https://www.windowscentral.com/software-apps/windows-11/microsoft-want-to-bring-windows-11-to-the-cloud-for-all-users-including-you
@binkle @coolboymew I'm pretty sure this will lead to the biggest exodus to Linux yet. It won't be a majority but it will be a significant number. I know a lot of people (namely PC gamers) who hate cloud-computing but still use Windows. This could be their breaking point.
Of course, Microsoft could force hardware manufacturers to only allow Windows on their computers, but we can always point them to companies like System76.
b e a r d
@coolboymew @binkle @xianc78 it's good to keep in mind, because yeah it happens all the time, so you know to avoid it. i just don't think this will affect someone who doesn't want to touch cloud stuff in general.
@beardalaxy @binkle @coolboymew I mean, there will always be use cases for local computing, such as embedded systems and devices that have no reason to connect to the Internet or any network at all. There are still variants of Windows for those purposes and they seem to be the only ones that don't require you having a Microsoft account to use. Someone even made a custom Windows 8 embedded ISO that supposedly stripped all of the telemetry, but it requires a product key to keep it legal (or at least in a legal gray area), and keys for embedded versions of Windows are ridiculously expensive.
Businesses love cloud computing because before that, you had to set up your own intranets along with file servers, email servers, VPN servers, etc. And even then, it was difficult (if not impossible) to fully their employee's work activity. It's because of them that sometimes people have no choice but to use Google Drive because nobody knows how to email files or transfer files via removable storage anymore.
>There are still variants of Windows for those purposes and they seem to be the only ones that don't require you having a Microsoft account to use
Just disconnect the Ethernet at setup and it will allow you to do a local account
@coolboymew @binkle @xianc78 i saw something where you can type your email in as "no@thankyou.com" and it will let you make a local account xD
@coolboymew @binkle @xianc78 there are probably some other tricks too. obviously microsoft tries to railroad you into it because they do have a lot of stuff that uses a microsoft account that a lot of normal people are going to use, but there are definitely still ways to make local accounts.
you can also always just make a microsoft account and swap to a local account once you get into the OS.
Your domain + atmicrosoft.com or something for fucking office accounts, their own free tier MDM bullshit, etc. It's absolutely awful unintuitive bullshit
Their website is also awful, after signing up to try their free MDM, I had to use google and documentation to then find the login page
I had to find the fucking login page
@xianc78 @binkle @coolboymew you don't need an MS account to use any version of windows. you can make local accounts.
@xianc78 @binkle @coolboymew it looks to me like they're just introducing another way people can use windows 11. this one is for the normies or very niche use cases. apparently you've already been able to do it as a business for a while, anyway.
non-cloud windows will never go away. there might be increasingly more cloud functionality that is introduced into it, but as long as the user has the ability to turn that off you won't see many people swapping to linux. not gamers who want to actually utilize their hardware to the fullest. not normies who don't even know how to install an OS, let alone work out the linux kinks.