Windows 10 - free upgrade to those with PC using Windows 7 or 8

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

They are removed from the *default* packaging but support isn't removed.
They are still developed and available...on the online driver repository.

As to why?
Because they have a small usage base and because every little bit helps. A USB drive here, a minor game there, it adds up eventually. And it doesn't just impact the distribution package, it also affects the recovery partition.

Windows historically has tended to err on the side of including as much as possible to facilitate offline operation (earning it a reputation for "bloat") but offline-only is a lot less common. And lean is useful on the low end, where Windows is weakest.

Something like that does not help anything. Those games are also just a few KB.

Do it like Windows did in the past, an many Linux distributions still do: install only the base system, meaning the bare minimum of drivers needed for the connected devices, the desktop, file manager, and browser. The rest can be selected during installation and/or installed afterward.

I think it's totally useless to install five hundred million drivers onto the hard disk, so devices can be 100% plug and play. Just ask for the Windows CD if the driver is on it, or download it from Windows Update when required.

Windows Vista and newer are HUGE, compared to Windows XP and 2000, while most people don't do anything different with the OS. I'm 100% sure that, if I wanted to, I could still run Windows 2000 with software from 15 years ago, and STILL get 90% of my stuff done... on an 8GB drive with room to spare.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Something like that does not help anything. Those games are also just a few KB.

Maybe you are far more organized and disciplined than I am, but every little bit pruned away helps in my book.

Following the "Take care of the pennies..." philosophy is sound, even if the gain in any one example is trivial.
It adds up, so it's better to make it a habit.
And storage space is only one factor. Add in possible adverse interactions and incompatibilities, lack of support, clutter when searching and indexing files....it adds up.

As long as the RIGHT things are left out, I'm all for it.

Failing to follow that philosophy is why I have hard drives filled with stuff I can't identify, and, I suspect, why many folks have slow, non-optimal Windows systems.

Originally Posted by Katsunami

I could still run Windows 2000 with software from 15 years ago, and STILL get 90% of my stuff done... on an 8GB drive with room to spare.

Likewise. My main issue would be with web browsers, and my main concern would be having security updates for other network clients (notably, SSH). Otherwise, I was actually quite happy with NT4 six or seven years ago. The main issue with moving forward with an old OS was changes to Microsoft's compilers, which broke NT4 support for software that would otherwise work.

[WillAdams]

The only thing which pushed me off using my Fujitsu Stylistic w/ Windows XP and a 4GB SSD (and 32GB Compact Flash card in the PCMCIA slot) was the lack of updates and websites getting so Javascript heavy that a 933MHz Pentium III couldn't browse an increasing number of web sites at a reasonable speed --- I really wish someone would make a small, secure web browser for Windows (and Mac OS X) which reports itself as a tablet device.

[Apache]

My engraving machine was connected to a laptop I bought in 2002. I recently upgraded to a new laptop with Win 8.1. The engraver connected by serial port and had a security key on a parallel port. The company had to send me a new security key using USB and I had to add a serial port to USB connector and use software to make the engraver think it is a com port. I have not decided whether I will upgrade this one to Win 10.
Apache

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by WillAdams

The only thing which pushed me off using my Fujitsu Stylistic w/ Windows XP and a 4GB SSD (and 32GB Compact Flash card in the PCMCIA slot) was the lack of updates and websites getting so Javascript heavy that a 933MHz Pentium III couldn't browse an increasing number of web sites at a reasonable speed --- I really wish someone would make a small, secure web browser for Windows (and Mac OS X) which reports itself as a tablet device.

There are a variety of lesser-known browsers which claim to be lightweight. And you can always set the user-agent.

If you really hate javascript, turn it off or use Lynx.

[murg]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Here's a report on the "losses" in going to Win10:
http://www.theverge.com/2015/6/1/869...0-feature-loss



MS has it all listed on their specifications page:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wind...specifications

Does this mean we get out A: and B: drives back?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by murg

Does this mean we get out A: and B: drives back?

You can already use those drive letters if you wish to. Use the "Disk Administrator" tool to change the drive letter.

[AnotherCat]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I don't normally play DVDs on my PCs (because, as I say, none has a built-in DVD drive) but after I read your post I've tried playing one on my Windows 7 PC from an external drive, in Windows Media Player, and it played just fine. It would seem, therefore, that Windows 7 at least does come with the codec with no requirement to pay for it.

EDIT: Tried it on my Windows 8.1 Surface Pro. Plays fine on that, too, so it would seem that your statement that "for many years now Windows has not come with the codec unless one paid for it" is not correct...

Up to Windows 7 Windows came with DVD video playing. Windows 8 onwards did not - Windows 8.x has been out for getting on 3 years now. This matches my experience on many machines, but in case of disbelief there are many references to this on the internet, including the Windows 8 Wiki's https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window...moved_features under removed features, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...Media_features under Media Features.

It may be that MS has been putting the codec on all or some of its own Win 8.x devices (those being tablets and phones) as they can cost it into the device's price. Also, as I said, the ability to play video DVDs has also been made available free from time to time (e.g. it was free for some time to all users of Windows 8 Pro and above). However, the generalization I made stands.

Originally Posted by HarryT

You misread what I said, by the way. I did not say that playing DVDs had anything to do with dropping Media Centre; I said that I suspect that the reason they've dropped the ability to play DVDs from the Windows 10 Media Player is because most PCs no longer have a DVD drive.

I did not misread what you said, I can only see your references to dropping the ability for DVD playing from Windows 10 from which you seem to have assumed meant would be understood to be from from Media Player due to your belief that all Windows versions prior to 10 had the DVD playing capability. As I have said, that functionality was actually dropped with Windows 8 for which Media Center was the MS add on solution, so your reference to dropping DVD playing from Windows 10 was correctly interpreted by me as being the dropping of Media Center.

I'll leave it at that as this is tiresome and I am sure is going to go nowhere with you.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by AnotherCat

Up to Windows 7 Windows came with DVD video playing.

Not quite.
Several versions of Windows befor and during Win7 lacked DVD codecs:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/w...layer-plug-ins

Some editions of Windows include full-featured DVD playback capability in Windows Media Player. For those that don't, you can purchase a plug-in or add-on that adds features such as full-screen video playback controls and DVD chapter listings to Windows Media Player.

For Windows 8.1. If you're running Windows 8.1, you can visit the Windows Store and purchase a DVD player add-on.

For Windows 7. Windows 7 Home Premium, Ultimate, and Enterprise come with DVD playback capability built in. If you're running Windows 7 Home Basic or Starter, you can upgrade your edition of Windows 7 to add full DVD capability.

For Windows XP or Windows Vista. If you're running Windows XP, Windows Vista Home Basic, Windows Vista Business, or Windows Vista Enterprise, you can enhance your DVD playback experience by purchasing one of the DVD decoder packs listed below.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by murg

Does this mean we get out A: and B: drives back?

Originally Posted by HarryT

You can already use those drive letters if you wish to. Use the "Disk Administrator" tool to change the drive letter.

I don't want A and B drives back, I want drives gone period. I want predictable drive names based on filesystem labels, which I can use for scripting. Without having to setup each computer ahead of time.

Originally Posted by eschwartz

I don't want A and B drives back, I want drives gone period. I want predictable drive names based on filesystem labels, which I can use for scripting. Without having to setup each computer ahead of time.

As nice as it would be, it would probably break a large number of applications.

[eschwartz]

I would settle for an additional way to access drives based on labels, but unfortunately that doesn't appear to be possible either.
They could even offer both for a few decades, until applications have migrated over to the new system X.


Drive letters are just so supremely stupid IMHO.

[Glorfindel]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

I would settle for an additional way to access drives based on labels, but unfortunately that doesn't appear to be possible either.
They could even offer both for a few decades, until applications have migrated over to the new system X.
Drive letters are just so supremely stupid IMHO.

Truely said, it makes much more sense to stick them in a crypticly named directory formed by removing the vowels from the word 'mount,' (Everyone knows what mount means, right?) with easily understood names like sda1 and sdc5. I'll wager that even the least among the Technically Unsavvy will pick that right up...
Sarcasm aside, drive letters are much easier to grasp for the average nontechnical user, which I think you will agree makes up the majority of the Windows user base.

[AnotherCat]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Not quite.
Several versions of Windows befor and during Win7 lacked DVD codecs:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/w...layer-plug-ins

Thanks for that additional knowledge, I have never had anything to do with Home Basic and Starter in any version of Windows .

I do recall the XP and Vista instances; I think in XP Media Player it would pick up the likes of KLite's codecs, but it is a long, long time since I have had anything to do with media on XP so may be mistaken in that.