14 DAY TRIAL // Provided that customers leverage Windows Live IDs for their Windows 8 user accounts, all their devices running the next iteration of the Windows client will be seamlessly interconnected and working in synchrony. Traditional user accounts can continue being used, but fact is that leveraging a Windows Live ID is just the best choice possible for customers with multiple Windows 8 computers looking to get their profile, settings, personalization, apps to roam with them as they switch between devices.
Katie Frigon, the principal group program manager of the Windows User Experience team, reveals that “signing in with an ID allows you to:
• Associate the most commonly used Windows settings with your user account. Saved settings are available when you sign in to your account on any Windows 8 PC. Your PC will be set up just the way you are used to!
• Easily reacquire your Metro style apps on multiple Windows 8 PCs. The app’s settings and last-used state persist across all your Windows 8 PCs.
• Save sign-in credentials for the different apps and websites you use and easily get back into them without having to enter credentials every time.
• Automatically sign in to apps and services that use Windows Live ID for authentication.”
Make sure to watch the video embedded at the bottom of this article in order to get an idea of the advantages inherent to connecting a Windows Live ID to a Windows 8 user account.
Windows 8 users have the option to store their personalized OS experience into the Cloud, and have it synchronize across a range of devices, as long as the same Windows Live credentials are used.
Anything from the lock screen picture to the user tiles in Metro, but also to the desktop wallpaper, Internet Explorer settings, favorites and history, peripheral settings, but also much more will be automatically configured into all devices that share the same user account.
Windows 8 metro devices are also capable of synching between all devices, offerings the same settings and state to users as soon as they type in their Windows Live ID to sign into Windows.
And of course, in addition to customizations, settings, and apps, some services are also governed by the Windows Live ID Windows 8 accounts. Once they’re signed into a Windows Live ID, all apps, sites, and services using the credentials will be available to the customer, regardless of the device being used.