Microsoft explains what you’ll lose by upgrading to Windows 10
Microsoft announced today that it will be launching Windows 10 on July 29th,
encouraging Windows 7 and 8.1 users to reserve their free upgrade with a
notification in their task bar. However, while the company has been
busy highlighting all the shiny new features in the upcoming OS, it's been a bit quieter when it comes to spelling out the limitations — including making updates automatic for Windows 10 Home users.
Say goodbye to hearts and desktop gadgets
Firstly there are the software losses. Most of these will only affect
a small number of users, but upgrading will mean saying goodbye to
Windows Media Center, the card game Hearts, and Windows 7's desktop
gadgets. Anyone in the habit of using floppy disks on Windows will also
have to install new drivers, and Microsoft warns that watching DVDs will
also require "separate playback software." Microsoft manager Gabriel
Aul has said on Twitter that a DVD option for Windows 10 is coming "later this year," but early upgraders can always download VLC instead.
In addition to the software losses, there are also a number of
limitations for some of Windows 10's most exciting features. Cortana
will only be available in the US, UK, China, France, Italy, Germany, and
Spain at launch, while Windows Hello (which offers support for various biometric passwords)
will need an infrared camera for facial recognition, or a supported
fingerprint reader. The Xbox Music and Xbox Video streaming apps will
also be constrained by the usual, complex web of region-based licenses.
More annoyingly, perhaps, Microsoft has also changed how updates will
work with Windows 10. Although the Pro and Enterprise editions will
both be able to defer updates, Windows 10 Home users will not have the
option. Updates will instead be downloaded and installed automatically
as soon as they're available. System requirements for the new OS have
also been detailed, with PCs and tablets needing to pass a fairly low
bar: a 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, and a display
resolution of at least 1,024 x 600 are required. These specs are a bit
higher for the 64-bit version of Windows 10 but for these details and
more, you can check out Microsoft's full specs page.
Courtesy: theverge
