5 Missing Features In Windows 10: Don't Expect To Play DVDs Or Run Floppy Disks

Microsoft formally released Windows 10 Wednesday. It's free for users upgrading from Windows 7 or 8.1. But beyond some cautionary reviews, are there any other reasons why you should hold off upgrading? Well, if you like being able to use floppy disks, or any of the below features, you should think twice.

DVD Playback

Believe it or not, Windows 10 does not support playing back DVD videos out-of-the-box. The exception to this, for some incomprehensible reason, is if you are upgrading from a version of Windows with Windows Media Center installed. Everyone else will need to download Windows DVD Player from the Windows Store. It's free, but only for a limited time, so you'll have to get in there quick if you want a Microsoft-developed solution to your movie nights.

Floppy Drive Support

Sorry, hangers-on: your old media's no good here. Windows 10 ditches the storage format, which dates back to the 1960s, meaning that anyone looking to use a USB floppy drive will need to seek out drivers before getting their retro on.

Windows Media Center

Media Center was introduced with the catchily-titled Windows XP Media Center Edition back in 2005. It was meant as a way of accessing your media from the sofa with a remote. A jazzy new interface that scrolled in both directions, similar to the Playstation 3, provided movies, TV, music and more. Evidently, the PC-as-a-set-top-box idea never quite took off, so Microsoft has pulled the plug. Unfortunately, even if you upgrade from a copy of Windows with Media Center installed, you won't find this feature in Windows 10.

Charms Bar

If you were a big fan of Windows 8 (stop laughing!) you probably remember the Charms bar that popped up on the right hand side. It provided quick access to search, settings, and context-specific options. That's now been replaced by the action center, but it was also one of Windows 8's more confusing features. Unless you were on a tablet, it didn't make a whole lot of sense to have to move into the corner to activate the charms, which remained translucent until you moved your mouse in the correct way.

Turn Off Automatic Updates

Home and Pro users of Windows 10 may be shocked to find that the option to turn off Windows Update has been yanked away. It's all part of Microsoft's plan to update Windows regularly. The system will act more like a service, with new features and other changes keeping the system fresh. It also means that you can't refuse updates, a privilege only given to Enterprise users in some situations. However, there is a hidden tool that you can use to stop certain updates, but that won't let you turn off all updates.