Posted on 05/06/2012 3:10:12 PM PDT by CedarDave
The upcoming Windows 8 operating system (which you can download and preview now) is dropping the ability to play DVD content.
According to Windows engineering team member Steven Sinofsky (emphasis his), "Windows Media Player will continue to be available in all editions, but without DVD playback support. For optical discs playback on new Windows 8 devices, we are going to rely on the many quality solutions on the market, which provide great experiences for both DVD and Blu-ray." In other words: If you want to watch that Bridesmaids DVD on your next plane trip, you're going to have to pay extra for software that will let you play it, even if your laptop already has a DVD drive. And don't think getting Blu-ray is an option you can't play that straight from the box, either.
If you're left scratching your heads, the rationale behind dropping DVD support is simple: It's about the bottom line. Says Sinofsky, "traditional media playback scenarios, optical media, and broadcast TV, require a specialized set of decoders (and hardware) that cost a significant amount in royalties." Windows 8 will allow customers the option to install a Windows Media Center upgrade to allow DVD playback at extra cost, though Microsoft is not saying exactly how high that cost will be.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Thanks for the warning. I won't. You might try getting an old version at OldVersion.com or one of the other sites that keeps old versions of freeware apps, so you're not stuck with the ad-supported one.
I’m okay, thanks. I had an old copy stored away here.
Good to know about that site, though. I never heard of it before.
Microsoft can’t win against these bigots. When they include features to their OS they are accused of being a monopoly. When they don’t include a feature they are just being terrible.
with all the freeware solutions out there, this seems like a MS vs Netscape battle. MS will win this.
MS does not have to pay the studios a single dime and DVD content can still be played.
Remember Netscape?
Will it support Bluray, MP4, or other more modern content?
...or is it a tangential justification for Jobs’ “bag of hurt” comment?
I remember Netscape. It seems ages since I heard of them.
The HP universal print driver will certainly handle the needs of any mid-90's laserjet and is available for all MS OS products for both x86 and x64 architectures.
I’ve gotten HP Laserjet 1000 printers to work with Win 7 even though HP they are not supported by Win 7 (HP doesn’t have a specific Win 7 hplj 1000 driver)
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