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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

#491

Post by physicles »

hxii wrote: post #459

While my D2D is MacOS and Windows 10, I’m not a newcomer to Linux and I WISH I could just move myself and my wife to Linux instead of waiting until W10 kicks the bucket. But until the experience and process are seamless (or at least much more simplified), I honestly cannot see people “just switching”. I had to jump through SO MANY hoops to stop my case fans from automatically spinning at 100% and getting CoolerContro…

I have a similar experience with my GPU. Got a 3090 and found that nvidia’s linux driver enforces a minimum GPU fan speed of 30% regardless of temperature. That’s unacceptably loud if you’re in the same room. After hours of searching online, flashing the GPU’s bios is apparently the only solution, so I bought a bunch of acoustic foam instead.

I’m still 100% Linux on all devices, but this bit really sucks.

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

#492

Post by daemin »

dist-epoch wrote: post #488
daemin wrote: post #469

The biggest issue I have with Windows insisting that I use a Microsoft Account to log in is that I have a long and complex password set up for the account which is stored in a password manager. I don't want to dumb down that password, I don't want to use biometrics, I don't want to use a passcode or pin to log in as that is arguably less secure. I just want a local account which I can set up a convenient password for…

I was the same as you, believing that using a passcode/pin as Microsoft is pushing is less secure. So I digged into it, and changed my opinion - Microsoft is right, for the Microsoft Account, using a password locally instead of a PIN is LESS secure. TL;DR: if you want to allow offline login, you need to keep the hash/token to the Microsoft Account locally, and this is dangerous, some malware could steal that, and imp…

Or you know, just use a local account for logging into your local machines which are physically present in your home. No need to require an active Internet connection, no danger of your online account being unavailable and thus preventing access to your own computer.

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

#493

Post by rs186 »

fransje26 wrote: post #446
EdwardDiego wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm assuming you can identify by the heavy drinking to drown feelings of self-loathing.

Their bank accounts are probably happy though..

Microsoft is not known for high compensation. Stable job and good WLB that is. Although that becomes a question as well with the recent layoffs.

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

#494

Post by noir_lord »

hyperman1 wrote: post #407
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…

As a long term Linux desktoppy, I find this a mixed blessing. I fear Linux will get ruined by the influx of windows runaways. Enterprise managers will start enforcing their braindead ideas. Group policies, DRM, security scanner slowness, ads, they will all start to appear. Banks will start to 'secure' yoyr desktop. Then politicians will come in and require the KDEs of this world to implement chat control-like things.…

They'd have to outlaw compilers to make that work.

Say (hypothetically) they forced KDE and Gnome to do that - they are open source, you can't hide that it was done, someone will rip out that part and either compile and release a new distro or post the git somewhere outside that jurisdiction and someone else will do it.

This isn't a new thing even - we've had free/non-free/rpmfusion and the like for decades - hell back in the day I had to pull and compile freetype because of the patent on subpixel hinting that was valid in the US and not in the EU.

The one that does worry me more is that they straight up just start locking down the hardware more strictly - a mobile phone style attestation/locked bootloaders would be a major challenge to open computing.

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

#496

Post by rs186 »

zuminator wrote: post #278
maltalex wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They probably know exactly what your thoughts are about this change.

I'm more curious about what their thoughts are. They have to know what the community thinks about these moves. What do they intend to accomplish? I'd like to hear the roadmap from the lion's mouth, so to speak, if they have some kind of justification that would make sense to the skeptical observer.

It is a command from the top, possibly very top aka CEO. What the community thinks doesn't matter. What matters is how much ad money they earn and how much of your private information they can track.

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

#497

Post by physicles »

wewewedxfgdf wrote: post #222

If I was Microsoft I would want the latest version of Windows running on every machine there is - old/new/slow/fast. It's a platform which means you need it everywhere . Microsoft Windows has really lost its way.

Windows as a platform lost the war many years ago when the web (and then mobile) took over, and is no longer a key part of Microsoft’s business since the CEO switch in 2014.

Microsoft’s current strategy is to 1) keep a stranglehold on enterprise (so, Office and 365 subscriptions) and 2) make money on workloads regardless of platform (with Azure).

What new software, besides games, targets windows anymore? If you wanted to target windows, what SDK and language would you build on, and how many times will it be replaced with $new_hotness in the next 10 years?

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

#498

Post by npteljes »

ta12653421 wrote: post #441

Question out of curiosity: On todays hardware, it should be possible to run Windows in a VirtualBox on a Linux System, or am I wrong? Thinking about this to be my next setup for the next machine (in 1 or 2 years) Im mainly using corp & office software and MS dev tools - those should be useable in a virtualized Windows? Any experience?

Windows can live in a VM no problem. But, depends on your use case. For GPU heavy usage, you can do GPU passthrough, and that needs a dedicated video card exclusive for the VM. If you only have light usage, like office tools, you can get by the mostly default settings.

I suggest that you just try - it's a couple of hours to install Linux and install Windows in a VM. You can try Linux dual-booting, so, no need to impact your existing system. If you end up not liking the out of the box Win VM performance, there are a couple of tricks that you can try to get substantial improvements.

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

#500

Post by npteljes »

eadmund wrote: post #200

If customers keep trying to do something … let them do it? Charge them to do it? It’s crazy to me: folks quite clearly want to run Windows 11 without an account. What is it worth to Microsoft let someone do that? $12? $144? $1,728?

>folks quite clearly want to run Windows 11 without an account.

Do they significantly impact the bottom line though - especially compared to what possibly they gain by these actions? Corporations can tolerate a bit of grumbling on some tech forums.

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