Top 5 Windows 7 Features that have been Removed in Windows 10

We're almost six years and three operating systems far from the release of Windows 7. Six years is a huge period in technology, and Windows is not different. In these six years Microsoft changed a lot of built-in features of Windows, and in this post, we're going to present you the most notable ones.

Probably the first thing you're going to notice, besides user interface changes, when you turn on your computer for the first time after switching from Windows 7 to Windows 10 is that there are no Desktop gadgets available anymore. Actually, Microsoft didn't remove this feature from Windows 10 only, as users of Windows 7 are also unable to download gadgets from the internet. Microsoft stated that the main reason for this is a security vulnerability that gadgets bring. But probably the most popular and the most used desktop gadget, Sticky Notes, is still available, but as a stand alone app.

It looks like Microsoft really likes to play with Windows taskbar and its transparency. Aero themes were available in Windows 7, but they was replaced with Metro UI in Windows 8. Also, in earlier builds of Windows 10 Technical Preview, you were able to adjust the transparency of the taskbar, but since the 9901 build, that option has been removed. For now, you're only able to set a solid color of the taskbar in Windows 10 Technical Preview. But, since we probably have a lot of builds to come in the future, there's a chance that Microsoft will decide to bring this feature back. Also, Aero is one of the most voted features in Windows 10, and we'll see if Microsoft is indeed ready to bring the transparency back to Windows 10.

Libraries aren't completely removed from the system, but they're just disabled by default. Many believe that the reason for that is Microsoft's goal to increase the use of its OneDrive cloud integration. Disabling Libraries will fore users to save their files to OneDrive, instead of Libraries. This is probably a part of Microsoft's plan of uniting all the platforms with a single operating system. However, if you want to make use of Libraries, you'll be able to still turn them on, read about that in our report about Libraries.

Microsoft's Windows Media Center was quick living idea, as it was available only in microsoft office 2013. It wasn't completely removed from Windows 8, because users had an option of buying it. And it looks like it won't make its return in Windows 10, because this feature isn't available at all in Windows 10 Technical Preview. But if you're really missing this Windows feature, you could bring it back by performing a couple of tweaks, but it's not recommended, because installing Windows Media Center on Windows 10 Technical Preview will prevent you from receiving future updates and builds.

The Windows Experience rating provides an overall mark of your computer's performance, by running various tests in the background. Those tests rated your computers CPU, memory speed, graphic card and hard disk data transfer rate. It even has been removed in Windows 8, and we don't see any sights of its return in Windows 10. But Windows probably made the suitable move by removing this feature, because it wasn't useful for anything in particular, and it also used some additional resources while performing experience tests.

There are also some other features removed in Windows 10, like redesigned blue screen, improved parental control, or changed backup options. All in all Microsoft continued the evolution of Windows with constant improvements and changes of the system. Microsoft made a good decision with removing some features, and some features maybe should still be present in the Windows, it's on you to give a judgement.

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