I just bought a new laptop and it came with Windows 8.0. I had very low expectations based on what I had heard about 8.0. Windows 7 on the other hand I quite like, but that was not available as an option as most laptops today seem to come bundled with Win 8.

I have not yet gotten used to the new user interface (a main issue is the missing Start Menu), but I also ran into another nuisance when after installing all the normal Windows updates I upgraded to Windows 8.1. When the laptop first ran its set-up routines for Windows 8.0 there was an option to sign in using a Microsoft account, but there was also an option to just create a local account and for me the latter was the preferred method.

It turns out that 8.1 is much more insistent on the user signing in with a Microsoft account and if you do not have one, you get the impression that you have to create one. I did not like this at all, so I googled it and found a simple workaround at http://www.infobyte.hr/blog/337/windows-8-1-preview-how-to-install-without-microsoft-account-skip-microsoft-account/. I used the first method, namely to:

1. Click on Create New Account.
2. Instead of filling out all sorts of information about myself for the account, I clicked on a text at the bottom of the screen saying something like Continue with existing account (this might not be the exact wording).

This allowed me to continue with the set-up without creating an MS account. The blog post I linked to above lists two more ways of dodging Microsoft’s attempt to snare you.

I think it is very weasely of Microsoft to hide the fact that you can get around creating an account.