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I'm sorry to say, but logging in with a centralized account to use a device is a given in 2025. The benefits are far too good to disregard. Apple is no longer i

I'm sorry to say, but logging in with a centralized account to use a device is a given in 2025. The benefits are far too good to disregard. Apple is no longer in the business of selling you devices, they're in the business of selling you add-ons to your Apple Account. And people always say that we risk our accounts being locked out, but when was the last time Apple was heard closing Apple Accounts?

adamc 2y ago
No, this is garbage. I have plenty of real accounts I need to log into already, I don't need another one that is there just so the vendor can track me and try to enmesh me in their ecology.
- philistine 2y ago
  > that is there just so the vendor can track me That's your point of view. I see access to so many services because I have a phone, laptop, watch and headphones. Apple doesn't use accounts only to track you, it uses accounts to do things like seamlessly switch your AirPods between devices.
  - pishpash 2y ago
    You do not need an internet account to coordinate devices.
  - cma 2y ago
    You couldn't just pair the device to all of them and then seamlessly switch? The only thing the account is adding is removing that initial step on first pairing, but even that could be done without an account if the new device C was paired to host A and came in proximity to host B that was in connected at some point with host A.
yjftsjthsd-h 2y ago
> I'm sorry to say, but logging in with a centralized account to use a device is a given in 2025. It's really not. Of all the devices I own, the only one that really wants a centralized account is a Chromebook on its way out. Even Android is willing to work without a Google account.
- fzzzy 2y ago
  Apple's devices are also willing to work without an account.
toast0 2y ago
I mean, it's a given that it will be pushed, but I really don't see the benefit of logging into windows with a microsoft account for most people. I do it, because it makes it enables parental controls, but if I didn't want those, I don't see the point. The regular people in my life do it because Microsoft pushes it hard, and they don't care. The Windows app store works just as well (which is to say, not very well) if you log in to it in the app or through your windows account. It's basically required on a chrome OS device, although my MIL was using the guest account for months when she changed her password instead of referencing her password book and then later couldn't log in from her book. Chrome OS isn't awful with no persistent storage. Blessedly, I haven't had to use a mac in many years, but a local account didn't seem to impact anything of note --- you could login to the app store in the event you needed something from there, but there wasn't much that needed it other than Xcode; maybe that's changed. The iPhone with no app store is fairly useless, so yeah, you've got to login to that. An Android with no google play is a little bit less useless, depending on what apps you want to run, some of them distribute apks directly.
- vel0city 2y ago
  I dunno, my family likes it. They largely standardized to storing all their stuff in their OneDrive. When they get a new device, they just log in with the same username/password as their other computer and a lot of their settings are already configured. All their stuff is just there in their OneDrive. For shared computers its really nice. I log in with my account, my wife logs in with hers, regardless of whatever computer we have handy. If I'm lounging on the couch I might grab her Surface, if she wants to sit down and work on a bigger project she can hop down at the bigger gaming PC, if we're on a trip and want to sync photos just grab the laptop. It's our same accounts, same username and passwords, same customization settings we like, regardless of whatever computer we use. The NAS at home has its permissions tied to our Microsoft accounts so our accounts log in seamlessly regardless of what computer we're on. Meanwhile all our devices are encrypted and have our backup keys to decrypt synced there. I probably would never want to have any personal Windows machine use a local account going forward.
- wkat4242 2y ago
  An Android without Google account is fine. I use Aurora store to download apps. Most of the features of Google Play Services (notification, cell location) still work when you're not logged in. I always use my android devices like this.
coldtea 2y ago
>I'm sorry to say, but logging in with a centralized account to use a device is a given in 2025. The plague was a given in 1666 too, doesn't necessarily means its a good thing.

adamc 2y ago

No, this is garbage. I have plenty of real accounts I need to log into already, I don't need another one that is there just so the vendor can track me and try to enmesh me in their ecology.

philistine 2y ago
> that is there just so the vendor can track me That's your point of view. I see access to so many services because I have a phone, laptop, watch and headphones. Apple doesn't use accounts only to track you, it uses accounts to do things like seamlessly switch your AirPods between devices.
- pishpash 2y ago
  You do not need an internet account to coordinate devices.
- cma 2y ago
  You couldn't just pair the device to all of them and then seamlessly switch? The only thing the account is adding is removing that initial step on first pairing, but even that could be done without an account if the new device C was paired to host A and came in proximity to host B that was in connected at some point with host A.

yjftsjthsd-h 2y ago

> I'm sorry to say, but logging in with a centralized account to use a device is a given in 2025. It's really not. Of all the devices I own, the only one that really wants a centralized account is a Chromebook on its way out. Even Android is willing to work without a Google account.

fzzzy 2y ago
Apple's devices are also willing to work without an account.

toast0 2y ago

I mean, it's a given that it will be pushed, but I really don't see the benefit of logging into windows with a microsoft account for most people. I do it, because it makes it enables parental controls, but if I didn't want those, I don't see the point. The regular people in my life do it because Microsoft pushes it hard, and they don't care. The Windows app store works just as well (which is to say, not very well) if you log in to it in the app or through your windows account. It's basically required on a chrome OS device, although my MIL was using the guest account for months when she changed her password instead of referencing her password book and then later couldn't log in from her book. Chrome OS isn't awful with no persistent storage. Blessedly, I haven't had to use a mac in many years, but a local account didn't seem to impact anything of note --- you could login to the app store in the event you needed something from there, but there wasn't much that needed it other than Xcode; maybe that's changed. The iPhone with no app store is fairly useless, so yeah, you've got to login to that. An Android with no google play is a little bit less useless, depending on what apps you want to run, some of them distribute apks directly.

vel0city 2y ago
I dunno, my family likes it. They largely standardized to storing all their stuff in their OneDrive. When they get a new device, they just log in with the same username/password as their other computer and a lot of their settings are already configured. All their stuff is just there in their OneDrive. For shared computers its really nice. I log in with my account, my wife logs in with hers, regardless of whatever computer we have handy. If I'm lounging on the couch I might grab her Surface, if she wants to sit down and work on a bigger project she can hop down at the bigger gaming PC, if we're on a trip and want to sync photos just grab the laptop. It's our same accounts, same username and passwords, same customization settings we like, regardless of whatever computer we use. The NAS at home has its permissions tied to our Microsoft accounts so our accounts log in seamlessly regardless of what computer we're on. Meanwhile all our devices are encrypted and have our backup keys to decrypt synced there. I probably would never want to have any personal Windows machine use a local account going forward.
wkat4242 2y ago
An Android without Google account is fine. I use Aurora store to download apps. Most of the features of Google Play Services (notification, cell location) still work when you're not logged in. I always use my android devices like this.

coldtea 2y ago

>I'm sorry to say, but logging in with a centralized account to use a device is a given in 2025. The plague was a given in 1666 too, doesn't necessarily means its a good thing.