Microsoft Paint has been an integral part of Windows since its release in 1985, but now, the company plans to kill it. Microsoft’s next Windows 10 Creators Update will trigger the end of Microsoft’s graphics program.
Microsoft Paint now a “deprecated feature”
Microsoft is not altogether shutting down the app; rather, the update will classify the image-editing application as a “deprecated feature.” This means that the app will not be “in active development and might be removed in future releases,” the company said. It must be noted that Paint’s successor, Paint 3D, will still be available.
Microsoft introduced the new Paint 3D in April with the Windows 10 Creators Update. The app is installed alongside the traditional version of Paint and is equipped with 3D image making tools and some basic 2D image editing features.
Moving Paint to the “Deprecation list” in no way means that it will disappear from the Windows system, but it is true that the classic Paint could become harder to find. For instance, Microsoft’s old Web browser Internet Explorer is still part of Windows 10, but it is no longer visible on the task bar, and web pages now by default open with the new Microsoft Edge browser.
Why is Microsoft killing Paint?
Microsoft Paint debuted with Windows 1.0, the first version of the operating system, in 1985. It soon became a core part of Windows. It was first released as a 1-bit monochrome licensed version of ZSoft’s PC Paintbrush and was added with the ability to save in JPEG format only with Windows 98. The Widows 7 version was much better, but it was “still considered feature-poor compared to other free alternatives, such as the third-party Paint.NET,” says The Guardian.
Microsoft’s move away from Paint does not come as a surprise. The longtime Windows app got a demotion when the company released 3D Paint in the Windows 10 Creators Update. Nevertheless, people are very disappointed by the news and are tweeting “RIP” messages for the legendary Paint app.
Game developer Mike Dailly, creator of Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto, tweeted, “They should just release the source and make it public domain.”
Since there is no confirmed date for the Windows 10 Autumn Creators Update, there is no date yet when Microsoft Paint will be officially removed from the Windows system.
Others facing the brunt of the criticism
In addition to Microsoft Paint, other features marked as Deprecated are: Trusted Platform Module (TPM) Remote Management; Windows Hello for Business deployment which uses System Center Configuration Manager; System Image Backup (SIB) Solution; TLS RC4 Ciphers; IIS 6 Management Compatibility; IIS Digest Authentication; Windows PowerShell 2.0; RSA/AES Encryption for IIS; and Sync Your Settings.
The features that will be axed from Windows 10 with the Fall Creators Update are the Outlook Express email client, which was replaced by the built-in Mail app; the Reader app, which was integrated into Microsoft Edge; Reading List; Screen saver functionality in Themes; Trusted Platform Module (TPM) Owner Password Management; Syskey.exe; TCP Offload Engine; 3D Builder app; Apndatabase.xml; Tile Data Layer; and Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET).
