Privacy questions Windows 8.1 Professional

I'm a single user with only the one pc. I avoid opening accounts at
places unless ABSOLUTELY necessary and have no intention to put my
files into a cloud environment.

I read at NewEgg one user complaining that Windows 8.1 requires an
account with one of the Microsoft places - their store???. I've also
been reading the threads dealing with Skydrive although it seems that
that aspect of Windows 8.1 can be permanently disabled, so that seems
like a non-issue.

Can someone give more details about if an account has to be set up in
order to install and use Windows 8.1 in its day to day usage? Assuming
no change in what I do now, I use Firefox as my default browser, Google
as my default search engine but lots of other ones bookmarked, an old
version of Microsoft Office and quite a few open source freeware apps.

My main issue is that I do not want to use cloud computing unless an
employer requires it, and then that becomes his problem! Secondarily,
I prefer my privacy so it'd be nicer if an account is not necessary.

Thanks,

John

On 31/10/2013 20:25, Yes wrote:
I'm a single user with only the one pc. I avoid opening accounts at
places unless ABSOLUTELY necessary and have no intention to put my
files into a cloud environment.

I read at NewEgg one user complaining that Windows 8.1 requires an
account with one of the Microsoft places - their store???. I've also
been reading the threads dealing with Skydrive although it seems that
that aspect of Windows 8.1 can be permanently disabled, so that seems
like a non-issue.

Can someone give more details about if an account has to be set up in
order to install and use Windows 8.1 in its day to day usage? Assuming
no change in what I do now, I use Firefox as my default browser, Google
as my default search engine but lots of other ones bookmarked, an old
version of Microsoft Office and quite a few open source freeware apps.

My main issue is that I do not want to use cloud computing unless an
employer requires it, and then that becomes his problem! Secondarily,
I prefer my privacy so it'd be nicer if an account is not necessary.

Thanks,

John



No there is absolutely no need to have an Account with Microsoft to use
Windows 8 or Windows 8.1. The account for Microsoft Store is only
required if you want to download or "buy" anything from the store.
Microsoft has many things free on the store but you only get it if you
have an account to download them. Also, if you want to upgrade Windows
8 to Windows 8.1 "FREE OF CHARGE" then you will need an account to
download it.

Apart from this, you can use and update (patch Tuesday stuff) Microsoft
Windows 8/8.1 in the normal way as it was in Windows 7 and Windows XP.

SkyDrive is optional. It is an online storage for your documents and
you need outlook.com or hotmail account to use it. You say you don't
want to use it so you don't need to worry about it.

Hope this helps.

Good Guy wrote:

On 31/10/2013 20:25, Yes wrote:
I'm a single user with only the one pc. I avoid opening accounts at
places unless ABSOLUTELY necessary and have no intention to put my
files into a cloud environment.

I read at NewEgg one user complaining that Windows 8.1 requires an
account with one of the Microsoft places - their store???. I've
also been reading the threads dealing with Skydrive although it
seems that that aspect of Windows 8.1 can be permanently disabled,
so that seems like a non-issue.

Can someone give more details about if an account has to be set up
in order to install and use Windows 8.1 in its day to day usage?
Assuming no change in what I do now, I use Firefox as my default
browser, Google as my default search engine but lots of other ones
bookmarked, an old version of Microsoft Office and quite a few open
source freeware apps.

My main issue is that I do not want to use cloud computing unless an
employer requires it, and then that becomes his problem!
Secondarily, I prefer my privacy so it'd be nicer if an account is
not necessary.

Thanks,

John



No there is absolutely no need to have an Account with Microsoft to
use Windows 8 or Windows 8.1. The account for Microsoft Store is
only required if you want to download or "buy" anything from the
store. Microsoft has many things free on the store but you only get
it if you have an account to download them. Also, if you want to
upgrade Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 "FREE OF CHARGE" then you will need
an account to download it.

Apart from this, you can use and update (patch Tuesday stuff)
Microsoft Windows 8/8.1 in the normal way as it was in Windows 7 and
Windows XP.

SkyDrive is optional. It is an online storage for your documents and
you need outlook.com or hotmail account to use it. You say you don't
want to use it so you don't need to worry about it.

Hope this helps.

Yes, thank you. Will make the transition sometime next week. Now to
start backing up all my files. Wonder if it would have made sense to
just buy a new hd - that way I could have retired the existing ones and
kept in a safe place in case I needed to go back ot it :-) Well,
there's still time to do that.

Ken1943 wrote:

On Thu, 31 Oct 2013 20:25:07 +0000 (UTC), "Yes"
wrote:

I'm a single user with only the one pc. I avoid opening accounts at
places unless ABSOLUTELY necessary and have no intention to put my
files into a cloud environment.

I read at NewEgg one user complaining that Windows 8.1 requires an
account with one of the Microsoft places - their store???. I've
also been reading the threads dealing with Skydrive although it
seems that that aspect of Windows 8.1 can be permanently disabled,
so that seems like a non-issue.

Can someone give more details about if an account has to be set up
in order to install and use Windows 8.1 in its day to day usage?
Assuming no change in what I do now, I use Firefox as my default
browser, Google as my default search engine but lots of other ones
bookmarked, an old version of Microsoft Office and quite a few open
source freeware apps.

My main issue is that I do not want to use cloud computing unless an
employer requires it, and then that becomes his problem!
Secondarily, I prefer my privacy so it'd be nicer if an account is
not necessary.

Thanks,

John

Just make sure you get an 8.1 DVD and not a 8.0 where you have to
update to 8.1 from the store.
I just told my Son to check if he buys a new laptop. Never know.


KenW

I don't think that'll be a question mark. I've ordered the retail
package. My existing O/S is Win XP Pro, SP3 32-bit. I've been very,
very happy with it, but I want to move up to 64-bit with the larger
disk sizes and RAM it can handle, also the Hyper-V. OTOH, I've got to
watch out or I could talk myself into buying a large HD to install it
on and keep my existing drives as an insurance policy in case I do not
like Windows 8.1.

On 2013-10-31, Ken1943 wrote:
On Thu, 31 Oct 2013 22:45:31 +0000 (UTC), "Yes"
wrote:

Ken1943 wrote:

On Thu, 31 Oct 2013 20:25:07 +0000 (UTC), "Yes"
wrote:

I'm a single user with only the one pc. I avoid opening accounts at
places unless ABSOLUTELY necessary and have no intention to put my
files into a cloud environment.

I read at NewEgg one user complaining that Windows 8.1 requires an
account with one of the Microsoft places - their store???. I've
also been reading the threads dealing with Skydrive although it
seems that that aspect of Windows 8.1 can be permanently disabled,
so that seems like a non-issue.

Can someone give more details about if an account has to be set up
in order to install and use Windows 8.1 in its day to day usage?
Assuming no change in what I do now, I use Firefox as my default
browser, Google as my default search engine but lots of other ones
bookmarked, an old version of Microsoft Office and quite a few open
source freeware apps.

My main issue is that I do not want to use cloud computing unless an
employer requires it, and then that becomes his problem!
Secondarily, I prefer my privacy so it'd be nicer if an account is
not necessary.

Thanks,

John

Just make sure you get an 8.1 DVD and not a 8.0 where you have to
update to 8.1 from the store.
I just told my Son to check if he buys a new laptop. Never know.


KenW

I don't think that'll be a question mark. I've ordered the retail
package. My existing O/S is Win XP Pro, SP3 32-bit. I've been very,
very happy with it, but I want to move up to 64-bit with the larger
disk sizes and RAM it can handle, also the Hyper-V. OTOH, I've got to
watch out or I could talk myself into buying a large HD to install it
on and keep my existing drives as an insurance policy in case I do not
like Windows 8.1.

Win 8 does take SOME getting used to. Like Win 7 was to XP. I like
"start8" to bring the start menu back and I found a way to go to a
elevated command prompt from an icon. (otherwise it's very hard to get
to)


KenW

I was required to enter an ms account id even tho it initially allowed
me to use a "local" account; couldn't finish the install/update until
the ms account was entered. Most likely this was because the 8.1
update was downloaded from the ms store.

Now the big thing which is overlooked is that the "ms account"
can be an email account at hotmail or live. I have opened both
to catch spam & junk for places where I'm required to enter
an email account.......and like all free email accounts, one don't
have to supply much info as in "would you like to enter an alternate
email id somewhere in case you forgot your password?". No
personal info of any sort except a "hint" answer for the password
in case. I only download free stuff from the ms store on rare
occassion.

Yes wrote:
Good Guy wrote:

No there is absolutely no need to have an Account with Microsoft to
use Windows 8 or Windows 8.1. The account for Microsoft Store is
only required if you want to download or "buy" anything from the
store. Microsoft has many things free on the store but you only get
it if you have an account to download them. Also, if you want to
upgrade Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 "FREE OF CHARGE" then you will need
an account to download it.

Apart from this, you can use and update (patch Tuesday stuff)
Microsoft Windows 8/8.1 in the normal way as it was in Windows 7 and
Windows XP.

SkyDrive is optional. It is an online storage for your documents and
you need outlook.com or hotmail account to use it. You say you don't
want to use it so you don't need to worry about it.

Hope this helps.

Yes, thank you. Will make the transition sometime next week. Now to
start backing up all my files. Wonder if it would have made sense to
just buy a new hd - that way I could have retired the existing ones and
kept in a safe place in case I needed to go back ot it :-) Well,
there's still time to do that.


To correct and clarify a few things.

Almost all apps in the MSFT Store require a MSFT account

Desktop installed applications, as long as they are compatible with
Windows 8.1, will run fine (in desktop mode). Normally anything that
runs on Win7 will run on Win 8/8.1. Not all XP applications will run or
even install on Win 8/8.1

SkyDrive is not optional. It is a Windows component.
- Use of Skydrive is optional. By design (and default) the SkyDrive
folder on Windows 8.1 is the default storage location for saving files.
The Skydrive app default setting to save files to Skydrive can be turned
off. Doing so will change the default to the Win8 user's profile
Documents folder.

Skydrive is also integrated into other Windows components and apps (i.e.
its not a stand-alone app).

One does not need an Outlook.com or Hotmail account to use SkyDrive. Any
email address can be a MSFT account (e.g. ,
@yahoo.com, @yourisp.com, etc.). All MSFT accounts have a SkyDrive account.

By not using a MSFT account...one will be prompted with a message asking
if they wish to switch to a MSFT account when accessing certain features
and/or configuring Win 8/8.1 pc options etc.

If you were using OE in XP, then Win8 has a mail app but it only
supports Exchange Active Sync and IMAP. It does not support POP3.
- if you don't wish to use the MSFT mail app you will need to install
one (Outlook in Office, any version will suffice..as well as the
majority of 3rd party email clients).
- one cannot migrate/import OE or most other email client messages
into the Win8 mail app.

A few other comments.
The first account created on a Win8 machine will always be an Admin
account...since by design an Admin account is necessary to create all
other accounts.
An Admin account is necessary to create a MSFT account or a Local
Account. All subsequent accounts created by and Admin account after the
first account will be created as Standard accounts. Only an Admin
account can change an account from a Standard to an Admin account.

To create a Local account it will be necessary to wade through the
account setup options (which will prompt when creating a new account to
create a MSFT account)


--
...winston
msft mvp consumer apps

generic name wrote:


I was required to enter an ms account id even tho it initially allowed
me to use a "local" account; couldn't finish the install/update until
the ms account was entered. Most likely this was because the 8.1
update was downloaded from the ms store.

Now the big thing which is overlooked is that the "ms account"
can be an email account at hotmail or live. I have opened both
to catch spam & junk for places where I'm required to enter
an email account.......and like all free email accounts, one don't
have to supply much info as in "would you like to enter an alternate
email id somewhere in case you forgot your password?". No
personal info of any sort except a "hint" answer for the password
in case. I only download free stuff from the ms store on rare
occassion.


The MSFT Account can be any email address not just hotmail, live, msn,
or outlook.com. It could be e.g. google, yahoo, aol, or any isp i.e.
@your isp.com.

All MSFT accounts regardless of domain have
1. a web Inbox
2. a SkyDrive
3. a People UI (contacts)
...and quite a few other things.

Also of note...its not a 'hint' answer for the password, but a hint for
the answer to a question chosen as a secret question which is sufficient
to initiate the password reset process....though it is probably a good
idea to take advantage of the other security proofs (alt email address,
sms, Trusted PC, etc.) for password resets since if the hint/secret q
fail and is the only proof then a full questionairre will be necessary
to use the account (anywhere)...which may require knowing the subject
and/or content of emails in web UI, Contacts, or Skydrive files.

--
...winston
msft mvp consumer apps

Yes wrote:
I'm a single user with only the one pc. I avoid opening accounts at
places unless ABSOLUTELY necessary and have no intention to put my
files into a cloud environment.

I read at NewEgg one user complaining that Windows 8.1 requires an
account with one of the Microsoft places - their store???. I've also
been reading the threads dealing with Skydrive although it seems that
that aspect of Windows 8.1 can be permanently disabled, so that seems
like a non-issue.

Can someone give more details about if an account has to be set up in
order to install and use Windows 8.1 in its day to day usage?
Assuming no change in what I do now, I use Firefox as my default
browser, Google as my default search engine but lots of other ones
bookmarked, an old version of Microsoft Office and quite a few open
source freeware apps.

My main issue is that I do not want to use cloud computing unless an
employer requires it, and then that becomes his problem! Secondarily,
I prefer my privacy so it'd be nicer if an account is not necessary.

Thanks,

John

Caveat: I'm also new to 8 / 8.1, so there may be options that I'm not aware
of yet.

I recently purchased a laptop with 8 installed. The first thing it asked for
was an email account, and as part of its validation process a Microsoft
Account was set up. There is a lot of encouragement to do things on-line and
in clouds, which I also am not interested in, so I explored other ways to
work with the computer. In short, there is the option to set up a "Local
Account", which I did. The Local Account appears to still have the ability
to use SkyDrive, but as far as I can tell, using it is not required for
either account, at least in 8.1.

However, it has been pretty clear that the "personal computer" is an
"old-timey" notion that is being whittled away at, and post XP, on-line
access is presumed, if not required (even XP presumed it for certain
functions).

As for your preferred apps, I had no problem installing Chrome, Firefox,
etc., and Google and Bing are already search options in those apps as well
as IE. I don't know about the compatibility with older versions of Office,
but it would have limited utility for business uses, since some folks feel
the pressure for the latest versions of such things. MS is marching toward
Office 365 (which sounds like it should be a Whole Foods product to me),
which I think would require on-line access to use it. There goes privacy.
--
best regards,

Neil

Neil Gould wrote:

Yes wrote:
-- snipped --

Caveat: I'm also new to 8 / 8.1, so there may be options that I'm not
aware of yet.

I recently purchased a laptop with 8 installed. The first thing it
asked for was an email account, and as part of its validation process
a Microsoft Account was set up. There is a lot of encouragement to do
things on-line and in clouds, which I also am not interested in, so I
explored other ways to work with the computer. In short, there is the
option to set up a "Local Account", which I did. The Local Account
appears to still have the ability to use SkyDrive, but as far as I
can tell, using it is not required for either account, at least in
8.1.

However, it has been pretty clear that the "personal computer" is an
"old-timey" notion that is being whittled away at, and post XP,
on-line access is presumed, if not required (even XP presumed it for
certain functions).

As for your preferred apps, I had no problem installing Chrome,
Firefox, etc., and Google and Bing are already search options in
those apps as well as IE. I don't know about the compatibility with
older versions of Office, but it would have limited utility for
business uses, since some folks feel the pressure for the latest
versions of such things. MS is marching toward Office 365 (which
sounds like it should be a Whole Foods product to me), which I think
would require on-line access to use it. There goes privacy.

I fall under the category of "old timer" :-) I have my pc logged in
24/7 because the connection is available and convenient, not due to
necessity. If I could, I would make all my programs notify and ask for
permission to "phone home"; unfortunately, I have yet to find anything
that does a good job at enforcing that type of policy, at least not
without a significant performance hit on resources on my computer. One
reason I chose the Pro edition is because it offers Hyper-V. I expect
to use that to run the apps I need or want to play around with.

I appreciate the issue of pressure to use newer apps for business
reasons. I'm fortunate in that the companies for whom I do work have
not moved up yet to the "latest and greatest version yet" and my
existing software satisfices their requirements. As you point out,
It's only a matter of time, however, before that changes.

I feel sad that there is such a large herd mentality to pressure people
and businesses to switch to using the cloud environment. The cloud has
signfificant benefits, but it is neither private nor confidential
regardless of all the assurances one may receive.

Forget about hacking. Company policies can change if there's a change
of management. Even existing policies are out the window if a company
goes under or its assets get sold. And there is little if anything
said about how the hardware on which ones data is stored gets disposed
of to ensure that confidentiality and privacy is maintained. Nor is it
guaranteed that one's files will always be available 24/7. Hopefully,
a company would have significantly more resources to maintain and care
for the operation of their hardware than an individual probably has,
but all we have is their word, not any easy way to verify it.

John

On 2013-11-01, ...winston wrote:
generic name wrote:


I was required to enter an ms account id even tho it initially allowed
me to use a "local" account; couldn't finish the install/update until
the ms account was entered. Most likely this was because the 8.1
update was downloaded from the ms store.

Now the big thing which is overlooked is that the "ms account"
can be an email account at hotmail or live. I have opened both
to catch spam & junk for places where I'm required to enter
an email account.......and like all free email accounts, one don't
have to supply much info as in "would you like to enter an alternate
email id somewhere in case you forgot your password?". No
personal info of any sort except a "hint" answer for the password
in case. I only download free stuff from the ms store on rare
occassion.


The MSFT Account can be any email address not just hotmail, live, msn,
or outlook.com. It could be e.g. google, yahoo, aol, or any isp i.e.
@your isp.com.

All MSFT accounts regardless of domain have
1. a web Inbox
2. a SkyDrive
3. a People UI (contacts)
..and quite a few other things.

Also of note...its not a 'hint' answer for the password, but a hint for
the answer to a question chosen as a secret question which is sufficient
to initiate the password reset process....though it is probably a good
idea to take advantage of the other security proofs (alt email address,
sms, Trusted PC, etc.) for password resets since if the hint/secret q
fail and is the only proof then a full questionairre will be necessary
to use the account (anywhere)...which may require knowing the subject
and/or content of emails in web UI, Contacts, or Skydrive files.


Thanks for the added info. I just "assumed" that an MSFT account
meant a microsoft account & does not include an account with other
providers. It's a bit misleading even if it is a msft account that is
identifiies the person with any email id; tho I never thought that
it could be like saying a "Macy" account that has the person's
full name.....First time I've heard this type of answer for a msft
account!

On 2013-11-01, Yes wrote:
Neil Gould wrote:

Yes wrote:
-- snipped --

Caveat: I'm also new to 8 / 8.1, so there may be options that I'm not
aware of yet.

I recently purchased a laptop with 8 installed. The first thing it
asked for was an email account, and as part of its validation process
a Microsoft Account was set up. There is a lot of encouragement to do
things on-line and in clouds, which I also am not interested in, so I
explored other ways to work with the computer. In short, there is the
option to set up a "Local Account", which I did. The Local Account
appears to still have the ability to use SkyDrive, but as far as I
can tell, using it is not required for either account, at least in
8.1.

However, it has been pretty clear that the "personal computer" is an
"old-timey" notion that is being whittled away at, and post XP,
on-line access is presumed, if not required (even XP presumed it for
certain functions).

As for your preferred apps, I had no problem installing Chrome,
Firefox, etc., and Google and Bing are already search options in
those apps as well as IE. I don't know about the compatibility with
older versions of Office, but it would have limited utility for
business uses, since some folks feel the pressure for the latest
versions of such things. MS is marching toward Office 365 (which
sounds like it should be a Whole Foods product to me), which I think
would require on-line access to use it. There goes privacy.

I fall under the category of "old timer" :-) I have my pc logged in
24/7 because the connection is available and convenient, not due to
necessity. If I could, I would make all my programs notify and ask for
permission to "phone home"; unfortunately, I have yet to find anything
that does a good job at enforcing that type of policy, at least not
without a significant performance hit on resources on my computer. One
reason I chose the Pro edition is because it offers Hyper-V. I expect
to use that to run the apps I need or want to play around with.

I appreciate the issue of pressure to use newer apps for business
reasons. I'm fortunate in that the companies for whom I do work have
not moved up yet to the "latest and greatest version yet" and my
existing software satisfices their requirements. As you point out,
It's only a matter of time, however, before that changes.

I feel sad that there is such a large herd mentality to pressure people
and businesses to switch to using the cloud environment. The cloud has
signfificant benefits, but it is neither private nor confidential
regardless of all the assurances one may receive.

Forget about hacking. Company policies can change if there's a change
of management. Even existing policies are out the window if a company
goes under or its assets get sold. And there is little if anything
said about how the hardware on which ones data is stored gets disposed
of to ensure that confidentiality and privacy is maintained. Nor is it
guaranteed that one's files will always be available 24/7. Hopefully,
a company would have significantly more resources to maintain and care
for the operation of their hardware than an individual probably has,
but all we have is their word, not any easy way to verify it.

John

As another old timer, I "chuckle" on the moverment to place nearly
everything on the cloud. Also don't know the details about the
office365 but 1st glance is it also "on the cloud"...

The thing about the cloud movement is very close to going back to
the "mainframe" idea with the "personal computer" no longer being
personal but operates close to a dumb terminal.

On 11/1/2013 10:56 AM, generic name wrote:
On 2013-11-01, Yes wrote:
Neil Gould wrote:

Yes wrote:
-- snipped --

Caveat: I'm also new to 8 / 8.1, so there may be options that I'm not
aware of yet.

I recently purchased a laptop with 8 installed. The first thing it
asked for was an email account, and as part of its validation process
a Microsoft Account was set up. There is a lot of encouragement to do
things on-line and in clouds, which I also am not interested in, so I
explored other ways to work with the computer. In short, there is the
option to set up a "Local Account", which I did. The Local Account
appears to still have the ability to use SkyDrive, but as far as I
can tell, using it is not required for either account, at least in
8.1.

However, it has been pretty clear that the "personal computer" is an
"old-timey" notion that is being whittled away at, and post XP,
on-line access is presumed, if not required (even XP presumed it for
certain functions).

As for your preferred apps, I had no problem installing Chrome,
Firefox, etc., and Google and Bing are already search options in
those apps as well as IE. I don't know about the compatibility with
older versions of Office, but it would have limited utility for
business uses, since some folks feel the pressure for the latest
versions of such things. MS is marching toward Office 365 (which
sounds like it should be a Whole Foods product to me), which I think
would require on-line access to use it. There goes privacy.

I fall under the category of "old timer" :-) I have my pc logged in
24/7 because the connection is available and convenient, not due to
necessity. If I could, I would make all my programs notify and ask for
permission to "phone home"; unfortunately, I have yet to find anything
that does a good job at enforcing that type of policy, at least not
without a significant performance hit on resources on my computer. One
reason I chose the Pro edition is because it offers Hyper-V. I expect
to use that to run the apps I need or want to play around with.

I appreciate the issue of pressure to use newer apps for business
reasons. I'm fortunate in that the companies for whom I do work have
not moved up yet to the "latest and greatest version yet" and my
existing software satisfices their requirements. As you point out,
It's only a matter of time, however, before that changes.

I feel sad that there is such a large herd mentality to pressure people
and businesses to switch to using the cloud environment. The cloud has
signfificant benefits, but it is neither private nor confidential
regardless of all the assurances one may receive.

Forget about hacking. Company policies can change if there's a change
of management. Even existing policies are out the window if a company
goes under or its assets get sold. And there is little if anything
said about how the hardware on which ones data is stored gets disposed
of to ensure that confidentiality and privacy is maintained. Nor is it
guaranteed that one's files will always be available 24/7. Hopefully,
a company would have significantly more resources to maintain and care
for the operation of their hardware than an individual probably has,
but all we have is their word, not any easy way to verify it.

John

As another old timer, I "chuckle" on the moverment to place nearly
everything on the cloud. Also don't know the details about the
office365 but 1st glance is it also "on the cloud"...

The thing about the cloud movement is very close to going back to
the "mainframe" idea with the "personal computer" no longer being
personal but operates close to a dumb terminal.



The Cloud!!!!! for me? NEVER..........

Regards, Rene

On 11/1/2013 8:56 AM, generic name wrote:
On 2013-11-01, Yes wrote:
Neil Gould wrote:

Yes wrote:
-- snipped --

Caveat: I'm also new to 8 / 8.1, so there may be options that I'm not
aware of yet.

I recently purchased a laptop with 8 installed. The first thing it
asked for was an email account, and as part of its validation process
a Microsoft Account was set up. There is a lot of encouragement to do
things on-line and in clouds, which I also am not interested in, so I
explored other ways to work with the computer. In short, there is the
option to set up a "Local Account", which I did. The Local Account
appears to still have the ability to use SkyDrive, but as far as I
can tell, using it is not required for either account, at least in
8.1.

However, it has been pretty clear that the "personal computer" is an
"old-timey" notion that is being whittled away at, and post XP,
on-line access is presumed, if not required (even XP presumed it for
certain functions).

As for your preferred apps, I had no problem installing Chrome,
Firefox, etc., and Google and Bing are already search options in
those apps as well as IE. I don't know about the compatibility with
older versions of Office, but it would have limited utility for
business uses, since some folks feel the pressure for the latest
versions of such things. MS is marching toward Office 365 (which
sounds like it should be a Whole Foods product to me), which I think
would require on-line access to use it. There goes privacy.

I fall under the category of "old timer" :-) I have my pc logged in
24/7 because the connection is available and convenient, not due to
necessity. If I could, I would make all my programs notify and ask for
permission to "phone home"; unfortunately, I have yet to find anything
that does a good job at enforcing that type of policy, at least not
without a significant performance hit on resources on my computer. One
reason I chose the Pro edition is because it offers Hyper-V. I expect
to use that to run the apps I need or want to play around with.

I appreciate the issue of pressure to use newer apps for business
reasons. I'm fortunate in that the companies for whom I do work have
not moved up yet to the "latest and greatest version yet" and my
existing software satisfices their requirements. As you point out,
It's only a matter of time, however, before that changes.

I feel sad that there is such a large herd mentality to pressure people
and businesses to switch to using the cloud environment. The cloud has
signfificant benefits, but it is neither private nor confidential
regardless of all the assurances one may receive.

Forget about hacking. Company policies can change if there's a change
of management. Even existing policies are out the window if a company
goes under or its assets get sold. And there is little if anything
said about how the hardware on which ones data is stored gets disposed
of to ensure that confidentiality and privacy is maintained. Nor is it
guaranteed that one's files will always be available 24/7. Hopefully,
a company would have significantly more resources to maintain and care
for the operation of their hardware than an individual probably has,
but all we have is their word, not any easy way to verify it.

John

As another old timer, I "chuckle" on the moverment to place nearly
everything on the cloud. Also don't know the details about the
office365 but 1st glance is it also "on the cloud"...

The thing about the cloud movement is very close to going back to
the "mainframe" idea with the "personal computer" no longer being
personal but operates close to a dumb terminal.


What goes around has come around. The so-called "thin client" is not
much more than today's version of the dumb terminal. The new business
model will have clients leasing applications and renting storage space,
all from "the cloud".

GR

GR

generic name wrote:

Thanks for the added info. I just "assumed" that an MSFT account
meant a microsoft account & does not include an account with other
providers. It's a bit misleading even if it is a msft account that is
identifiies the person with any email id; tho I never thought that
it could be like saying a "Macy" account that has the person's
full name.....First time I've heard this type of answer for a msft
account!


It's been pretty much status-quo for over a decade.
Doesn't matter what you call it MSFT account, Live ID, Passport
etc.....they all have (had) the option to use any email address.

If you use a third party email address (i.e. not
Hotmail/Live/MSn/Outlook.com) one just uses the email address and
creates a unique password (not the same as the third party provided
email account) for the MSFT account.

The 3rd party MSFT account does not necessarily replace the 3rd party
email account (mail still flows into and out of that 3rd party account)
but with additional syncable benefits and use in Win8x.

--
...winston
msft mvp consumer apps

On Thu, 31 Oct 2013 20:25:07 +0000, Yes wrote:

I'm a single user with only the one pc. I avoid opening accounts at
places unless ABSOLUTELY necessary and have no intention to put my files
into a cloud environment.

I read at NewEgg one user complaining that Windows 8.1 requires an
account with one of the Microsoft places - their store???. I've also
been reading the threads dealing with Skydrive although it seems that
that aspect of Windows 8.1 can be permanently disabled, so that seems
like a non-issue.

Can someone give more details about if an account has to be set up in
order to install and use Windows 8.1 in its day to day usage? Assuming
no change in what I do now, I use Firefox as my default browser, Google
as my default search engine but lots of other ones bookmarked, an old
version of Microsoft Office and quite a few open source freeware apps.

My main issue is that I do not want to use cloud computing unless an
employer requires it, and then that becomes his problem! Secondarily, I
prefer my privacy so it'd be nicer if an account is not necessary.


When I upgraded from windows 7 Pro to Windows 8 pro I was given the
option of logging into my computer with a Microsoft account or a local
account. I chose a local account.

When I upgraded from Windows 8 to 8.1 the system gave me no choice -
either login with a Microsoft account or create one. At this point I
clicked the back button to the previous set-up page and disconnected my
router. I then proceeded to the next page again. This time after watching
the circling wheel for a minute or two, the system reported a connection
problem and allowed me to continue with a local login.

Now if I wish to use Skydrive or any other of the Microsoft services I
have to log into them separately with a Microsoft account. That suits me
fine as I don't normally require them, although I do have a Microsoft
account.

John