Now there is one more sure thing about Microsoft's impending Windows 10: it won't boast the familiar Windows Media Center.
The news apparently came during this week's Microsoft Build developer's event with a Microsoft leader confirming that Microsoft Media Center software won't be showing up in Windows 10.
Whether it proves to be a factor in Microsoft upgrades from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, and all those XP machines still humming along, won't be known until the start of Windows 10 rollouts. That is, of course, unless Microsoft Windows users start wailing and keep wailing. But for now it appears the decision is pretty definite.
If you try to install the most recent build of Windows 10 on a PC running Media Center, you get a simple blue box warning that stalls the setup:
Windows Media Center is installed on this PC
Uninstall this app now because it isn't compatible with Windows 10.
Industry watchers say Microsoft's decision to drop Media Center is really no big surprise as the actual development team building the features for Media Center was disbanded six years ago. The Media Center arrived on Windows way back in 2002 for Windows XP and was updated steadily for years.
As one industry media report notes Windows Media Center was considered one of the best DVR options that gave users tremendous control in TV watching-even the ability to skip commercials automatically.
When Windows 8 arrived the company left Media Center out in the cold but then doled out an add-on Media Center Pack, which costs users a few extra bucks and was no different than the original Media Center software. At the time, Microsoft said it was abandoning Media Center due to costs and little user fan base.
However, Microsoft isn't leaving Media Center fans completely out in the cold. It plans to support the feature on Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 for at least five years, and up to eight as now for 8.1 PCs.
Alternatives for those who do plan to jump on Windows 10 are the TV play, the Sling TV service and the live-TV feature of Xbox One.
Early feedback from Windows users hearing the news is pretty tame at this point. One notes he will just stay on Windows 7 with his DVR unit. Another couple of readers lament that Media Center had pretty much reached and surpassed its prime. Another even claimed Media Center "was never really alive."
But at least one views the decision as enough reason not to move upward to Windows 10 when it arrives.
"I can't believe this, I'm so sad and disappointed with Microsoft, no way i'll upgrade to W10, this is very sad. There will never be a better music player than the one in Windows Media Center. Record TV was so easy to do. I'm sure that it wouldn't be so many problems to add it to W10," writes 'jessepollard.'
