What can you do on Windows 10 that you can't do on Windows XP or Windows 7?

On 4/30/2018 6:42 AM, Doomsdrzej wrote:
On Mon, 30 Apr 2018 10:10:22 +0700, JJ wrote:

On Sun, 29 Apr 2018 20:56:00 +0000 (UTC), Bob J Jones wrote:
What top-ten FUNCTIONALITY can you do on Windows 10 that you just can't do
on Windows XP or Windows 7 (that is related directly to the OS)?

- Use larger RAM. i.e. the physical memory.

- Use new features/functions of DirectX v12. i.e. better 3D graphics. IOTW,
play the latest games.

- Scale text and GUI up to 200%. e.g. for 4K+ monitors.

- Run consoles in full screen mode. But still in graphics video mode,
though.

- Run "app" applications. i.e. those from Windows Store.

- Use Microsoft Edge web browser.

I only need the last one, though...

The ability to run Microsoft Edge isn't much of a feature though. It's
a pretty bad browser IMO but I use it only because it loads so fast
and doesn't require an additional installation.

LOL, "it's not a feature, it's a bug".

On Mon, 30 Apr 2018 15:40:50 -0700, Mike S wrote:

On 4/30/2018 6:42 AM, Doomsdrzej wrote:
On Mon, 30 Apr 2018 10:10:22 +0700, JJ wrote:

On Sun, 29 Apr 2018 20:56:00 +0000 (UTC), Bob J Jones wrote:
What top-ten FUNCTIONALITY can you do on Windows 10 that you just can't do
on Windows XP or Windows 7 (that is related directly to the OS)?

- Use larger RAM. i.e. the physical memory.

- Use new features/functions of DirectX v12. i.e. better 3D graphics. IOTW,
play the latest games.

- Scale text and GUI up to 200%. e.g. for 4K+ monitors.

- Run consoles in full screen mode. But still in graphics video mode,
though.

- Run "app" applications. i.e. those from Windows Store.

- Use Microsoft Edge web browser.

I only need the last one, though...

The ability to run Microsoft Edge isn't much of a feature though. It's
a pretty bad browser IMO but I use it only because it loads so fast
and doesn't require an additional installation.

LOL, "it's not a feature, it's a bug".

I wouldn't go that far. It's a swift browser with just enough
functionality to be the primary one but I doubt anyone other than
myself would use it over Chrome, Firefox or Vivaldi.

"Doomsdrzej" wrote

| I wouldn't go that far. It's a swift browser with just enough
| functionality to be the primary one but I doubt anyone other than
| myself would use it over Chrome, Firefox or Vivaldi.

I actually block it on my own website. If I
detect Edge or IE11 I show a message explaining
that Microsoft have broken their browser, and
thus my website, and that people can use IE11
and set compatibility for my site, or they can use
*any* other browser except Edge.

Edge not only broke all of IE-specific functionality.
It also won't run on anything but Win10. In that
sense it's even less a mainstream browser than Safari.
If webmasters have to buy a new computer just to
test a browser then it's a niche browser.

Even if I could easily test with Edge, I already
have a whole set of webpages just to accommodate
IE. I'm not about to create a 3rd set, where 2 sets
cater to Microsoft and the 3rd renders fine in all
other browsers.

Mayayana wrote:
"Doomsdrzej" wrote

| I wouldn't go that far. It's a swift browser with just enough
| functionality to be the primary one but I doubt anyone other than
| myself would use it over Chrome, Firefox or Vivaldi.

I actually block it on my own website. If I
detect Edge or IE11 I show a message explaining
that Microsoft have broken their browser, and
thus my website, and that people can use IE11
and set compatibility for my site, or they can use
*any* other browser except Edge.

Edge not only broke all of IE-specific functionality.
It also won't run on anything but Win10. In that
sense it's even less a mainstream browser than Safari.
If webmasters have to buy a new computer just to
test a browser then it's a niche browser.

Even if I could easily test with Edge, I already
have a whole set of webpages just to accommodate
IE. I'm not about to create a 3rd set, where 2 sets
cater to Microsoft and the 3rd renders fine in all
other browsers.

If you were serious about testing MSEdge, you'd check
the modern.ie webpage (the domain has been changed so
it won't scare people quite as much). The Win10 machines
have actual expiry dates, whereas some of the older platforms
didn't. For example, I have a Win7 Enterprise version they
were pushing from here, that still boots (but will reboot
after half an hour), so I can do some limited testing
without having to worry about activation or re-arm issues.

https://developer.microsoft.com/en-u...vms/#downloads

There's also mention of something called BrowserStack,
whatever that is.

I'm running Win10 in a VM, on a WinXP machine, to give
you some idea how far back you can go on a host. But this
config won't last forever. The hosting software has received
its last update.

Paul

"Paul" wrote

| If you were serious about testing MSEdge, you'd check
| the modern.ie webpage

I'm serious about not testing it. If Microsoft wants
to make a broken, niche browser I'm not going to
waste my time trying to accommodate it. The only
way I might support it would be if they made a version
for Win7. Then I'd try it and if it were standards
compliant, as they claim -- if it rendered my non-IE
pages well -- then I'd give it those pages. But I
won't write new pages just for Edge. And I won't
give Edge the pages I give to other browsers
without knowing for sure that it can handle them.

I also won't bend over backward to test something
they've deliberately made incompatible, not only
with other OSs, but with all other versions of
Windows!

I actually take some satisfaction in doing my
part to thwart Edge working. If they want to
make a browser they should do it, and stop
trying to use it to keep people on Windows.

In news wrote:

It's still not clear why you've left out Windows Vista and Windows
8.1. By accident or on purpose? If the latter, why?

It's obvious to me, but probably not to others since they're not likely
used to what happens in B2B software.

In our B2B situation, everyone sits behind the major release that they set
up their environment of tens of thousands of users on.

So, they don't wnt to move off that environment.

In practice, even if you release quarterly for ten years, what happens is
that almost all the customers are behind only a couple of major releases.

It's just what happens.

I don't know if that happens with Windows but I assumed that most people
are on XP or Win7 or Win10.


1. The subscription OS often updates

Same for 7 and 8.1.

If the subscription model for Win7 is the same as Win 10, then I'll remove
it.


2. Touch screen OS.

Same for 8.1.

Someone said it was the same for Win7, so I have removed it.


3. DirectX 12 in the OS
4. Access more ram than the 64-bit Win7 can

Who (really) cares?

I'm trying to find the 10 most important things that Win 10 has that isn't
on Win7 and WinXP.

We haven't even gotten to half that so, for now, it has to be on the list.

But I do understand that it's not likely important.


5. Scale text & GUI to 200% (what was the Win7 limit?)
6. Console runs in full-screen mode (need better explanation)
7. Windows Store apps (these don't run on Win7?)

No Windows Store apps don't run on Win 7. And (AFAIK) Win8 WS apps
don't run on Win10 and vice versa. Can you say "No (backward)
compatibility!"?

This means we can keep the windows store apps on the list.

Well, (add-on) hardware/software compatibility is mainly
'functionality' *of* the OS, but to a certain extend also functionality
*in* the OS. So such functionality of Windows X :-) might be useful to
me, as a user, compared to Windows Y.

Other that that, for me, Windows 10 does not offer any functionality
over 8.1, 7, Vista or XP.

Here is the list from everyone so far.

1. Windows Store apps
2. Cortana searches
3. DirectX 12 in the OS
4. Access 2TB of RAM (instead of 512GB, 192GB, & 128GB previously)
5. HiDPI scale text & GUI to 200% (not just 150% previously)
6. Full-screen console mode
7. ?
8. ?
9. ?
10. ?

Is there anything else?
What is the priority order?

In , Char Jackson
wrote:

The parts of my music collection that I actually care about are all in
FLAC.

Does Win10 have Flac support that Win7 & WinXP don't have?

In , mechanic
wrote:

What can you do on Windows 10 that you can't do on Windows XP or Windows 7?

Talk to Cortana?

This is good as I had thought Cortana was on Windows 7, but it's not.
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...4-649ae4ce9ae0

So here's the current list of what you can do, by virtue of the OS alone,
on Windows 10 that you can't do on Windows 7 or Windows XP...

1. Windows Store apps
2. Cortana searches
3. DirectX 12 in the OS
4. Access 2TB of RAM (instead of 512GB, 192GB, & 128GB previously)
5. HiDPI scale text & GUI to 200% (not just 150% previously)
6. Full-screen console mode
7. ?
8. ?
9. ?
10. ?

Is there anything else?
What is the priority order?

In m, Brian Gregory
wrote:

I don't think there is anything at all.

This seems to be the best we can collectively come up with that all will
agree upon as functionality in Windows 10 that isn't in Win7 or WinXP.

1. Windows Store apps
2. Cortana searches
3. DirectX 12 in the OS
4. Access 2TB of RAM (instead of 512GB, 192GB, & 128GB previously)
5. HiDPI scale text & GUI to 200% (not just 150% previously)
6. Full-screen console mode
7. ?
8. ?
9. ?
10. ?

I was expecting a lot more than just that.

On Tue, 1 May 2018 06:11:29 +0000 (UTC), Bob J Jones
wrote:

I was expecting a lot more than just that.

You are missing compresson of RAM and Bitlocker I wrote about in
alt.comp.os.windows-10.

Bob,

6. Full-screen console mode

You can scratch that from the list. Under XP it just needs a MODE CON.

But that's something to consider when deciding to switch over to Win 10 ?
Really ?

As for the other points, only #4 (a larger addres-space access) seems to be
"technical functionality".

Ofcourse, DirectX 12 (un)availability is probably a deal-breaker to a "must
be able to play the newest-of-the-newest" gamer crowd.

Just as HiDPI upscaling could be to the (AFAIK dropped by MS) "media center"
type of users.

Just as the last two, Cortana searches and Windows store apps could be for
the gadget and consumer type of user (as in: buy-play-forget ).

So none of the above are actually a "technical functionality" of the *OS*,
but just (for the time being) "only delivered and/or working with Windows
10" kind of software/services (a cheap way to increase percieved value).


And aint it funny how its hard, even for the crowd in these newsgroups (XP,
W7 and W10), to get a list with an actual 'technical functionality'
difference, even for OSes more than a decade-and-a-half apart ? What does
that tell you ? :-)


By the way: Do add a list with things Win 10 *can't* do, and Win XP or 7
still can. Suddenly coming to the realisation that a piece of software or
hardware won't run under the new OS anymore, and your (hobby/professional)
life depends on it isn't quite what you would call "funny" ...

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

On Tue, 1 May 2018 09:55:15 +0200, "R.Wieser"
wrote:

By the way: Do add a list with things Win 10 *can't* do, and Win XP or 7
still can.

Worst for me: The GUI for changing access rights in the NTFS for
several (marked) files or directories has disappeared. Now file for
file has to be changed...
NTFS Permissions Tools help a bit, but development has stopped, I
think:
http://www.freewarefiles.com/NTFS-Pe...am_104491.html

On Tue, 1 May 2018 06:09:20 +0000 (UTC), Bob J Jones wrote:

In , mechanic
wrote:

What can you do on Windows 10 that you can't do on Windows XP or Windows 7?

Talk to Cortana?

This is good as I had thought Cortana was on Windows 7, but it's not.
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...4-649ae4ce9ae0

So here's the current list of what you can do, by virtue of the OS alone,
on Windows 10 that you can't do on Windows 7 or Windows XP...

1. Windows Store apps
2. Cortana searches
3. DirectX 12 in the OS
4. Access 2TB of RAM (instead of 512GB, 192GB, & 128GB previously)
5. HiDPI scale text & GUI to 200% (not just 150% previously)
6. Full-screen console mode
7. ?
8. ?
9. ?
10. ?

Is there anything else?
What is the priority order?

Timeline?

Bob J Jones wrote:
In , Char Jackson
wrote:

The parts of my music collection that I actually care about are all in
FLAC.

Does Win10 have Flac support that Win7 & WinXP don't have?

AFAIK, yes.

I don't even think FLAC was available on Win10 on the first
release. It came later.

Paul

"Paul" wrote

| Does Win10 have Flac support that Win7 & WinXP don't have?
|
| AFAIK, yes.
|
| I don't even think FLAC was available on Win10 on the first
| release. It came later.
|

Why would that matter? It's an open format. VLC
supports it. Free tools are available to work with it.
Saying only Win10 supports FLAC is like saying Windows
supports ZIP, or that Windows added PNG support when
it was added to Paint.

Technically that's true, up to a point, but ZIP programs
are freely available, as are image viewers. I've never
actually used Windows ZIP functionality. Presenting ZIP
files as folders is too confusing. (Nor have I ever used a
Microsoft audio player, for that matter, or a Microsoft
image viewer.)

DirectX versions matter because earlier Windows
versions can't get them. File formats, on the other hand,
are not directly connected with Windows functionality.
In general, the programs that handle them are not using
Windows API in any essential way. For instance,
before Windows had gdiplus.dll to handle JPG, people
just used any one of numerous 3rd-party libraries to
do it. It wasn't as though people using Win9x couldn't
edit or save JPG files.