Microsoft says Paint ‘here to stay’

THERE was an outpouring of grief when Microsoft indicated it was killing off a classic computer program. Now, it says it’s “here to stay”.

THERE was an outpouring of grief on the internet when Microsoft indicated it was killing off one of its classic programs. Now, the tech company says it is “here to stay”.

It was widely reported yesterday that Microsoft had put MS Paint on the chopping block when the program was labelled as “deprecated” on the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update list, meaning it is “not in active development and might be removed in future releases”.

After the internet lamented the death of the iconic program, Microsoft indicated that computer geeks’ grief was in vain.

“Today, we’ve seen an incredible outpouring of support and nostalgia around MS Paint,” Microsoft general manager Megan Saunders said in a blog post on Monday night, US time.

“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 was introduced in the first version of the Windows operating system in 1985.

The scene of many a crime against the graphic arts in the nineties and noughties, Paint allows even the most novice users to manipulate images with ease and create crude doodles.

This is how fans of the program reacted to rumours of its demise on Monday.

Microsoft is removing MS paint! please tell me its fake news 😭

— ACE (@acekouhai) July 24, 2017

Oi @Microsoft! #paint pic.twitter.com/XSmeLn2V5n

— Mark Reel (@markreel) July 24, 2017

we're going to miss you, Microsoft Paint https://t.co/WhKIqn6Xrx pic.twitter.com/el8zRdZ5Lc

— BBC Three (@bbcthree) July 24, 2017

It's a sad day. I remember spending hours in school doing this on Microsoft Paint #MSPaint pic.twitter.com/AnQu9qVAw5

— Daniel (@DanielBruce_8) July 24, 2017

Microsoft is probably going to kill MS Paint and people are sad https://t.co/e6GJfTaM8o pic.twitter.com/gRWgE7KDko

— Fortune (@FortuneMagazine) July 24, 2017

So long, sweet paint 😢 pic.twitter.com/hawMrOTNRT

— Gaming Humor (@FunnyVideoGame) July 24, 2017

I remember the days of boredom & trying to cover the blank White canvas on MS paint with the smallest sized paint brush😂

— Ali (@RoyMustang786) July 24, 2017

seriously #microsoftpaint you can't get rid of paint i've been trying to workout how to use it for 20 years .. i need more time pic.twitter.com/me1zqAhhdm

— mark hilltops (@hellwelovespurs) July 24, 2017

MS Paint will be supplanted by an updated Paint 3D in the next Windows 10 update, due for release in the Australian spring.

Although it was inspired by the original, Paint 3D is a more sophisticated program focused on creating images with Microsoft’s Surface Pen, rather than a mouse.

The Windows 10 update is also set to kill off the Outlook Express email program.