Something that Microsoft has now been pushing for a long time, is for us all to be using their cloud services. So it’s concerning. that according to an article in Techradar, a new preview build of Windows 11, will make it even harder to setup Windows using a local account.
For those that may not be aware, a local account is simply an account that is situated on your computers hard drive, and not online. Which means that any data stored in a local account, will be private. Unlike an online account which stores data on a corporate server, which can then in theory be access by anyone in that corporation.
Sure online accounts have been the general trend within the tech industry for sometime. With local governmental legislation put in place to protect a users privacy. However, as this legislation will only be applicable in the country it was written, and your data may not be stored in that country.
I’m starting to think that rather than provide any tangible benefits. Online accounts, are just a way for corporations to gain access to personal data and then try and upsell subscription services like cloud storage, productivity software or media libraries at ever spiralling costs.
Microsoft Game Pass is now more expensive!
A prime example of this behaviour was the recent announcement by Microsoft regarding a massive hike to the price of Game Pass. Which if you are not a gamer, is a video games subscription service tied to your Microsoft account. However with this new announcement a lot of gamers have cancelled their subscriptions. Meaning they basically have nothing to show for the money they previously spent.
Now you may be thinking that this is not a problem. As you were able to extract value from a subscription while using that service. Which is true, but you have also left a lot of information about yourself which can then be analysed and used against you, For example Microsoft were able to send resubscribe ads for Game pass to all those who left. Which was probably a targeted ad campaign based on the personal data Microsoft had already collected.
The problem is that, gaining access to this pool of personal data will be any governments wet dream. Which might explain why the UK government challenged Apple over encryption earlier this year. As HMRC would love to add all the data on every iPhone to their new AI system that checks social media for tax cheats.
So Microsoft removing local user accounts from Windows, would be a big deal primarily because our computers contain so much information about us. Which then because that data has now been centralised, will be of great interest to governments around the world.
Meaning that going forward, we as users will now be forced to trust that companies like Meta, Microsoft, Google or Apple. Are all working for our best interests, and will continue to protect our privacy. Which I suspect is highly unlikely.
Sony pilot age verification in UK and Ireland.
Another piece of worrying news regarding Sony, is that they are quietly implementing a pilot age verification scheme in the UK and Ireland for their PlayStation Network. Something that as a PlayStation owner, has me very concerned as Sony has a terrible record for data breach’s. With the worst being in 2011 when a cyber-attack exposed the personal information of 77 million accounts.
So with the sheer scale of hacks and data breaches that have happened so far this year in the UK. Which includes Marks and Spencers, Co-Op, Harrods, Adidas and Jaguar LandRover. I’m starting to question the sanity in using online services, and I’m now actively investigating alternative options.
Framework laptop update.
About three years ago I bought a 13inch Framework laptop and made a series of videos on how we built it. However while it originally was running Windows 11, I have now decided to take a hard look at Linux. So we decided to upgrade the mainboard with its 11th Gen Intel processor, to an AMD Ryzen 5 7040, and move to Ubuntu.
First off, the hardware upgrade process was quick and easy, only taking roughly 40 minutes to complete. Then after wiping Windows and installing Ubuntu. I had a powerful low cost modern computer with a local user account, and access to a ton of free open source software.
True I did briefly have to tussle with the wifi card, as it was not compatible with AMD hardware. But other than that, I suspect that moving to open source might be where I am heading. I just need to work out how I integrate Linux into my daily workflow, and then find alternative productivity tools that I can own or self-host. With one possible option being to use my Synology NAS and Synology Office, but we’ll see.
Content we will be releasing this month
Continuing with our new schedule of posts. At the beginning of the month we will be releasing a video for our series on Microsoft Word. Which will be looking at using text to speech, something that we find to be invaluable particularly when we have to proof-read what we have written.
Then for this month’s What’s in my tech toolbox, we are going to take a look at the precision screwdriver and bits set that we use. Which happens to be a set that is small and compact, but perfect when trying to open laptops, and smart phones.
While we have not used Excel for around 15 years. We wanted to go back and refresh our knowledge. So for this month’s Microsoft Excel tip, we are going to take a look at customising the user interface of Excel. Something that is longer and more complicated than we remember it being.
Finally at the end of the month we have a video that offers 10 tips for any new users of a Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch 2. Which we hope will be useful for anyone who just bought or is about to get one for Christmas.
Add comment