Microsoft is killing off MS Paint

You may never again use your favorite painting tool as Microsoft is killing MS Paint in future Windows 10 updates

One of the last icons of Windows is getting killed!!!. Yes, Microsoft is killing MS Paint in its Windows 10 Fall Creators update. The very same MS Paint which we used to try to write our name in different fonts and styles since Windows was first launched in 1985. And the very same MS Paint which kept our kids busy for hours trying to make some design or drawing.

Microsoft has just released this sad news through a list which will be covered in its upcoming Windows 10 Fall creators update.  This list contains the features that Microsoft will either remove or deprecate in the update and if the user feedback is positive than Microsoft will remove some or all the programs marked on the list permanently.

RIP MS Paint – 1985 to 2017

While the list is pretty big, the important App that is making all the waves on the internet today is the removal of age-old graphics application MS Paint. Paint has long been a mainstay in Windows since it was first launched in its present iconic avatar in 1985,  For many of early Windows users, it was perhaps the first application they opened when they bought a new computer. Now Microsoft is removing MS Paint from the Creators update and if the feedback is positive then we may never user or see MS Paint again. The Microsoft’s report says that MS Paint will “not be in active development and might be removed in future releases.”

End of an Era

MS Paint was released alongside Windows 1 back in November 1985. Microsoft has since continued to upgrade the application from its 1-bit monochrome version. While it pails in comparison to other image editing software today, users have long since learned to live with and accept Paint’s limited feature set. A lot many users also tend to go back to Paint when they come across the need to add the odd highlight to an image. Even though the application has a legacy of creating bad illustrated art, it is also the nostalgia that users associate with it that makes Windows Paint so memorable for us.

The development does not come as a surprise to many, however, considering that Microsoft has been toiling away at Paint 3D – the revamped version of Paint that Microsoft released alongside Windows 10 Creators Update and it was a foregone conclusion that Paint will eventually cease to exist in favor of its replacement. Paint 3D has the benefit of being a Windows Store app, meaning it does not need to wait for an OS update to get updates and bug fixes. Microsoft’s Paint 3D also includes the capabilities that MS Paint was noted for and adds a few of its own so users who still depended on MS Paint should not be too alarmed.  However, we should point out that Microsoft has only marked it as deprecated but has not set a date yet when it will remove Paint completely.

Other Apps which will undergo the Microsoft axe!!!

Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) is one feature that is going to meet the same future as MS Paint. Microsoft is set to stop the support of EMET  that has a long history of being used in enterprises for mitigating Zero-day vulnerabilities. Microsoft has said that it will be stopping support for EMET in July 2018 and has been urging users to upgrade to Windows 10 where the features will be included in the OS itself. Microsoft has urged its users to use the  Exploit Protection feature of Windows Defender Exploit Guard as a replacement.

The next release of Windows 10 will also be marking the removal of the 3D Builder app, Outlook Express, the Reader app, Reading List, and Syskey.exe.  While the others on the axe list may be missed but as a Windows user even imagining a Microsoft Windows without MS Paint is a different ball game altogether. RIP MS Paint – 1985 to 2017!