Microsoft Paint to be killed off after 32 years

[Mr. Analog]

https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2017/07/24/ms-paint-stay/#UjiMIX5XsboXWfUl.97

So the plan is rather insidious - if you want to use MS Paint you need to create an account with Microsoft and use their Store to download it - this now links your copy of Windows 10 to you and they can get to datamining. Clever.

Imagine if they did the same thing to Notepad

[Thorin]

Well, it also sounds like they hadn't really thought this through and then decided to just add it to the Store because of the unexpected backlash.

[Mr. Analog]

Well, it also sounds like they hadn't really thought this through and then decided to just add it to the Store because of the unexpected backlash.

I think this was really testing the waters to see how people would react. You watch other stuff like Windows Media Player will be next

[Darren Dirt]

I use MS Paint a lot for quickly editing screenshots / doodling. It can be a powerful tool if you learn it.

Says everybody everywhere this week!

Seriously, it was almost understandable when they dropped "Photo Editor" from the MS Office suite (and replaced it with something that was a glorified slideshow-creator, lacking most features) but at least that you can get to work kinda (on my Windows 8 laptop I did anyway, with the old Office 97 install "floppies" (!) ) but MSPAINT is like even simpler so you'd think it has been "Portable-ified" on the web all over the place by now, right?


Does microsoft really think all users of Windows just build spreadsheets and text-only Word documents or something?

I mean at the very least, for screenshots, WTF now? The "clipboard" tool or snip or w/e is not gonna... cut it.

I've substituted MS Paint with .NET Paint, which is free.  Quick launching and editing program.

What a ton of people will end up doing. But not by the suggestion of Microsoft, but rather by what those "in the know" suggest to them in YouTube comments or whatever... Unless GIMP or something is recommended. What is the best for "non-techies" who just want to crop out part of or add a red arrow to a screenshot? I'm asking on behalf of people in support roles everywhere. quick launch, small footprint, super-simple menu or action buttons obv.

[Darren Dirt]

Well, it also sounds like they hadn't really thought this through and then decided to just add it to the Store because of the unexpected backlash.

I think this was really testing the waters to see how people would react. You watch other stuff like Windows Media Player will be next

I @%&#ing HATE that attitude in IT (whether it is a vendor big or small, OR the local IT analysts) "let's remove this feature / application / useraccount AND SEE HOW LOUDLY PEOPLE COMPLAIN (then we'll know who uses it)" @%&# you, people who think this is a good practice!

[Darren Dirt]

https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2017/07/24/ms-paint-stay/#UjiMIX5XsboXWfUl.97

So the plan is rather insidious - if you want to use MS Paint you need to create an account with Microsoft and use their Store to download it - this now links your copy of Windows 10 to you and they can get to datamining. Clever.

Imagine if they did the same thing to Notepad

Notepad already has a TON of still-simple alternatives that are quick-launch and portable-no-install so they would have no profit-based reason to do so. And lots of automation/scripts that at the very least launch Notepad with [filename.ext] would break, thus a far worse PR nightmare than "taking away a little-used outdated graphics program" they obviously thought this was gonna be.

So I decided to not be lazy did a quick search...

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=mspaint.exe+portable&ia=web


Pretty quickly found this:
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Graphic/Graphic-Editors/Paint-XP.shtml "Packed with the same useful tools and options this is the MS Paint application before Windows 7 introduced the ribbon to its interface"

or of course https://www.getpaint.net/download.html I guess -- but is that quick-launch and portable? (not that "Paint-XP" necessarily is, idk, I just found it)