What are the Windows 10 N and KN Editions?

Due to a ruling for anti-competitive practices by the European Commission in 2004, Microsoft has been forced to maintain special editions for its Windows operating systems. Labeled "N" for Europe and "KN" for Korea, these editions include all the base features of the operating system but without Windows Media Player and related technologies pre-installed. For the Windows 10 editions, this includes Windows Media Player, Music, Video, Voice Recorder and Skype.

If you reside in and purchase a PC in a country required to use the N and KN editions, you receive a computer without media technologies. This can cause some headaches, particularly when using apps and visiting web sites that have been coded to utilize the built-in Windows media capabilities. For a full list of excluded features, check out Media feature pack for Windows 10 N and Windows 10 KN editions on the Microsoft support site.

The ruling was about consumer choice. However, if you choose to, you can still install Windows Media Player and related apps anytime for free by downloading and installing a special Media Feature Pack.

You can find the download for Windows 10 here: Media Feature Pack for N and KN versions of Windows 10