4 ms·

> If you're using Windows 11 Home, you must have both an Internet connection and a Microsoft account to run Windows 11 at all. No, Internet, no Microsoft accoun

> If you're using Windows 11 Home, you must have both an Internet connection and a Microsoft account to run Windows 11 at all. No, Internet, no Microsoft account, no Windows 11. You can't set up a local user account or use your PC at all. I feel like this is really burying the lede. This is another one of those gaps that truly makes me wonder how anybody thinks that Microsoft considers Windows anything but a toy OS, not suitable for doing any tasks that the user considers remotely important to them. (Another example is one I've brought up here before, where Windows 7 would restart your computer without your consent, in the middle of whatever you were doing, if you went long enough without updating).

electroly 5y ago
The article goes a little too far -- the quoted statement isn't true. You can create a local account after the OOB experience finishes. You only need a Microsoft account during the setup process. It's still dumb but the author isn't telling the whole truth here.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- throwaway946513 5y ago
  While this is true, the user shouldn't be forced to setup near-required internet connection for the device to get it running. Seeing the dark patterns with Windows 10 has already motivated me elsewhere to switch to a Linux desktop at home.
  - jen20 5y ago
    The quoted statement is true if the MS account is required to get through the OOTB experience, no?
- wutbrodo 5y ago
  Hm, my read of the quoted statement is the same as my read of your comment. If you get a new Windows laptop and don't have an Internet connection, you can't start using it. Is that correct?
  - electroly 5y ago
    Yeah, that's right. Maybe I misunderstood his intent but I took "You can't set up a local user account or use your PC at all" at face value. You can set up a local user account and you can use the computer without an Internet connection; you just can't do that during the initial OOB process.
    - wutbrodo 5y ago
      Yea, that would be beyond egregious. Imagine a laptop you couldn't use on a plane? I don't know if Microsoft has any product people working on Windows, but surely somebody at the company would notice the constant, universal condemnation that would engender.
Silhouette 5y ago
You could always disable that sort of nonsense completely with Windows 7. That's (one reason) why Windows 7 was qualitatively better than the modern junk. Some of us actually do run multi-day jobs from time to time, and not having 100% control of your own computer in that environment is simply not an option.
- wutbrodo 5y ago
  That makes sense, but it doesn't really affect my point _too_ much. It's still shocking to me that this isn't a widely-known workflow among non-techies, akin to installing an ad-blocker. The friend who dealt with the forcible Windows shutdown isn't in the tech industry, but has a very successful career in quantitative finance. Even in college, he's the archetype of a smart, savvy user who doesn't happen to be a domain expert. It would be like me driving a car and having it shut down in the middle of a freeway, then hearing "you can disable that feature by doing <something only mechanics are even aware exists>".
- helloworld11 5y ago
  Is it still possible to use Windows 7 on a home PC or laptop and have mostly normal functionality with regular software and etc? Or Windows 8? Serious question. I'd still prefer to avoid Linux (for now) but the Windows 11 nonsense is too much.
  - Silhouette 5y ago
    Up to a point, yes. We still have a couple of Windows 7 machines in use, partly due to having some expensive application software locked to them. But as time passed and more of the ecosystem moved on, the limitations really started to show. As software developers, Windows 7 would now be very limited in terms of running modern tools and the latest versions of major programming languages and Linux or Mac are much better platforms today unless you're developing specifically for the Microsoft ecosystem.
hakfoo 5y ago
It feels like such an opportunity for problems at already difficult times. You have to install a new mainboard or hard disc due to failure. Your Wi-fi card is not supported on the install media, so you're already in chicken-and-egg mode to get it workable. In Win10 and before, once you got to the desktop, you would be able to pop in the terrible manufacturer CD which had some months old but nominally working drivers, and could bootstrap that to something that worked. How do they handle that in Win11? Drag your PC to a wired socket and hope the Ethernet card works?
- melony 5y ago
  A soldering iron, a steady hand, and a JTAG controller.

electroly 5y ago

The article goes a little too far -- the quoted statement isn't true. You can create a local account after the OOB experience finishes. You only need a Microsoft account during the setup process. It's still dumb but the author isn't telling the whole truth here.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
throwaway946513 5y ago
While this is true, the user shouldn't be forced to setup near-required internet connection for the device to get it running. Seeing the dark patterns with Windows 10 has already motivated me elsewhere to switch to a Linux desktop at home.
- jen20 5y ago
  The quoted statement is true if the MS account is required to get through the OOTB experience, no?
wutbrodo 5y ago
Hm, my read of the quoted statement is the same as my read of your comment. If you get a new Windows laptop and don't have an Internet connection, you can't start using it. Is that correct?
- electroly 5y ago
  Yeah, that's right. Maybe I misunderstood his intent but I took "You can't set up a local user account or use your PC at all" at face value. You can set up a local user account and you can use the computer without an Internet connection; you just can't do that during the initial OOB process.
  - wutbrodo 5y ago
    Yea, that would be beyond egregious. Imagine a laptop you couldn't use on a plane? I don't know if Microsoft has any product people working on Windows, but surely somebody at the company would notice the constant, universal condemnation that would engender.

Silhouette 5y ago

You could always disable that sort of nonsense completely with Windows 7. That's (one reason) why Windows 7 was qualitatively better than the modern junk. Some of us actually do run multi-day jobs from time to time, and not having 100% control of your own computer in that environment is simply not an option.

wutbrodo 5y ago
That makes sense, but it doesn't really affect my point _too_ much. It's still shocking to me that this isn't a widely-known workflow among non-techies, akin to installing an ad-blocker. The friend who dealt with the forcible Windows shutdown isn't in the tech industry, but has a very successful career in quantitative finance. Even in college, he's the archetype of a smart, savvy user who doesn't happen to be a domain expert. It would be like me driving a car and having it shut down in the middle of a freeway, then hearing "you can disable that feature by doing <something only mechanics are even aware exists>".
helloworld11 5y ago
Is it still possible to use Windows 7 on a home PC or laptop and have mostly normal functionality with regular software and etc? Or Windows 8? Serious question. I'd still prefer to avoid Linux (for now) but the Windows 11 nonsense is too much.
- Silhouette 5y ago
  Up to a point, yes. We still have a couple of Windows 7 machines in use, partly due to having some expensive application software locked to them. But as time passed and more of the ecosystem moved on, the limitations really started to show. As software developers, Windows 7 would now be very limited in terms of running modern tools and the latest versions of major programming languages and Linux or Mac are much better platforms today unless you're developing specifically for the Microsoft ecosystem.

hakfoo 5y ago

It feels like such an opportunity for problems at already difficult times. You have to install a new mainboard or hard disc due to failure. Your Wi-fi card is not supported on the install media, so you're already in chicken-and-egg mode to get it workable. In Win10 and before, once you got to the desktop, you would be able to pop in the terrible manufacturer CD which had some months old but nominally working drivers, and could bootstrap that to something that worked. How do they handle that in Win11? Drag your PC to a wired socket and hope the Ethernet card works?

melony 5y ago
A soldering iron, a steady hand, and a JTAG controller.