer tech. Commodit…

> This. 100 times. > The main compute device people as a population are familiar with is the cellphone/tablet, and usage patterns that differ from this are becoming the odd man out. (Smart)phones and tablets are not computing devices any more than a refrigerator. You cannot do any real work on them. Even finding a text editor, let alone editing, is a challenge. Other stuff like SW development or CAD/CAE is the same.…

Agree, my productivity with phone UI:s is near zero. But that's what billion people use.

I agree with the "get of my lawn" sentiment but that's not how the world uses computers anymore.

I don't see how this can work either but it seems it does and shows no signs of returning to sane Xerox-park derivatives I prefer.

There are power users and their needs are catered for but in terms of market share expert users are a diminutive niche.

Re: I Will Never Use a Microsoft Account to Log Into My Own PC

#483

Post by bool3max »

skohan wrote: post #314
saba2008 wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>We've come a long way from the 1970's. And going for a full circle. No more personal computers, just terminals connected to corporate systems, which have full control over data and usage.

And it's a shame if you ask me. PCs and laptops are so powerful now, and all that hardware is mostly just going toward running chrome tabs.

... as opposed to doing what?

Re: I Will Never Use a Microsoft Account to Log Into My Own PC

#484

Post by dzonga »

I have a habit of not shutting down my laptop for long periods of time. I used mac os for like 8 years, till High sierra and it got slow. this was a late 2012 macbook pro.

Then also owned a macbook pro 2018 with mojave, that crashed every 2 days like ol' windows. switched to ubuntu for my thinkpad, still hibernate wasn't reliable. end up putting win 10 pro on the thinkpad, n stability from hibernation is amazing. it feels like the old os x.

so yeah, win 11 for me is a moot point - no need to upgrade

Re: I Will Never Use a Microsoft Account to Log Into My Own PC

#485

Post by fish45 »

rambambram wrote: post #413
fish45 wrote: post #392

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Funny anecdote, I installed Ubuntu on my own laptop to improve my minecraft FPS when I was 9 (~9 years ago). I googled something like "how to get more fps in minecraft" and the first result was a minecraft forum post to which the only response was "install Ubuntu". At the time, Ubuntu had a .exe installer, so I thought it was just like any other program and installed it to my C: drive along with everything else. I th…

Indeed funny! What happened after you installed the .exe Ubuntu? You clicked the icon and then ..? I'm just past the 'stage' you're in now, I recently deleted my partition running Windows (kept it for GTA5). Only Ubuntu now.

I don't remember much about the installation process. I think I just got to choose between automatic or manual partitioning, which is when I presumably went with automatic and chose the C: drive.

Re: I Will Never Use a Microsoft Account to Log Into My Own PC

#486

Post by michaelmrose »

AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #476
wbsss4412 wrote: post #458

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wasn’t trying to imply that Ubuntu has longer support than windows, only that it doesn’t constantly make breaking changes. If you want you can use it and update once every five years and have a fairly stable desktop.

Sure, if you don't count all the software that no longer has a package in the latest version's repo and therefore is no longer available. Oh and whatever features GNOME decided to remove this time.

So don't use gnome and switch to something that isn't abandonware

Re: I Will Never Use a Microsoft Account to Log Into My Own PC

#487

Post by gabereiser »

gigel82 wrote: post #453
gabereiser wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you would think, but that's not the case. It's used to correlate data sharing between data brokerages. Facebook has your number, Twitter has your number, Microsoft has your number. What better FK to link all this data together than that? Now Microsoft knows what you searched for. Twitter knows what you bought on Amazon. Facebook knows who you hung out with. It's all about the data brokerages.

I'd be very surprised if these companies actually share the private data with each-other (or any external party for that matter). I worked at a FAANG and they take private data handling very seriously (you can't even access it internally without a very involved approval process and always partially).

They don’t share it directly with each other, it’s through data brokers. Oracle being the biggest (here in the states) along with Experian, equifax, etc. I’m not talking about platform specific data. I’m talking about browser history, cookies, transactional, and the like. I know for a fact that one FAANG uses your browsers history to run adtech against it to show you relevant ads related to a previous search. Just because you couldn’t access it, doesn’t mean someone else wasn’t.

Re: I Will Never Use a Microsoft Account to Log Into My Own PC

#488

Post by skohan »

bool3max wrote: post #483
skohan wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And it's a shame if you ask me. PCs and laptops are so powerful now, and all that hardware is mostly just going toward running chrome tabs.

... as opposed to doing what?

Native software

Re: I Will Never Use a Microsoft Account to Log Into My Own PC

#489

Post by alasdair_ »

Eric_WVGG wrote: post #385
bserge wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Year of Linux on desktop, it's coming home boys! I'm joking but secretly hoping it happens.

I'm over in Mac-land so a bit unclear on the state of things, but it seems like the problem must be marketing by now, right? I can't think of any use cases for mainstream users where Windows is a requirement. Graphic designers, digital art types, and musicians are all fringe and mostly on Mac anyway. PC gamers are a fringe crowd. Practically all productivity software has migrated to the cloud. Desktop Linux usability…

>PC gamers are a fringe crowd.

Sure, if 1.5 Billion people are a "fringe crowd"

https://www.extremetech.com/gaming/314009-3-billion-people-w...

Re: I Will Never Use a Microsoft Account to Log Into My Own PC

#490

Post by darknavi »

nickjj wrote: post #117

I know the post is about Windows 11 but I installed Windows 10 for someone on a laptop about 2 months ago and it had the most crazy dark pattern I've ever seen to be able to proceed past the installation screen without a Microsoft account. Short of not connecting to the internet first the only way I saw where it was possible to create an offline account was to first attempt to sign in using an incorrect password with…

In the leaked Windows 11 build the setup flow got slightly less "dark pattern"-y. There is a small video of it here (linked to timestamp):

https://youtu.be/odZSCdNTFPw?t=305

Post reply on HN