With the release of Windows 10, Microsoft decided to cut and mangle some beloved, long-standing features available in previous versions of its operating system. SEE: (TechRepublic) Windows Media Center is gone and Solitaire now shows you full-screen ads, which you have to pay to get rid of. That's not to mention the outcry over Microsoft releasing software to play DVDs that costs $14.99 through the Windows Store. Fortunately, you can ignore these shenanigans - as there is plenty of free software out there to fill the gaps in Microsoft's new OS. When it comes to word-processing options on Windows 10, you're stuck with the rather bare bones WordPad.
You can of course download the mobile-focused versions of Office for free but these aren't tailored for desktop use. That includes software for word processing, creating spreadsheets, making presentations, database management and more. It is compatible with many different file formats, so there's a good chance you'll be able to open documents and spreadsheets created in Microsoft Office. The look and feel will be familiar to anyone who used Office 2003, as its menu takes it cues from the classic Office layout rather than the Ribbon arrangement used in more recent releases. Version 5.0 of LibreOffice has just been released - bringing with it improvements to Calc - LibreOffice's alternative to Excel - and better support for importing user profiles. 2: VLC Microsoft's removal of Windows Media Center from Windows 10 - only to release instead a $14.99 DVD player app - has been met with disapproval in some quarters.