I’m a Windows fan, and I could see this being a pain for OEMs and installers / IT guys – but I don’t see why people are making a huge deal . Windows quality is a much bigger issue: latency, reliability issues, inconsistencies in the UI, etc.

Windows account login provides decent value: Bitlocker recovery, device management, Onedrive sync (even the free version), simpler RDP & remote RPC authentication.

You won’t even defeat telemetry with a local account. Windows TOS grants telemetry consent.

Why do you guys care so much about this? It feels like a bikeshed – something easy to complain about with little nuance. What will be won if MS concedes?

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antiframe 32 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

I care about this because I don't want to have to get permission from a third party to log into my local computer. It seems like a fundamental part of owning a computer, to me. It's really that simple. If Microsoft made the default to setup or login to a Microsoft Account but had a pretty easy way to opt-out and make a local account, I don't think anyone would care (well maybe some people would prefer the default to be local, but then I'd be with you on asking why they care so much if the bypass is right there a click away). But, they don't let you do that. They require you to get permission to use your own computer, and that's a feel bad.

	▲	tonymet 20 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		It's a fair concern. And I believe you can add local accounts once you init windows with your Microsoft account. Try to think about it from a vendor perspective. How much more difficult it is to maintain support for local accounts, now that so many activities depend on online support. It's preferrable to have a universal/ online credential you assume to be authenticated, rather than having each app test for identity. This applies to consumer experiences (e.g. cloud storage, AI inferrence), and vendor service (telemetry, crash reporting, etc) For your main PC, are you really using it anonymously (like you would with TAILS or other secure OS)? In practice most people are immediately logging into email (google), Microsoft, facebook , github etc the moment they set up their PC. So it seems to be overcomplicating things for Microsoft to deny them the credential, when it carries so much more value for both the consumer & the vendor.

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kstrauser 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

With it, can you use your laptop offline?

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spogbiper 2 hours ago | parent [-]

yes, as long as you signed in once while online. windows caches the creds locally and afaik they do not expire

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kstrauser an hour ago | parent [-]

What happens if you disable the account online, then, or change its password? I haven't worked through this before and I'm curious about it.

	▲	tonymet 26 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		password changes or deleting the account will lock out the local credential .