Here's What You'll Be Missing After Upgrading To Windows 10

[CyranD]

The automatic update is a big negative in my book. Especially if there no ability to uninstall updates. I can point to numerous occasion where Microsoft had to take back a update because it broke something in windows. I can also point to numinous occasion where the solution to fix a bug in windows was to uninstall a update.

Everything but my laptop have the pro version so don't affect me that much but I will defiantly not upgrade my laptop or get the pro version for it if you cant easily control when updates are install and have the ability to uninstall updates.

 

[f-14]

alot of people crying about the media player. microsoft heard the roar over their prices so they cut out a big chunk of the cost the DLC Licensing forced by the MPAA and RIAA, gotta give microsoft a thumbs up for flipping the bird to the RIAA and MPAA copy right b.s. now those people won't be able to change format any more because there will be no universal format, no universal distributor, no universal copy right enforcer because microsoft can eliminate those departments and free those people up to work on bigger and better and stop shelling out billions to the MPAA and RIAA as well as employing a whole lot of microsoft staff to play copy right protection police officer.
blu ray will die a fast death and there will be no other format as this forces those music and movie industries to streaming or USB/ Memory/SD Card.

it would be nice to see a resurgence of 321DVD type companies but in those new USB/Memory Card which would screw over the RIAA & MPAA trying to regulate that which will be extremely more diffcult than napster or torrent and added on top of those as well as popcorn time/netflix.

 

[melanfred]

I am using Windows 10, now. I have downloaded a free version of "Kodi" formerly XMBC. That has dvd playback, and is very nice. I used to like VLC but it comes with malware that's hard to get rid of.

 

[winterhold]

As of lately, give me back W7pro64 anytime.
I had fallen badly on "expert" reviews and got hit with W8.1.......
Very few third party programs would run.
I had a battle to get VLC running at all. Every time I want to watch DVD it is a struggle to get it running.....
W10?
Thanks I'll pass forever....

 

[rhysiam]

There is a reason to this "free upgrade" business, which will become apparent shortly after the OS launch. No one gives away something for free or offer additional features for nothing...

If you look at Microsoft's strategy the "free upgrade" actually makes perfect sense and I really don't believe there's any hidden agenda here.

Microsoft's vision is to provide one OS and body of applications which will work across devices from small touch screen tablets/ultra portables to 5 display workstations. They are desperate to get into the tablet space and have been since Windows 8, but Win8 failed miserably because they lacked the app ecosystem to make it a compelling option in the tablet space AND they wrecked the experience for desktop users.

With universal apps - programs which dynamically adjust their UI and input options to optimise themselves for whatever type of device they're opened on - it seems (IMHO) that Microsoft finally have a good technical solution to providing a good user experience with the one OS on a tablet/hybrid/laptop/desktop... that's what they've been trying to do since Win8.

The problem they face is that they NEED developer buy in. Providing a good platform with universal apps will be irrelevant if most developers don't take the effort to leverage the functionality. AND, how many developers are going to bother investing the resources into transferring their programs into universal apps if only a small fraction of their user base (their market) is using Windows 10? Microsoft need two things: 1) to make it as attractive and easy as possible for developers to get on board their vision for "universal apps" and 2) very high and very fast take up of Windows 10 to justify developer investment in universal apps.

The Microsoft Build 2015 conference back in late April was all about #1. Offering a free Win10 upgrade for a limited time is all about #2.

Remember that from now on Windows Licenses will be tied to the device (much like an OEM license). So in 12 months time if you want to go and buy a tablet or hybrid which will hopefully offer a pretty good experience under Windows 10 with its host of fantastic universal apps (this is Micorosft's hope), you'll be paying Microsoft for a licence... and this is where they hope to make their money back. They're playing the long game and I for one think it's a pretty sensible move.

 

[rhysiam]

I thought UEFI was a requirement??

So did I and was disappointed as I'm on an older (non UEFI) desktop but would rather wait a couple of years to upgrade. However, if you have a look at the original release which generated an article here on Toms (http://www.tomshardware.com/news/windows-10-system-requirements,28798.html) and elsewhere, the release was targeted at OEMs (people like Dell, HP, etc). For them to release a device with Win10 it must have UEFI and secure boot. That's hardly unreasonable for any new devices. I certainly wouldn't want to purchase a new device in 2015 without a UEFI BIOS.

For the rest of us on older systems, it looks like UEFI is NOT required. Heaps of people are running the preview versions of Win10 on older machines, the Windows 10 upgrade slides have popped up on my older non-UEFI desktop stating the machine is fully compatible with an upgrade. This confirms it too: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/insider/forum/insider_wintp-insider_install/windows-10-will-require-uefi/1ced300f-6141-4d8e-ad55-016ef69acc99

Which is all good news for those (like me) who thought we'd need to upgrade otherwise adequate rigs to get Win10 and DX12.

 

[kenjitamura]

Once Linux is brought out of the stone-age, maybe it will gain traction.

What part of Linux is still in the stone-age? Its progressed to the point that I think if it came pre-installed on machines like Windows then computer users would have as few technical problems as they would running Windows. The vast majority of common hardware is supported out of the box including those pesky wireless drivers that were notorious pains in the butt pre-2010.

The only real hurdle I see to Linux getting wide-spread adoption at this point is the lack of proprietary software ports and that's not even a problem with Linux. The lack of software publishers targeting linux isn't rooted in difficulty to program for the OS but rather the small market share it commands but this is increasingly becoming less of an issue with most programming solutions now employing the "build once run everywhere" mindset which is even starting to include big video game developers.

 

[ah]

At the moment, gadgets are no longer available for Windows 7 customers. And Windows Media Center is quite slow, and cumbersome to get around, I don't install it on my Windows 8.1. Incidentally, Windows 8.1 is ten times better than Windows 7.

 

[wtfxxxgp]

It's okay, I use GOM Player for video and (dare I say it) Winamp for music. So bye bye WMP and RIP.

 

[fixxxer113]

I knew of the browser lawsuits and fines, however, I hadn't heard of anything about WMP being a problem.

Since Windows 7, Microsoft was forced to distribute additional Windows SKUs without multimedia capabilities and without WMP. You can find them as "Windows N" versions. WMP has indeed been an issue for some time now.

As of lately, give me back W7pro64 anytime.
I had fallen badly on "expert" reviews and got hit with W8.1.......
Very few third party programs would run.
I had a battle to get VLC running at all. Every time I want to watch DVD it is a struggle to get it running.....
W10?
Thanks I'll pass forever....

Are you serious or just trolling?? What applications don't run on Windows 8? Since Windows 7, compatibility mode has worked like a charm for older apps and from Windows 8 and after, I haven't had to use it ever. Even my E-MU 1212m PCI sound card works better in Win 8.1 than in 7 and using the Windows 7 beta drivers.

I even have the Windows 10 preview installed on a laptop from 2004 and everything runs great.

If you have problems even with VLC, that's probably some other problem with your PC and not the OS.

 

[AndrewJacksonZA]

They have very expensive software that can't be down because of a single rouge update.

It's OK jimmysmitty, they have a mauve database.
https://d24kfg5vae7qnd.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/dilbert.com_.gif

 

[JOSHSKORN]

No WMC = I stay on Windows 7

 

[bikerepairman1]

I got a message on my win8.1 laptop (the ONLY machine running windows in my collection due to a few needed programs not running on wine) to get/reserve win10. Since I don't use the laptop for much else, I don't want to upgrade; It works as I want and that's enough for me. For the rest I run linux on my 2 workstations and 9 servers.

 

[back_by_demand]

I haven't used physical media in nearly 7 years, to do away with DVD is no big deal. And new drivers for floppy drives? Really? Who uses floppy disks?

Anyway MS plays this haters will find a way to moan about it
If they build media players into the OS they get accused of abusing a monopoly
If they remove media players they get accused of removing popular features

Just use Kodi and VLC

 

[soccerplayer88]

"Also required is a display with a 1024 x 600 resolution..."

Right, too bad you can't use a single Microsoft Store App since you need to have a minimum resolution of 1024 x 768. One of the first things that pissed me off when I installed 10 on my netbook.

A little surprised on the desktop gadget removal though.

 

[jdjoseph]

WMP works in Windows 10. Its hidden but its there. No reason why you couldnt play DVDs unless they change something in the final version..

 

[lucio1969]

this upgade is a iso ? what happen if i need format mi pc?

 

[abingdon]

Does this mean my hard drive will be reformatted? W'll I lose data? Will I need to re-install my apps?

Free? Microsoft? Sounds like Bill is getting more charitable than we thought!

Roy

 

[jimmysmitty]

Does this mean my hard drive will be reformatted? W'll I lose data? Will I need to re-install my apps?

Free? Microsoft? Sounds like Bill is getting more charitable than we thought!

Roy

It will be like most upgrades, where most stuff will be migrated over to 10 but there might be some compatibility issues with some programs so a clean install is always the best idea.

 

[slamm]

Yeah!!! I don't any of their crap anyway!!! Good news I say. Now If they make it where I can ditch their browser!!

 

[chrissy4605]

I will miss WMP after using for over a decade. I realize there are other players out there. But WMP has been uber reliable. Now I will be left with VLC Media Player and Foobar 2000. Alternative should develop in the near time. But what to use for audiophiles? That is a good question.

 

[scritty]

Not a well researched article. DVD playback is available - just not through the Media Centre. Other mistakes in this as well. Again poorly researched article. Lots of errors,

 

[GObonzo]

need a slim version without OneDrive, without Cortana search, and without APPS at all. being able to fully turn off Window Defender and it's Security Accounts Manager would also be nice.

 

[Flip up]

Interesting review. Says nothing about the advantages. As far as I am concerned. I will not miss any of it. Europe has been fighting Microsoft in court for years to get a version of Windows without the media center which in my opinion is resource hungry and unreliable. Not to mention the fiasco of media rights. If you are worried about being forced to take on updates. You should be aware. Most updates are security updates that protect your system from hackers or drivers that keep your system running stable and your peripherals working. I never saw the point of one note. As for as floppy discs and DVD players (optical drives) are concerned. The pen or flash drive has made them both obsolete. My latest computer build has neither but if you do need an optical drive (I can't imagine why anyone would miss a floppy drive?). You can find moderately priced USB external drives anywhere these days. As for as the gadgets and the games are concerned. Again here is an unnecessary use of resources for something that can be offered as apps so I see no problem. It is a singularly one sided article. So one sided that it almost appears to be deliberate sabotage. I wonder what the author wrote this article on? Maybe a Mac or a typewriter?

 

[EWDB]

There seems to be some confusion between windows media center and windows media player, it would appear that windows media PLAYER is available for Windows 10.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-win_upgrade/re-windows-10-and-the-lack-of-windows-media-player/3ec7e409-a00e-4c93-a33e-1aba3e1aa131