4 ms·

If everything is cloud and mobile, I hope they don't forget people who want to user a PC without that. It would be horrible to be required to have a cloud acco

by ape4 12y ago

If everything is cloud and mobile, I hope they don't forget people who want to user a PC without that. It would be horrible to be required to have a cloud account to login to my computer.

bengali3 12y ago
no worries, i'm sure you'll be able to pay extra in the future for that convenience :)
Someone1234 12y ago
That's already more or less the case with Windows 8/8.1. Although there are contrived ways around it, generally speaking you'll need a "Live" account to login and that also hooks up your "OneDrive" and so on.
- kryptiskt 12y ago
  Having the first user being local is pretty hidden if you do a normal install (straightforward if you know how, but it is very obscurely described in the UI). But if you install when offline it's the default alternative :-)
kylec 12y ago
It's not required, but Windows 8.1 pushes you very strongly to log into your Microsoft account, and to create one if you haven't already. If you don't, most of the built-in Metro (er, Modern) apps won't work, including some like Calendar which you'd think shouldn't need it. Further, if/when you finally break down and sign into your MS account, you have to use it to sign into your computer from then on, instead of using the password you set when you created your local user account. So unfortunately, the scenario you described is pretty much already here for Windows users.
- AnimalMuppet 12y ago
  If Microsoft wants to fix something, fix the thinking behind that. Microsoft has an awful history of trying to "leverage" assets like Windows to try to get people to use things like IE or Bing or whatever. But when Microsoft uses leverage, customers feel forced. I don't want Microsoft to force me to have an online account! I just want to do what I want with my computer, not what Microsoft wants me to do, and I don't want to have to fight Microsoft to do it. I'm tired of having to fight them for control of my computer for the last 15 years. If they want to change, the best change they can make is to change their attitude about who actually owns my PC.
  - lloeki 12y ago
    This time it seems it's the other way around: people are asking for more cloud and mobile, thereby dragging Windows on PC towards that unified cloud ecosystem their two leading competitors already have, possibly at the cost of those not wanting that. The core of the message is an admission that, while still a massive component of their business due to sheer inertia, Windows on typical PC hardware is not what makes Microsoft relevant anymore. IOW Microsoft clearly aims at not becoming the next IBM.
- ttflee 12y ago
  Maybe that was the reason behind the boycott of Windows 8 by Chinese Government.

by ape4 12y ago

If everything is cloud and mobile, I hope they don't forget people who want to user a PC without that. It would be horrible to be required to have a cloud account to login to my computer.

bengali3 12y ago

no worries, i'm sure you'll be able to pay extra in the future for that convenience :)

Someone1234 12y ago

That's already more or less the case with Windows 8/8.1. Although there are contrived ways around it, generally speaking you'll need a "Live" account to login and that also hooks up your "OneDrive" and so on.

kryptiskt 12y ago
Having the first user being local is pretty hidden if you do a normal install (straightforward if you know how, but it is very obscurely described in the UI). But if you install when offline it's the default alternative :-)

kylec 12y ago

It's not required, but Windows 8.1 pushes you very strongly to log into your Microsoft account, and to create one if you haven't already. If you don't, most of the built-in Metro (er, Modern) apps won't work, including some like Calendar which you'd think shouldn't need it. Further, if/when you finally break down and sign into your MS account, you have to use it to sign into your computer from then on, instead of using the password you set when you created your local user account. So unfortunately, the scenario you described is pretty much already here for Windows users.

AnimalMuppet 12y ago
If Microsoft wants to fix something, fix the thinking behind that. Microsoft has an awful history of trying to "leverage" assets like Windows to try to get people to use things like IE or Bing or whatever. But when Microsoft uses leverage, customers feel forced. I don't want Microsoft to force me to have an online account! I just want to do what I want with my computer, not what Microsoft wants me to do, and I don't want to have to fight Microsoft to do it. I'm tired of having to fight them for control of my computer for the last 15 years. If they want to change, the best change they can make is to change their attitude about who actually owns my PC.
- lloeki 12y ago
  This time it seems it's the other way around: people are asking for more cloud and mobile, thereby dragging Windows on PC towards that unified cloud ecosystem their two leading competitors already have, possibly at the cost of those not wanting that. The core of the message is an admission that, while still a massive component of their business due to sheer inertia, Windows on typical PC hardware is not what makes Microsoft relevant anymore. IOW Microsoft clearly aims at not becoming the next IBM.
ttflee 12y ago
Maybe that was the reason behind the boycott of Windows 8 by Chinese Government.