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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

#571

Post by jawilson2 »

0rdinal wrote: post #351
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…

I daily drive Ubuntu, the user experience is comparable (in many cases better) to Windows 11. The only sticking point for me is display drivers. HDR on Wayland is barely functional (in my experience), and getting things like hardware accelerated AV1 encoding, full Vulkan API support etc to work has been extremely difficult. Every time I login using a Wayland desktop, only my main monitor is detected and it defaults t…

Are you using a ThinkPad? My work laptop has this issue too, on windows 11. 75% of the time I have to unplug the monitor after waking up the laptop. 20% of the time it works. 5% of the time it has 640x480 resolution, and I have to unplug it again.

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

#572

Post by mynameajeff »

chithanh wrote: post #522
SeanAnderson wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are there any limitations with this to be aware of? Are Hypervisor/Docker/WSL2 all supported? I'm trying to decide if I want to transition my work computer to Linux or Windows 10 LTSC. Most of my day is spent working inside of WSL2. So, it kind of seems like I should just get on with using Linux native, but several decades of sunken cost have kept me on Windows. I don't think I have a desire to 'upgrade' to Windows 1…

Yes, limitations are that some services do not come preinstalled by default. Some like the Microsoft Store can be installed afterwards. Some like Windows Mixed Reality cannot be installed afterwards. So check carefully what you actually need and decide based on that.

Thanks for mentioning WMR. I was genuinely struggling to remember why I didn't install LTSC previously and that reminded me. Half the reason I'm stuck on 10 even if I wanted to go to 11 is WMR. LTSC would be perfect for me if it wasn't for that little caveat (and a few more if my memory serves correct).

Awesome that they created and then gutted a standard that just bricks my $400 device that they barely even seem to care to support on launch. There's patches that exist for 11 but they're just that, patches, and my WMR experience is already very jank. Nvidia also seems to be the target for most development so I'm not sure where I'll go once this all settles as I have my gaming PC in a nice position where I can just hop on after work and everything just works with no interruptions or issues currently.

11 is a hot mess and I already know that linux/proton simply won't work for the games I tend to quickly hop onto with friends.

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

#573

Post by database64128 »

wirybeige wrote: post #561
database64128 wrote: post #363

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Every time I login using a Wayland desktop, only my main monitor is detected and it defaults to 60hz. I have to go through a whole process of unplugging the "undetected" monitors and plugging them back in. Are you using GNOME? mutter has this problem where it does not retry commit on the next CRTC: https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/mutter/-/issues/3833 . If this is actually what's happening on your system, switching t…

GNOME has both color management and color representation protocols implemented. HDR works fine on it

No, having the bare minimum "HDR support" does not mean it works fine. I have a 27-inch 4K 144Hz monitor with P3 wide color gamut and HDR600. This monitor is connected to 2 PCs, one running Arch Linux with GNOME as the DE and one with Windows 11.

Since Windows 11 24H2, with the new color management feature turned on, I can get correct colors on the monitor in both SDR and HDR modes. So it ends up with HDR on at all times, and mpv can play HDR videos with no color or brightness issues.

GNOME, on the other hand, is stuck with sRGB output in SDR mode, so you get oversaturated colors. With HDR on, SDR content will no longer be oversaturated, but if you play HDR videos with mpv, the image looks darkened and wrong. I've tried setting target-peak and target-contrast to match the auto-detected values on Windows, but the video still looks off.

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

#574

Post by dspillett »

globular-toast wrote: post #560
dspillett wrote: post #525

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I don't disagree with you at all, I'd advise against calling the OS “Windoze” (or “Winblows”, or the company “Micro$oft”). This gives off a very “From my parent's basement, I stab at thee!” impression and reduces how seriously a lot of people will take you and what you are saying, and those people could apply the same impression to the rest of us too. I used to do the same thing, about 1½-to-2 decades ago.

"The worst kind of oppression is when the victims think and talk in the language of their oppressors." Why would I care if suits "take me seriously"? I grew out of "Windoze" etc. Now I've grown back into it, because fuck Micro$oft.

I'm not talking about “the suits” and what they think.

I'm talking about the people, the home users nominally in control of their own machines, who are on the edge of considering Linux, or something else non-MS, who might be put off if they see something that reinforces a negative stereotype that they've been fed elsewhere (for instance, that the surrounding community is mostly a bunch of undeservedly cocksure 14-year-olds or practically indistinguishable from the same).

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

#575

Post by fireflash38 »

mort96 wrote: post #432

The stated "reason" makes no sense: > While these mechanisms were often used to bypass Microsoft account setup, they also inadvertently skip critical setup screens, potentially causing users to exit OOBE with a device that is not fully configured for use. If they're only worried that their users may end up with an incomplete Windows install, surely the solution is to provide a better way to set up Windows with a loca…

Because they are in the second stage of enshittification. You as a user of their products are not their primary customer - they want to sell your data. Companies buying that data are now their primary customer, so they will prioritize them over you.

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

#576

Post by fireflash38 »

Fischgericht wrote: post #180
wmf wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this change (and everything in Windows 11) is being driven by the MS Account PM watching telemetry and making number go up.

Not sure. If they would actively read that telemetry data they would notice that the market share of Win11 due to their actions is shrinking, not rising. But maybe they are holding the telemetry graphs upside down? ;) And, obviously, a Windows system not connected to the Internet will not give you Telemetry, so this part of your customer base is invisible to you. As a PM, you would have to actually talk with your act…

It's crazy they don't even have a toast sort of notification for checking a box. Some visual flair to let a user know "this was successful"

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

#577

Post by fireflash38 »

bilekas wrote: post #412

There was a great expression I read in relation to Microsoft's Xbox division, they recently increased their prices in some cases by 100% but one commentor said "They're too big to care". I think this applies now also with their complete disregard for the windows 10 EOL. Exposing, if I remember correct : ~40% of the windows market [0]. This seems to me as negligence in their duty to ensure a level of security and qual…

It makes me wish for legislation to force companies to either

1. Provide security LTS for critical software as-purchased. If you bought Win 7, you get it. No forced upgrades.

Or

2. Force release of source code if not providing LTS. You don't want to support it fine. But don't block people from what they bought.

Pipe dream and wildly expensive to corps but hey they don't give a shit about us anyway.

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

#578

Post by ziml77 »

I've always set up with a local account as long as it's been possible. Not because I don't want a Microsoft account linked (I always end up linking one after installation) but because they don't let me choose my god damned username! I want my user folder to be C:\Users\[FirstName] but for some stupid reason they don't give me the option to do that! It just creates a name automatically based on the account email address.

If they're going to completely remove the option to create a local account, could they at least let me override the local username for the account?

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

#579

Post by bilekas »

fireflash38 wrote: post #577
bilekas wrote: post #412

There was a great expression I read in relation to Microsoft's Xbox division, they recently increased their prices in some cases by 100% but one commentor said "They're too big to care". I think this applies now also with their complete disregard for the windows 10 EOL. Exposing, if I remember correct : ~40% of the windows market [0]. This seems to me as negligence in their duty to ensure a level of security and qual…

It makes me wish for legislation to force companies to either 1. Provide security LTS for critical software as-purchased. If you bought Win 7, you get it. No forced upgrades. Or 2. Force release of source code if not providing LTS. You don't want to support it fine. But don't block people from what they bought. Pipe dream and wildly expensive to corps but hey they don't give a shit about us anyway.

> 2. Force release of source code if not providing LTS. You don't want to support it fine. But don't block people from what they bought.

Tangentially there is a movement happening in this regard for video games for studios to provide EOL options instead of bricking the game you bought. For software I haven't seen an example of local installations that get bricked after remote services go offline. Maybe for example if Jetbrains closed shop tomorrow and basically said to all users, your license wont be validated, too bad.

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

#580

Post by eYrKEC2 »

hnrodey wrote: post #563

Normies that are upset with Windows will switch to macOS. You guys are smoking crack if you think regular people are going Linux.

First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they attack you. Then you win.

J/k, but I still love Linux and as a family it admin, people in my sphere get pushed there.

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