Putting Linux on my RTX spark laptop because I don't have a Microsoft account

Not sure there's a strong use case for one of these $6K laptops yet, considering you can get a mini PC running AMD Ryzen 495 or 395 with 96, 128 and 192 GB of memory for similar amount of money and connect remotely from a cheaper/smaller/more battery-efficient laptop. Microsoft also has this same chip in non-laptop form factor: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/devices/surface-rtx-....

Coding while flying is often the use case people bring up, but the power brick these laptops come with sometimes trip the plane's power plug in coach and you can't run local AI on battery for long. Also, over time planes will get better connectivity (Starlink etc.) and that particular full-offline scenario will go away.

For gaming, there are better options with dedicated GPUs like the Asus Zephyrus and similar.

What am I missing?

Being forced to login to use your own hardware is one issue for sure…

but separately everything about Microsoft’s login experience is pure pain.

Multiple broken redirects, broken links, buttons that loop, and more just to hit a CAPTCHA AI can solve anyway.

The only thing worse is for the poor soul developers who have had to login to their dev portal to setup SSO Microsoft for an app. It’s the worst I have ever seen in my life (even using Supabase that hand holds you through it).

I got the HP version of this 128GB for 3.8k. I have yet to see a better deal for that ram.

I have a DGX Spark (Ubuntu), and when Microsoft and NVIDIA announced the RTX Spark running Windows, I thought to myself: Why would I get that instead of the DGX Spark?

The OS makes a big difference for most developers, and the DGX Spark stack and experience is mature.

Hm, what's the learning here?

What challenge has been overcome?

I can see that hardware was bought, and that's cool hardware and all, but consumption is rather uninspiring.

I suppose it's the arm64 part? Or the review of some new hardware other people might be interested in?

Is a Microsoft account required to use Windows on these RTX spark laptops?

Am I being too stubborn for not wanting a cloud account tied to my desktop operating system?

Does anybody know how Wayland performs on these?

simply creating a Microsoft account would have been far quicker and easier ;-)

getting a local account is simple.

Windows Pro > Work or School Account > Join a Domain instead > Set password & recovery questions

The one component here that is not present on most machines straight from the manufacturer is the presence of the Pro version. The home version of windows requires the account with increasingly limited alternatives.

Hey just as a heads-up Microsoft accounts are free to make https://signup.live.com/