Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/02/26/elon-musk-asks-microsoft-ceo-for-help-setting-up-pc.html
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At this point you have to ask, when is he not on ketamine and other substances?
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You don’t need to create a MS account to set up a PC, though they definitely make it somewhat of a hassle to change that step. That said even a real lazy google search yields how-to’s for it
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Why didn’t he just ask Grok?
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Having had nothing but linux since the ages o’ Yggdrasil, i’m foolish enough to wonder: don’t most assembled ‘PC’s (?do we still call them that?) come with windows already set up? (seems like step one for all us linux dweebs is “partition over the microsoft @#$”) and don’t all tech billionaires have a phalanx o’ nerds (including foreign spies) to do that for them?
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Well if you have a new PC and you’re setting it up, how are you supposed to do a web search for how to set up your PC if your PC isn’t set up? Sheesh. You think everyone has multiple computers or smart phones? This dude is hyper-conservative and only has exactly what he needs to have for any given task; waste not, want not, ya know what I mean??? Ya think the guy has money just falling out of his pockets??? I mean, REALLY!
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I only have work email addresses
That has got to be one of the saddest things I’ve ever heard.
Tell me you have no friends without saying the words “I have no friends.”
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No, his money is falling out of his businesses.
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He’s pissed because they want you (but don’t require you) to use a Microsoft account when setting up Windows 11 (Musk flummoxed by Windows 11 demand for a Microsoft account • The Register).
Meanwhile, isn’t this what he did to Twitter almost immediately? https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/30/tech/twitter-public-access-restricted/index.html
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work email addresses
I wonder how Windows knows which addresses are “work email addresses” and which ones aren’t 
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He does have a point. Maybe they’ll listen to the richest guy in the world - they sure don’t listen to me.
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On one hand, he does have a point about how Microsoft makes it hard. My GF didn’t want to set up an MS account with her new laptop, and had a hard time figuring out how to work around it.
BUT.
She also hasn’t built up a brand about being a rocket/EV genius and went asking questions on Twitter.
Definitely an “old person on a computer” moment. I seem to have them more often than I used to!
And with that, I will leave you with one of my favorite bits on computers:
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This is funny timing because just yesterday I was setting up Win 11 on a brand-new PC that my son and I built and ran into this. Google showed me the way. (I did have to do it twice, because I’m impatient and just tried oobe\bypassnro without reading the rest of the webpage and that alone didn’t do it for me.) It is very silly that he’s whining on social media about this. 
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I will admit I didn’t know it was an option. I’ve set up two laptops and a PC and gone through the hassle of the MS account. I will definitely be skipping that step in the future, as it is a huge pain in the ass.
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Yeah! And doesn’t he couch surf with friends when he isn’t sleeping on the factory floor of Tesla!? He’s clearly dirt poor and can only manage what fits in a bindle slung from a stick he carries over his shoulder.
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this option disappears if the computer is connected to wifi
I really have to ask; I thought this is common knowledge and the exact reason why I always disconnect before I set up a new windows (since win7 my way to go). easy peasy.
I got a shiny loonie that says his intent is to limit the reach of a competitor. Five minutes of twitting to get a concession . Don’t underestimate your adversary
I agree with him. I recently had to setup a W10 laptop and had to create a MS account. I’ve never logged into it. They gave me a coupon for $1 but what can you buy from MS for a buck. Then I spent a couple of hours updating the stupid thing. Lost count of the number of reboots. What a giant pain in the butt. Worse part I didn’t even need to use it. So I’m back on Manjaro Linux doing just fine.
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This is a man who many fanboys would entrust to put computer chips in their brains or keep them alive in the hostile environments of outer space.
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thats what I meant; you really dont have to. just turn off your router or disconnect the laptop. install win10/11 and you can skip everything. after that, connect and let it download drivers/updates without ever be bothered with an account. its really that simple.
