[ملخص]Operating System Features and Apps That Microsoft Will Discontinue This Year – Yajiuma no Mori – Window Forest

Microsoft seems to be slimming down Windows lately, as several older features and apps have been marked “obsolete” this year. “Deprecated” means that it will not be deleted immediately, but is no longer actively developed or maintained, so you should not use it often. It is possible that it will be removed in the near future, so if you have an alternative it is best to take the opportunity to migrate.

This time, I would like to summarize the operating system functions and applications that have been “deprecated” this year, and explore how users can prepare for them.

Features that are no longer used often

There are many features that are added to the operating system with great fanfare, but end up being used less than expected and become a drain on disk storage. Also, while it's nice to just bloat storage space, you may not be able to add new features as they may cause compatibility issues.

It would be better if these features no longer existed. It seems that there are not many people who would be upset about deleting it from the operating system, so there is no need to take any special measures.

• Windows Mixed Reality: It was a cool feature that allowed you to jump into a virtual reality/mixed reality world with a compatible headset and controller, but it didn't really work.
  

  Windows Mixed Reality lets you step into the world of virtual reality/mixed reality with compatible headsets and controllers

• Microsoft Defender Application Guard: A security feature for businesses using virtualization features that powerfully protects Microsoft Office and Microsoft Edge… but implementation doesn't seem to have progressed much.
• Schedule for Microsoft Entra Accounts: Ability to sync schedule across devices. It was one of the signature features of Windows 10, but it seemed like a lot of users didn't want to go that far.

Old standard application

In recent years, Microsoft has focused on updating its standard applications, and in particular, applications such as Notepad and Paint have not only had their designs updated, but their functionality has also been significantly expanded.

However, on the other hand, there are also applications that do not have any improvements. These applications will also be removed from the operating system in the future.

• Windows Speech Recognition (WSR): An accessibility feature that lets you operate the operating system using your voice. As a successor, “Voice Access” is installed in Windows 11 22H2 or later, so let's use that. However, Japanese support will be available from now on.
• Step Recorder (Steps Recorder/psr.exe): A tool that records errors. The likely successor application is Feedback Hub.
• Tips: It's rarely used, so I don't think many people will be bothered by it.
• WordPad: Historical word processing application.Although many people regret it, it is true that the free web version of “Word” has higher functionality.
  

  “WordPad” has been neglected while “Memopad” has been greatly enhanced

• Troubleshooting Tool (Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool/MSDT): A feature that appears when you're in trouble, but it's not particularly useful and has attracted unnecessary hate. It looks like you'll be redirected to the “Get Help” app, but I wonder if that would be helpful…?
• Cortana in Windows: Cortana will be inherited by Copilot with full upward compatibility

Most apps already have alternatives, so you won't have much of a problem if they are deprecated or stopped.

Very old feature

Windows is the “compatibility devil,” and applications from a quarter century ago still work. However, such efforts to maintain compatibility also have some drawbacks. Some people may have a problem with the operating system becoming larger and more complex, or becoming a security weakness, but this is something that cannot be helped. Affected users should either abandon the feature or quietly move to a workaround.

The biggest impact seems to be VBScript. They are used inside installation tools, are part of management tool chains, and live in unexpected places. If possible, you should set up an environment in which it is disabled, test if any issues occur, uncover any dependencies, and then move to an alternative method.

VBScript seems to have a major deprecation effect. It runs in places you don't know about, so it can be hard to detect.