Account Type

Once I had a capable system for installing Windows 8 on, the install went smoothly. Soon I was asked to create my first user account and noticed the option to make it a Microsoft account or a Local account. Fortunately I had another computer handy to search and read up on the unexpected choice. The gist of the choices boils down to this:

• Microsoft Account: Your preferences and settings are synced to their cloud. Ties into Windows Messenger (Windows Live ID), Sky Drive, and the Windows Store. It sounds like you can log into another Windows 8 computer and have these same things pulled down. Sounds great for home users. I'm not sure about for corporate users. More for the IT department and Legal to evaluate.
• Local Account: Your preferences are local to this computer. This is the most similar to the user accounts you are use to using.

The User settings lets you switch either type into the other at any time, so just pick one. I chose to use local accounts. They "just work" with our workgroup file sharing and everything else we are use to.