UKC

Tonight I will be setting up a new Win8 laptop, and I'd appreciate a few bits of advice. ("Install linux" or "buy a Mac" won't really help me at this point... maybe later on). This is going to be for general office work and not always with an internet connection. I realise that this is lot of questions, but any help now will prevent me falling backwards from an impossibly steep leraning curve at 3 in the morning.

User Account:
This laptop is for someone who uses an isp-provided email account, and doesn't currently have a Microsoft ID (or hotmail account etc).
I understand that a MS ID is required for SkyDrive and the MS App store, but I'd prefer to just use a Local Account to save having to explain to the end-user why they need a new MS ID.

Will I regret this? SkyDrive isn't too big a deal, but is the Windows Store thing essential?

Administrator Account:
Having a seperate one of these on MS Vista was essntial to repair damaged user profiles. Is this still the way to go on 8, or is it solid enough to have one user account?

Updating to 8.1:
The laptop comes with 8. Before installing any applications (Thunderbird, Office, iTunes, AV?, Acrobat?) I intend to update to 8.1 - is this easy? Is this possible without a MS ID?

Applications:
I need to install thunderbird, this should be OK.
Is a 3rd party AntiVirus needed/advised? Or is Defender good enough?
Is there a native pdf reader in W8 or will Acrobat reader be required?
Is IE11 OK ? (for someone who's been using FireFox)

Interface:
The user is coming from Windows Vista. The new machine has a touchscreen, as playing around in shops makes it pretty clear that Win8 without one is an extremely poor experience. Has anyone got a link to a short, printable tutorial on how to use the Metro interface? That would really help the user to get to grips with the new interface and save me having to install StartisBack, or Windows7 or Linux.

Anything else:
So I'm thinking of this order of doing things;
First startup - create Local User Account
Run Updates
Update to 8.1 (might need MS ID for this)
Install reqd applications
Copy across Docs, Photos, mail files from old PC

Have I forgotton anything?

Ta.

In reply to TimB:

I haven't got a scooby when it comes to Window's 8. I could not even work out how to make it print a document. However if you can put Window's 7 onto the computer, then use that option.

Window's 8 is baffling and will make your brain go pop. Your client may mistakenly think that Vista is superior to Window's 8.

In reply to TimB:
What The Lemming said. Install win7.

If you MUST go with win8, though god knows why that would be the case, then yes you should be using MSE for antivi (don't pay for antivirus) and you shouldn't be using IE after you've used it to download a decent browser (I'd use Firefox). For PDF's I'd suggest foxit reader. Don't go with Adobe, it's slow and clunky as hell and since everyone uses it it's as much targeted for vulnerabilities and exploits as IE is.

If you go with win7 disable updates, they are neither use nor ornament and whoever is using the machine won't install them anyway.

Edit: Also, if the user values privacy in the slightest, get them off that ISP email and onto any of the dozens of better options.

In reply to TimB:

I've been happy with the changes in Win 8.1, starting to get to like it now.

http://www.howtogeek.com/165522/15-system-tools-you-dont-have-to-install-on...

In reply to Paul Phillips - UKC and UKH:
Thanks guys (although 2 to 1 saying it sucks doesn't really inspire!).

No-one any opinions about Local Account vs Microsoft Account for 8.1?

In reply to TimB:

store not essential but then you will have a hard time installing win 8 apps from elsewhere. win 8 - 8.1 painless, essential, seemed to take an age for what it is. it's okay, navigating takes a bit of getting used to but it's fast, better battery life & there is a desktop if you need that sort of thing.

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In reply to TimB:

When I upgraded to Win 8.1 Pro there was no option for a local account.

With 8.1 it appears you have to sign in with a MS account! Seems like MS's strategy is now to harvest and track identities, whether it's Win 8 or Office. Pity, because that was what made MS preferable to Apple or Google.

Also found 8.1 not compatible with some applications I need so will probably reinstall 8.0 (you can't just roll back either!). All in all, a bit disappointing since 8.1 is a more mature system with quite a few improvements over 8.0.

In reply to AndyC:

Correction... a little more digging shows that a local account can be created in 8.1. But you must have a MS account to do the upgrade from 8.0 to 8.1 and existing local accounts are deleted in the process.

Personally I prefer a local account, I hope it provides a little more privacy. However, you will still need a MS account to be able to get apps from the Store. If you prefer to live more in the cloud then it probably is a more seamless experience with a MS account.

In reply to TimB:

The 8.1 upgrade gives you the start menu back and improves things amazingly, or so I'm told by my brother-in-law whose job is looking after a whole park of PCs. I had problems at first when my daughter changed her lap-top but you do get used to it. The problem is a rather nazz front end on a basically improved version of windows. Despite what has been said you can print with it

Concerning the MS ID, I found myself dragged into doing this, which is a nuisance as I prefer not having to type a password every time you start, there must be someone on the web who can tell you how to avoid this? Why not try a specific google on this particular point?