"Setting up your user account is different from prior versions of Windows where the account was typically local. In Windows 8 you can have it tied to your Microsoft Account, and you need it to be if you want to use the Windows Store to download and manage applications. Of course you will need an Internet connection to sign into your account, but if for some reason one is not available, you can use a local account. Local accounts are more limited in what they can do because they cannot access to the Windows Store, but if you are worried about privacy or just do not want data syncing to your Microsoft account, this is what you will want. For this guide, I chose to use a Local account."



Link: OCC