R.I.P. Microsoft Paint – 1985 to 2017

R.I.P. Microsoft Paint - 1985 to 2017

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Microsoft is slated to kill off one of its most nostalgia-inducing pieces of software. Apparently, when the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update rolls out later this year, it will mark the end of the line for Microsoft Paint.

Microsoft Paint is, of course, the almost legendary graphics editing program that’s undoubtedly responsible for countless bad doodles and amateurish artistic creations. The program has been with Windows since its very first iteration in 1985, but as of this year, it’s listed as a “deprecated” feature in Windows 10, as first spotted by The Guardian. That means it will no longer be “in active development” and may be removed entirely in a future release.

If you spent any time near a Windows PC during your childhood or young adult years, MS Paint was likely the first graphics application that you used. And while it’s obviously a feature-limited program, the software’s legacy goes beyond any artistic practicality. For many of us, Paint is a software that spawns fond memories of doodling and simple image-editing — from the classroom to the office.

It’s not like we didn’t see it coming. Last October, Microsoft announced a completely overhauled version of the software called Paint 3D — which, presumably, will bring the art of bad, two-dimensional computer doodling into the future. Paint 3D also has easy export options for sharing to social media, platforms that didn’t exist when MS Paint was first released. And if any feature of the new app is a sign of the times, it’s 3D Paint’s included ability to create custom emoji.

Of course, though Microsoft Paint may now be a deprecated software, there’s still no timeline for its removal. But while it may not be completely killed off in the fall, it’s safe to say that its era is officially over.

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