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Microsoft has removed the “use offline account” option when installing Windows

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Re: Microsoft has removed the “use offline account” option when installing Windows

#651

Post by jevgeni »

fourfour3 wrote: post #400
jevgeni wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or you know, iCloud? The thing that most people here probably have.

Except Apple have a lovely ‘Skip’ button at every step of the process. If you don’t want to use iCloud you’re not forced to by virtue of being internet connected, and there’s a clear option to not allow your iCloud account to be involved in auth or password resets.

And you can get an offline account with Windows if you're offline. Granted it's not transparent enough.

Thing is, what Apple is trying to achieve with iCloud is exactly the same as what MS is trying to achieve: bind you to a single account which will allow them to transition to a more service based business model. It's just Apple does it smoother.

Re: Microsoft has removed the “use offline account” option when installing Windows

#652

Post by Silhouette »

rovr138 wrote: post #642
Silhouette wrote: post #634

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I still wonder how true this really is. Every time this subject comes up, all I seem to find are people who just want a good screen, and often who don't mind paying a higher price for it. Presumably there are also people who are sufficiently price-sensitive when buying a large flat-screen TV that the reduction from having bundled junkware makes a difference, but as far as I know, I have yet to meet one. If anything,…

I wish I could buy a really good screen with no “smart” software at all. I can plug an Xbox if I want, or a shield, or a Roku, or an Amazon fire stick/tv, or an Apple TV, or a chrome cast Just add a bunch of ports and KISS. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KISS_principle

The irony is that you can still buy just a good screen with good connectivity options and basic controls, but the market is advertised as "display screens" intended for things like advertising or video walls.

I don't understand why the same manufacturers/distributors offering these products don't also pitch them as TVs with well-defined specs and no junk, probably with some sort of "expert"/"pro" branding that makes them look like a high-end choice.

You could pitch one of those, a basic 2.1 home sound system or the like, and maybe a small control/switching box that everything plugs into and that also accepts your source feeds, and you've got a mini home-theatre-style arrangement that could be quite attractive to those who value decent gear but don't have the budget and/or space for a full home theatre setup that would cost at least 2-3x as much for entry-level equipment.

Re: Microsoft has removed the “use offline account” option when installing Windows

#653

Post by Wowfunhappy »

batrat wrote: post #586
wayneftw wrote: post #492

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My initial thought was that they completely removed the option only in the Home version of Windows. Since (I don't think) you can join Windows Home to a Domain, is that true? Is the option for a local account now only available in Windows Pro, unless you install Windows Home disconnected from the Internet?

Nope. I recently installed windows home for a friend and I had the option for offline account.

How recent? It looks like this change is very new.

(You should still be able to force an offline account by disconnecting for the internet during install, but, that requirement is terrible.)

Re: Microsoft has removed the “use offline account” option when installing Windows

#654

Post by Wowfunhappy »

yellow_postit wrote: post #555
gurkendoktor wrote: post #514

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Assuming people in any significant number care about having to use an online account is naive. Apple requires it. macOS does not require a cloud account. Technically you don't even need one for iOS, but most people will create an Apple ID for the App Store (and I hope this distribution monopoly on iOS will eventually be broken up).

MacOS also prompts incessantly trying to get you to create and/or link a cloud account. Neither Mac or Windows really requires an account but they make it an inconvenient path.

> MacOS also prompts incessantly trying to get you to create and/or link a cloud account.

Well, kind of. It seems to prompt me once per service, more or less. If I keep closing them, I've found that macOS does eventually shut up.

Re: Microsoft has removed the “use offline account” option when installing Windows

#655

Post by imglorp »

samstave wrote: post #648
imglorp wrote: post #598

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If don't need 100 pct of Excel's bazillion features, Libre Office is a decent alternative. It works with Excel files, doesn't need Windows (but it can run there), and doesn't nag you to join any clouds. And it's free. There's very few home users who actually need full Office.

Excel is a requirement for the integration I want to do to another program: bartender To print barcodes and labels in serial with an ODBC connection... so libre won’t work

Libre does support ODBC, perhaps not exactly the same way though.

Re: Microsoft has removed the “use offline account” option when installing Windows

#656

Post by jamiek88 »

Silhouette wrote: post #652
rovr138 wrote: post #642

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish I could buy a really good screen with no “smart” software at all. I can plug an Xbox if I want, or a shield, or a Roku, or an Amazon fire stick/tv, or an Apple TV, or a chrome cast Just add a bunch of ports and KISS. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KISS_principle

The irony is that you can still buy just a good screen with good connectivity options and basic controls, but the market is advertised as "display screens" intended for things like advertising or video walls. I don't understand why the same manufacturers/distributors offering these products don't also pitch them as TVs with well-defined specs and no junk, probably with some sort of "expert"/"pro" branding that makes…

Because only two manufacturers make large OLED screens and maybe three make advanced LED screens and they are all massive conglomerates that control the market.

Re: Microsoft has removed the “use offline account” option when installing Windows

#657

Post by Wowfunhappy »

LexGray wrote: post #629
gurkendoktor wrote: post #514

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Assuming people in any significant number care about having to use an online account is naive. Apple requires it. macOS does not require a cloud account. Technically you don't even need one for iOS, but most people will create an Apple ID for the App Store (and I hope this distribution monopoly on iOS will eventually be broken up).

In a similar way for macOS enabling the offline root user has been under Network Account Server > Directory Utility forever. Microsoft is not alone in their logic here.

In a similar way for macOS enabling the offline root user has been under Network Account Server > Directory Utility forever.

Isn't that more for security reasons? Apple doesn't want users enabling the root account unless they know what they're doing, so they make it hard to find. (And, really—coming from someone who runs with SIP turned off—there's very little reason to enable that account.)

Re: Microsoft has removed the “use offline account” option when installing Windows

#658

Post by dbg31415 »

I don't use Sir, or Alexa, or Cortana. I think the always-on voice recordings are terrifyingly creepy. Hate that they've been invented at all.

A friend of mine came over, with his kid, and I offered to let him watch TV while we talked. 2 minutes later the kid is bawling is eyes out... He couldn't figure out how to make the TV work without talking at it. I handed him a remote, and it was like ancient Egyptian algebra.

Anyway, terrifying glimpse of what's to come. Consumers that don't know how to push any buttons. Who find even using a mouse to be too complicated. Scares me a bit because the tools to create content aren't in that space... by making usage so silly easy, we diminish opportunities to build skills that help turn users into creators.

Re: Microsoft has removed the “use offline account” option when installing Windows

#659

Post by rovr138 »

richardwhiuk wrote: post #442
Normal_gaussian wrote: post #414

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is hardly a solution to a security issue. I can't ensure the burglar keeps the cover closed

The burglar won't have your face?

I’m a sensitive location.

Re: Microsoft has removed the “use offline account” option when installing Windows

#660

Post by jamiek88 »

Silhouette wrote: post #641
Nexxxeh wrote: post #520

Earlier quoted context omitted.

PC gamers won't be switching to an Xbox, and so we require a desktop. It won't just be halo effect on home users, but ironically also Halo effect. The remastered collection being ported over as we speak, starting with Halo: Reach iirc.

And for small businesses, the analogous barrier is often "creative software". More and more administrative services used by businesses are moving online, and in some cases we're forced to use them whether we like it or not (for example, because certain tax/legal returns now have to be filed online using approved software). However, when it comes to creating reports, or artwork, or engineering schematics for a new bui…

Simply: Excel.

The sheer intertia in businesses of all sizes using Excel will probably never completely go away. It will fade out over decades.

And proper excel (excel 2007!!!) is not on Mac OS , Linux or in the cloud.

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