This is the dumbest decision for one reason alone: some laptops and desktops that lack updated drivers cannot connect to the internet.

It literally happened to me with a lenovo laptop, where I had to find a way to bypass the internet requirement or else I’d have a $800 paperweight.

If I didn’t need Windows for a specific reason I’d be on Linux, believe me. But this decision is ridiculous.

I don’t see how this particular thing is an issue. You don’t need to activate Windows during the setup. You can skip activation, update the driver, and then activate windows afterwards