This is part of why I preach Linux. I don't care what distro, just get away from Microsoft.

I don't think it's to outright steal or scam

It is. They’re a monopoly. It’s illegal and unethical. And, just poor design.

Does anybody remember back in 2005 when Google had a plugin for windows xp that would index your entire hard drive and give you quick search for your files?

How things have changed.

My buddy’s account got compromised because his kid fell for some kind of Minecraft scam. It was his 365 account that he pays for and Microsoft has told him to pound sand. He’s grateful that he doesn’t use one drive and uses a local login on windows. He’s not even the only person that I know that had this happen to them.

or write your windows ISO using rufus and check the "no MS account" checkbox.

Thr FN part is notable if you have a recent computer. A lot of laptops and keyboards ship out with media keys as the default on the top row now, and you must hold the FN key to use F10. Lot of people don't realize this and think Shift+F10 isn't working.

Possibly an easier option: you can let it connect to the internet, and then when it tells you to set up a Microsoft account, click on "Other sign in options" (or whatever it says beneath the text box). Then select "Domain Join instead". It'll let you use a local account, expecting you to join it to a domain later, then you just...don't join it to a domain.

Always be sure to use something like O&O ShutUp10 or Winaero Tweaker after you reach the desktop, so you can shut off all the bullshit, otherwise it will keep harassing you to make an account. I think you need to uninstall OneDrive too, to stop it hijacking the address bar in file explorer with constant nagging to set it up

Lemmy probably isn’t the target audience for this, here’s the steps to bypass the MS account requirement when setting up W11:

"Install Linux"

Newer versions won't allow you run the command prompt in the initial setup environment.

Very common tactic for many of these sites. They're either paid by Microsoft or they're just run-of-the-mill Microsoft boot lickers.

If you search for how to disable or bypass something in Windows, these SEO'd junk articles pop up and trick you into reading them. It's usually a long preamble full of arguments for why you really shouldn't try to disable or bypass the thing, because Microsoft's shit doesn't actually stink, and they know better than you. Then at the bottom they put the generic instructions that may not even work anymore, that you've likely already read.

"We'll force you to reuse the same username and password for these different functions!"

Are you talking about the Support article, or this WindowsCentral article?

Because I would say that's true of both.

This article is heavily inflated/extended with pablum that could come straight from Copilot, and frankly, it seems more concerned with listing the benefits of a Microsoft account than reporting on the support article.

It's AI junk all the way down.