- Microsoft inadvertently highlighted the benefits of using a local account over a Microsoft account on Windows 11 in a recent support page update.
- Using a local account allows for offline sign-in, is independent of cloud services, and limits settings, files, and applications to a single device, enhancing privacy.
- Despite these benefits, Microsoft requires internet access or workarounds for the initial setup of Windows 11, making it challenging to use a local account from the start.
The idea that computers should always be online is less than 20 years old. Even in the early 2000s it wasn’t uncommon for most employees in a company to NOT have Internet access. Companies, and people, bought or wrote software and then ran it to accomplish the task. No internet needed.
I’d argue that many employees in regular non-technical positions STILL don’t require Internet access to do their job unless they have to sign into some kind of cloud portal
I vividly remember the first time I heard someone suggest an always-online computer being a thing. I couldn’t imagine the use for that, and the security implications terrified me. Let alone the cost, because of course I assumed I’d be paying for that by the minute.
Shouldn’t give people ideas, I suppose.