[AgentConundrum]

This is only true of the public beta. It bothered me as well when I tried it out, but after a few searches I found that the RTM will still have local accounts. I assume the decision was made to keep in contact with the beta testers or something, but my hotmail account is a glorified spam catcher at this point, so I've never bothered to check.

[1] http://news.softpedia.com/news/Windows-8-1-Preview-Won-t-Sup... (This isn't the article I read back then, but it's the first thing I found when I just searched.)

[MichaelGG]

I just installed using the MSDN "RTM" version, not the preview. The option is there, it's just intentionally hidden, and the first page gives zero indication it's possible to use a local account. You have to start the MS Account creation step, then at the bottom of the screen you'll see the option to skip.