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People inside Microsoft are fighting to drop mandatory Microsoft Account

windowscentral.com

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Re: People inside Microsoft are fighting to drop mandatory Microsoft Account

#531

Post by zamadatix »

red_admiral wrote: post #518

If you can't set up without an account, this should work, no? 1. Create an admin user "setup" with a throwaway Microsoft account on first boot. 2. From there, create a local user "admin". 3. Reboot into "admin" with internet off, delete "setup", and run a bunch of deshittification scripts to get rid of AppX(Provisioned)Packages.

Assuming you have internet during setup (can be a pain loading drivers via USB) and are fine with creating the throwaway to just not use it, sure - but that's precisely the kind of thing people don't like about the setup requiring an account. Getting rid of the preinstalled packages is a bit of a game of russian roulette for the install as you never know when the next incremental update breaks something because the machine doesn't match baseline or something else was built with the assumption certain crap would be there.

If you're going to go through all of this there are easier ways to just work around the install and crap limitations. They are also still annoying, but at least easier.

Re: People inside Microsoft are fighting to drop mandatory Microsoft Account

#532

Post by hluska »

ryandrake wrote: post #255
Rapzid wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone with a sizeable background in Linux system engineering.. I prefer Windows to MacOS. It's IMHO a better desktop now with the edge snap tile layout and etc. Excellent device compatibility. And I get my linux environment needs satisfied via WSL2 these days. But damn if they don't get in their own way. I have my own Pro licenses, and even with Pro turning off ads and features is text book whack-a-mole: * Frequ…

This might be obvious, but all of those things have a single common denominator: Microsoft, over you, getting to decide what your computer is doing. This is the biggest generalized danger in computing today: That OS (and device) manufacturers have gotten it in their heads that it's OK for them to have a strong say in what your computer runs. User doesn't want X, Y, or Z running on his computer? TOUGH. We are going to…

You’re exaggerating - my computer has never prevented me from doing what I want to do with it. There are some annoyances but that can be said about absolutely every system.

Re: People inside Microsoft are fighting to drop mandatory Microsoft Account

#534

Post by dana321 »

pedalpete wrote: post #370

Of all the things wrong with windows, I don't feel that having a Microsoft account is the worst of them, or the one that needs the most attention. Is the reasoning that if you don't have a Microsoft account, they'll do less of the ads nonsense which is baked into the OS? Maybe I don't get what the issue is. I've tried linux, but haven't converted (though I'm tempted), but my mac has a mac account and nobody seems to…

You don't need and apple account to use macos

Re: People inside Microsoft are fighting to drop mandatory Microsoft Account

#535

Post by delusional »

p_ing wrote: post #416
justonceokay wrote: post #408

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The quibbling about ram is strange only because Apple is much better positioned to utilize ram since they are vertically integrated. I produce music and occasionally compile Haskell on my 2016 MacBook with an i3 and 8gigs of ram. So I’m in the 99th percentile power user and a 10 year old machine works great. I bet the new Mac would be even better. It doesn’t have 8gigs of ram to cheat the consumer. It’s because this…

No, they're not "better positioned" to utilize memory. NT has a far better VMM than macOS does and handles OOM significantly better than macOS (and Linux, for that matter). Look no further than the various Mac subreddits for applications such as TextEdit, Calculator, Safari, and other first and third party applications leaking like a sieve to the point of OOM for multiple versions of macOS at this point. Not to menti…

> NT has a far better VMM than macOS does and handles OOM significantly better than macOS (and Linux, for that matter).

That's one of my great frustrations with Windows. NT is a fine kernel. The userspace on top of that is fucking terrible though.

When people compare "operating systems" they're not comparing the kernel. They're at the most technical comparing the userspace tools shipped with that kernel, and at their most general the "ethos" of the developers that build the ecosystem. The terrible experience on windows of every programing having an installer that pokes around god knows where in the registry is just as much an experience of the Windows operating system as piping curl into bash is on Linux.

Re: People inside Microsoft are fighting to drop mandatory Microsoft Account

#536

Post by pipes »

k4rli wrote: post #118
pipes wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've done this several times over the last 18 years or so. The most recent was a few months a go. And my steamdeck persuaded me. Unfortunately I ran into the same WiFi networking issue I've never managed to resolve. Even on different hardware. Pings to my default gateway are ridiculously slow compared to windows. I spent countless hours trying to resolve. I gave up and have gone with windows 11 ltsc.

This is the type of thing that AI is actually good at diagnosing in my experience. Haven't had anything similar happen but seems more of a router issue upstream. Maybe worth checking what Steam Deck's connection has configured differently given it's on the same network?

That is a very good point, what on earth was I thinking, I didn't try pinging it from my steamdeck. Actually, I'll try that, but now I'm back on windows the ship has sailed.

Good point about AI too.

This is on mint Linux and unless I'm remembering wrong years ago it was mint Linux that had the same issue completely different hardware and network

Re: People inside Microsoft are fighting to drop mandatory Microsoft Account

#537

Post by pipes »

exographicskip wrote: post #243
k4rli wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the type of thing that AI is actually good at diagnosing in my experience. Haven't had anything similar happen but seems more of a router issue upstream. Maybe worth checking what Steam Deck's connection has configured differently given it's on the same network?

100% With ssh access to the underlying arch/fedora fork, it'd be an easy fix with AI

Do you mean access to the source code?

Re: People inside Microsoft are fighting to drop mandatory Microsoft Account

#538

Post by jojobas »

eeixlk wrote: post #529
jojobas wrote: post #524

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But Apple decides what your computer is doing even before it boots up, Microsoft is not even in the same league.

Curious about some examples of this. Consumer windows computers have historically had a lot more preinstalled garbage software. Do you mean app store restrictions or something else?

I mean Activation Lock Server Check.

Re: People inside Microsoft are fighting to drop mandatory Microsoft Account

#539

Post by asah »

Rapzid wrote: post #64
grujicd wrote: post #12

This "make Windows better" push is far more political than technological. It's a fight with other divisions about using Windows as a marketing and sales channel for other products and services. It has to be a decision from the very top. I hope they realize that Windows is in significant danger, the majority market share for Desktop OS is not guaranteed anymore. It's not just 10% of revenue, it's a foundation for how…

As someone with a sizeable background in Linux system engineering.. I prefer Windows to MacOS. It's IMHO a better desktop now with the edge snap tile layout and etc. Excellent device compatibility. And I get my linux environment needs satisfied via WSL2 these days. But damn if they don't get in their own way. I have my own Pro licenses, and even with Pro turning off ads and features is text book whack-a-mole: * Frequ…

LOL, any __ONE__ of those would be a deal-killer for me. The sum is so WTF I can't understand how anyone willingly chooses Windows over... anything.

(mind you, MacOS has its own nightmares from KeyChain hell, iCloud crap, signed apps etc - but I can use my Mac laptop without iCloud/etc and go weeks without thinking about Apple)

Re: People inside Microsoft are fighting to drop mandatory Microsoft Account

#540

Post by Peaches4Rent »

skipants wrote: post #268
exographicskip wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only two moats MS has for desktop OS usage are: 1) Kernel-level DRM for multiplayer games (looking at you, Marathon) 2) Intentionally nerfed MSO 365 apps on web and macOS You could make a strong case that MDM (which InTune uses as well) negates the AD + GPO advantages of the past 20+ years in enterprise.

> 1) Kernel-level DRM for multiplayer games (looking at you, Marathon) This finally forced me to quit League of Legends (this is a buff)

Welcome to the superior MOBA side.

Come! dota and deadlock welcome you

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