Windows 10 All-In-One For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Chapter 5

Microsoft Account: To Sync or Not to Sync?

IN THIS CHAPTER

Getting the lowdown on a Microsoft account

Figuring out whether you even want a Microsoft account

Getting a Microsoft account without spilling the beans

Care and feeding of your Microsoft account

Cutting back on syncing through a Windows account

Microsoft has been trying to get people to sign up for company-branded accounts for a long, long time.

In 1997, Microsoft bought Hotmail and took over the issuance of @hotmail.com email addresses. Even though Hotmail’s gone through a bunch of name changes — MSN Hotmail, Windows Live Hotmail, and now Outlook.com, among others — the original @hotmail.com email addresses still work, and have worked, through thick and thin.

Twenty years after its inception, that old @hotmail.com ID still works the same as it ever did — except now it’s called a Microsoft account. If you picked ...