Windows Media Center no more

If you like Windows Media Center, you might not want to upgrade to Windows 8.

For the uninitiated, Windows Media Center is the Windows component that turns your PC into a robust, well, media center. It serves up photos, music, videos, and, best of all, TV, all via a gorgeous 10-foot interface that's great for controlling from the couch.

Indeed, a PC running Windows Media Center makes a killer DVR, whether you pair it with an over-the-air tuner or a cable-company CableCard. I've professed my love for WMC many, many times in this space.

But over the years, Microsoft has treated it like the red-headed stepchild, barely acknowledging its existence, acquiring and then effectively killing off one of the Web's most popular WMC forums, and, now, relegating it to a Windows 8 add-on.

Well for Windows 8, Windows Media Center is not part of the default configuration. To get it, you will have to pay for it. Microsoft has not announced pricing yet, but after years of making it part of the OS, any price is too much.