I do like the ability to link my Microsoft Account to my Windows installation. Namely for device tracking if it gets stolen and BitLocker key recovery.
However, my general recommendation is to purchase Windows Pro and use Group Policy Editor to reconfigure some of the insane defaults of modern Windows. Websites like stacksocial have discounted prices (for personal use).
One of the insane defaults is Microsoft OneDrive. If you setup Windows with a Microsoft Account it automatically configures OneDrive. Which in turn moves the Desktop, Documents and Pictures folder into the OneDrive folder. I expect "My Documents" to be located at "C:\Users\<username>\Documents" NOT "C:\Users\<username>\OneDrive\Documents".
This is very hard to correct. Unlinking and uninstalling OneDrive is not sufficient. I had to use Registry Editor to fix this, because the "Restore Default" button was not working.
At work I was forced to switch from Mac to support a C#/.NET customer. I've been pleasantly surprised with Windows 11 and especially WSL2 and the integration with VS Code. So much so that I switched my "personal" PC from PopOS to Windows (I also game and Proton was not cutting it) and I'm willing to overlook some of the decisions Microsoft has made.
> One of the insane defaults is Microsoft OneDrive. If you setup Windows with a Microsoft Account it automatically configures OneDrive. Which in turn moves the Desktop, Documents and Pictures folder into the OneDrive folder. I expect "My Documents" to be located at "C:\Users\<username>\Documents" NOT "C:\Users\<username>\OneDrive\Documents".
I would consider this a direct attack, not only on my own privacy but also on the businesses of my clients. That is hostile action that should make Windows an absolute no-go for anyone who wants to use it for work.
None of this made you think before you moved to this atrocity? Did you not learn anything? That's like being the poster child of the blasé user who obediently holds still while they are being abused.
The last thing I did as a student in university was grab a windows 10 education product key. They let computer science students get windows install keys for personal use, and I grabbed one. Been using it on my personal machine for years since and it works great.
As far as I can tell it isn’t tied to the university in any way. When I dig into settings it doesn’t look like I have management stuff being applied to my personal machine. And I’m using my personal account, not a school account. It’s just a win10 pro/enterprise that has all the tracking stuff forcefully disabled. It has a bunch of actually sane defaults. Cortana is off by default, and honestly I don’t know if it can be turned on. No ads on my Lock Screen. It’s just a cleaner version of windows.
Don’t know what I’ll do if I have to do a new install, as I’m not a student anymore. And not sure what upgrading to 11 will do with my existing install. But my laptop (home edition) has a ton of annoying stuff and I don’t ever want to fiddle with it. It’s always nagging me about onedrive or about bing rewards. My desktop with Education edition though never gets in the way.
> I do like the ability to link my Microsoft Account to my Windows installation. [...]
Me neither, but I fairly often have to setup computers for SME / private customers and with Win 11 I am forced to be with the customer because why should I ever know his password. Before I could setup most stuff without any Windows account and just finish up together with the customer. It's annoying.
I'm on Windows 11 Home and Windows 11 Pro for $39 on stacksocial is tempting. Other than Bitlocker and the ability to create local accounts, does Pro have anything particularly noteworthy that would justify the purchase?
> Remote desktop, hyperv, windows sandbox, windows containers
None of this is particularly enticing to me personally, I think I'll be scratching my virtualization itch with linux on my home media server. Sandbox might be interesting for security.
> The local account bypass also now works on Home edition.
Oh, that's perfect then! I'm going to be doing a clean reinstall soon. The PC is starting to seem a little sluggish since I just went the Windows 10 upgrade route for Windows 11.
However, my general recommendation is to purchase Windows Pro and use Group Policy Editor to reconfigure some of the insane defaults of modern Windows. Websites like stacksocial have discounted prices (for personal use).
One of the insane defaults is Microsoft OneDrive. If you setup Windows with a Microsoft Account it automatically configures OneDrive. Which in turn moves the Desktop, Documents and Pictures folder into the OneDrive folder. I expect "My Documents" to be located at "C:\Users\<username>\Documents" NOT "C:\Users\<username>\OneDrive\Documents".
This is very hard to correct. Unlinking and uninstalling OneDrive is not sufficient. I had to use Registry Editor to fix this, because the "Restore Default" button was not working.
At work I was forced to switch from Mac to support a C#/.NET customer. I've been pleasantly surprised with Windows 11 and especially WSL2 and the integration with VS Code. So much so that I switched my "personal" PC from PopOS to Windows (I also game and Proton was not cutting it) and I'm willing to overlook some of the decisions Microsoft has made.
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Now one thing that caught my eye was this line:
Is this only used for setup or also on boot?