Yahoo News Microsoft is saving MS Paint – and it's free now too
UPDATE: MS Paint has NOT been discontinued, it seems, as Microsoft has responded to the outpouring of nostalgic grief around the basic PC art program's demise after 32 years. Instead, it is shifting off the main Windows operating system and into the Windows Store – and it's free, too.
In a statement on its blog, Microsoft said:
"Today, we've seen an incredible outpouring of support and nostalgia around MS Paint. If there's anything we learned, it's that after 32 years, MS Paint has a lot of fans. It's been amazing to see so much love for our trusty old app.
"Amidst today's commentary around MS Paint we wanted to take this opportunity to set the record straight, clear up some confusion and share some good news: MS Paint is here to stay, it will just have a new home soon, in the Windows Store where it will be available for free.
"Paint 3D – the new app for creativity, also available for free with the Windows 10 Creators Update, will continue to get new feature updates. In addition to the new 3D capabilities, many of the MS Paint features people know and love like photo editing, line and curve tools, and 2D creation are in Paint 3D.
"So, thanks for all the MS Paint love, keep the feedback coming via the Paint 3D app, and keep creating!"
ORIGINAL STORY: An enormous slice of our digital childhoods is headed for the commercial chopping block according to the next big Windows 10 update's notes: it's finally time to say goodbye to Microsoft Paint.
Millions worldwide have used the staple PC program for everything from from silly scrawls to emergency office cut-and-paste jobs for decades, but the basic art software, it seems, is no longer part of Microsoft's vision for Windows.
The first version of MS Paint was released some 32 years go, shipping back in 1985 with Windows 1.0 when you couldn't even save your hasty creations as JPEGs (we had to wait till Windows 98 for that feature).
Yet despite numerous updates the service has remained rather 'feature light' – what others may call bare-bones – with what was once refreshingly simple increasingly seeming out of step in the face of ever-more complex free alternatives such as Paint.net.
Microsoft introduced Paint 3D in April, which has three-dimensional image-making tools as well as rudimentary 2D ones, but is a separate program entirely.
Microsoft has signalled in notes for the Autumn Creators Update for Windows 10 that Paint is "not in active development and might be removed in future releases". It's unclear when the program will actually disappear, but its end is near.
Outlook Express is sharing Paint's fate, too, and will be removed in the update when it arrives at some point this autumn.
While many mock Paint's minimalist toolset, some digital artists have managed to bring us great images using the program, especially in recent years. What will become of Jim'll Paint It now?!
Another online favourite, Chris (Simpsons Artist), also uses Paint.
But while nostalgia sheds a tear, with the widespread use of far more fully featured free programs run from web browsers, like Pixlr, most are unlikely to mourn its passing.
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