back to article Microsoft ctrl-Zs 'killing' Paint, by which we mean offering naff app through Windows Store

Brushes bristled when Microsoft placed Paint on a list of deprecated features for the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. Now Redmond is promising fans that Paint won't be splashed into the abyss – just moved elsewhere. A Microsoft spokesperson told The Register that "many of the MS Paint features people know and love" such as " …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Paint has its uses

    There are very quick things you can do with it that take longer in more featured editors. But it went downhill when it got the W8 interface, which makes it unnecessarily hard to find things you often want to do.

    1. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

      Re: Paint has its uses

      Indeed, Paint is a very useful application.

      Moving it to the App Store and even making it free was really the wrong decidion.

      Thousands of 'corporate builds' lock down their systems so much that even getting an MS Application from the App Store would not be allowed for possibly millions of users.

      Many places would have to 'certify' the application. Even getting a miracle out of god might be quicker than that process.

      I can only hope that MS has learned a useful lesson here.

      However, I get the feeling that this is just a temporary reprieve at best.

      1. AMBxx Silver badge

        Re: Paint has its uses

        Wait until they try to replace Notepad!

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Paint has its uses

          and then announce a few days later, it's available in their app store, all you have to do is create a Microsoft account.

          This is a lame trick to get people to use Microsoft's rubbish app store, and it will backfire, they will go there** to get Paint, and discover how crap the store is....

          **the dwindling consumers that care about Windows.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Wait until they try to replace Notepad!

          With Notepad++

        3. emullinsabq
          Trollface

          Re: Paint has its uses

          "Wait until they try to replace Notepad!"

          If MS is intent on converting decades old core OS functionality into "free" stuff you now download from the windows store, I have to ask why Edge and IE aren't among them.

          I bet most people would be pleased at that move.

        4. Spanners Silver badge
          Linux

          Re: Paint has its uses

          Wait until they try to replace Notepad!

          In the last article, a number of people mentioned they already use Notepad++ instead.

      2. Shadow Systems

        At Steve Davies 3, re: MS learning a lesson.

        If MS bothered to give a damn about customer feedback, they never would have made the ribbon, the metro UI, or Win10.

        This isn't listening to customer feedback, it's merely saying "Fine, you can have your old Paint, but we're putting it behind a software store we can eventually charge you (more) for, remove it ''for compatibility issues'', & generally fek with you over at our whim."

        Read that MS reply again. "Many of the features" is not ALL of the features, so already the new has kicked the old into the gutter. "Available for free" is only *now*, it doesn't say if that will stay true in the future, so a bit of software that used to be free & included in the OS itself is now no longer the latter & not necessarily the former.

        This may just be my synecism showing but MS has burned its customers so many times in the past that it should include a lifetime supply of aloe vera gell with each copy of Windows.

      3. bombastic bob Silver badge
        Trollface

        Re: Paint has its uses

        "Moving it to the App Store and even making it free was really the wrong decision."

        I had ALREADY predicted they'd make it a UWP "app" (read: CRAPP).

        So this comes as NO surprise, really. Predictable, certainly. And I bet it'll have ADS (at some point in the near future). Just wait.

    2. phuzz Silver badge
      WTF?

      Re: Paint has its uses

      How does the newer interface make it harder?

      You have almost all the same buttons that were visible before, plus buttons for stuff like crop/resize/rotate, that used to be hidden in a menu or non-existent. What about less clicks to access everything that's harder?

      1. Baldrickk

        Re: Paint has its uses

        Have you tried changing the colours you are using? how is that less clicks when you have to click on the primary/secondary selector, then the colour you want, then repeat for the other colour?

    3. Baldrickk

      Re: Paint has its uses

      The ribbon is mostly ok, but only because on Paint, there are almost no controls.

      Plusses:

      Zooming is better than it ever was on XP (even with the additional hidden zoom level)

      Negatives:

      Why the fark did they screw up colour selection? Left click for primary, right click for secondary - great right? Aparrently not.

      Now you need to make sure that the colour you want to change is selected, then go to the palette, then click it, then go to the other colour selector, click that, then select the colour for that. urgh.

      Not hard to find but frustrating to do.

    4. bombastic bob Silver badge
      Devil

      Re: Paint has its uses

      "it went downhill when it got the W7 interface" (with the ribbon)

      corrected for ya, you're welcome.

  2. djstardust

    As usual .....

    MS change soomething ..... public outcry ...... MS reverse their decision.

    Both the UK government and M$ seem to operate the same way. Utterly clueless and totally out of touch with the people.

    1. Bronek Kozicki
      Pint

      Re: As usual .....

      IMO that's better than digging oneself deeper, despite the cries of outrage.

      what's often sufficient to find the common ground ->

    2. Dan 55 Silver badge

      Re: As usual .....

      This has the whiff of marketing/PR strategy placement bullshit about it.

      They really want to push people to have a MS account and at least look at the store. They're now reduced to putting basic tools into the store to do this, possibly adding ads too, because why not?

    3. TRT Silver badge

      Re: As usual .....

      I wonder what the reality will be concerning announced "High Speed Connections" projects?

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: As usual .....

      So listening to consumer feedback, acting upon that feedback and admitting you made a mistake is a bad thing now?

      1. Dan 55 Silver badge

        Re: As usual .....

        If they were acting on feedback they'd just leave it in, instead of using it to prop up their tumbleweed-strewn store.

      2. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

        Re: As usual .....

        "So listening to consumer feedback, acting upon that feedback and admitting you made a mistake is a bad thing now?"

        Not making the mistake in the first place is the better option

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: As usual .....

      "Both the UK government and M$ seem to operate ... Utterly clueless and totally out of touch with the people" ...

      Ever since Billy Gates left control of M$, things have been going downhill. It takes a genius (like the many that M$ hired) to make software work. It takes an even smarter genius to make things work simply. Uncle Billy had that kind of smarter genius. the kind that's sometimes labeled, "Common Sense." Common sense ain't so common, after all.

      1. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge

        Re: As usual .....

        @AC

        Billy Gates - none other than the man himself done on Paint by Pat Hines

        http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-40715545

    6. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: As usual .....

      They didn't reverse their decision, this is a classic Microsoft PR stunt. The intent was to always make it a store app, but get the press coverage and outcry first, and then the Microsoft account signups to follow.

      All this and Microsoft still cant work out why every loathes them, its bullshit like this. They need to sack their entire PR and marketing department and employ humans in their place, perhaps humans that don't treat every costumer like they are some brain-dead cretin.

    7. Spanners Silver badge
      Black Helicopters

      Re: As usual .....

      Both the UK government and M$ seem to operate the same way. Utterly clueless and totally out of touch with the people.

      I am pretty sure that Microsith is not the only software company that is guilty.

      I am also pretty sure that it is not just the British Government that is out of touch with "the people" - whoever they are.

      Any large company that follows, or is influenced by, US business practices and attitudes is primarily interested in the bottom line and screw the customers and actual people who do the work.

      I think governmental failings come from that side of the pond too.

  3. Aladdin Sane

    Can we replace Siri

    With Clippy?

    1. Hans Neeson-Bumpsadese Silver badge

      Re: Can we replace Siri

      It looks like you're making a satirical remark - would you like help with that?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Can we replace Siri

      clippy not replaced by siri but Skype robot clippy that wants to help me use a phone?

      not sure how many paperclips need to be recycled to make a bot that is even more useless though

    3. WolfFan Silver badge

      Re: Can we replace Siri

      With Clippy?

      http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20170725

      <insert evil laugh>

    4. Herby
      Trollface

      Re: Can we replace Siri

      No, replace Clippy with Siri. Much more soothing.

      You need to watch the episode of the _Big Bang Theory_ that discusses this.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Cynical bastard makes comment

    Come to our 'store' to download for free, what used to be included in the OS by default. And, look at all this other 'great stuff' you can buy while you are here......

  5. David Austin

    No Problem with paint3D replacing paint...

    ..but last build I looked at, it was either missing a huge amount of basic classic paint features, or did a bloody good job of hiding them. I'm reasonable technical, but with all the 3D Controls, doing some of the basic stuff like transparent cutting was either impossible or a ball-ache.

    There's a lot to be said for paint Classic's "Keep It Simple, Stupid interface"

    I'm not dissing on paint 3D: it's an amazing free built in app for doing rendering and 3D printing, but they're two different programs with two very different usage cases.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: No Problem with paint3D replacing paint...

      Classic Paint does one thing and does it well. Where have I heard that before?

      1. jelabarre59

        Re: Why the delay?

        Classic Paint does one thing and does it well. Where have I heard that before?

        Not from the SystemD folks, that's for sure.

  6. LewisRage

    It's not that everyone loves paint, its that it is quick, familiar and is already installed. Even having it on the store is going to be a pain. My users aren't able to install from the store, but having a free and quick application that allows them to do basic image manipulation is very useful, I guess then it'll be added to the build...

    I was seeing suggestions of Paint3D, GIMP or Paint.net or the 'free' Photoshop CS2 as alternatives. Which is fine but a very rough test had me open paint , resize an image and save it in less time that GIMP took to load. I guess the same would be true for paint.net and PS would be worse. And although I've not used it for more than 30 seconds I'm assuming Paint 3D is wildly more complicated than paint even for the same basic functions.

    It's like getting rid of notepad because you've bundled Wordpad, their functions are comparable but notepad is lightening fast and does the minimal function that lots of people need with zero fuss.

    1. Pascal Monett Silver badge

      Paint.net is really very simple to use. It starts up in less than a second on my PC, and you can use a raft of keyboard shortcuts to get things done quickly. Comparing it to Gimp is really unfair.

      Give it a try. It's free, so the worst case scenario is you uninstall it.

      1. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
        Facepalm

        Re: Paint.Net?

        And if you are on a corporate build....?

        You can't install it let alone uninstall it.

        I used it a lot in a corporate environment.

        see icon

        1. Pascal Monett Silver badge

          Re: And if you are on a corporate build....?

          If you're on a corporate build, I'll wager you're not going to the Store either. You're asking IT to install it, whatever "it" is.

        2. bombastic bob Silver badge
          FAIL

          Re: Paint.Net?

          anything with ".net" in its name gets my rejection, on principle.

          The author should've called it something else, even if he wrote it using 'C-pound'.

    2. Baldrickk

      Notepad: minimal function

      like refusing to respect that some files may use '\n' for line endings and not '\r\n'?

      like choking on UTF-8 files that don't have a BOM included?

      Wordpad does handle the '\n' case, but is terribe in all other respects (but it is still fast).

      I use neither and opt for notepad++ for text file editing - fast, and packed with actually useful features,

      1. LewisRage

        Re: Notepad: minimal function

        Yes, ok, I knew some nerds would pull me up on this! I chose to gloss over Notepad's shortcomings for the sake of brevity but I completely agree, however the point is that notepad is quick and easy for a lot of quick operations (much like paint is) but falls short on some areas (much like paint does).

        You wouldn't want to have to use wordpad for your basic find/replace you don't want to have to use paint 3d for your basic image crop/resizing.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Take away apps/functionality with an OS update?

      "It's not that everyone loves paint, its that it is quick, familiar and is already installed."

      And while no one has mentioned it, I don't like that idea that MS can just remove whatever app they want with OS updates. You can deprecate it and not support it... just like all of those winXP apps that I still run, but remove it? Yes, we all acknowledge and EULA, but do we now have to start worrying what MS is going to take away with each OS update?

      1. TimeMaster T

        Re: Take away apps/functionality with an OS update?

        "... do we now have to start worrying what MS is going to take away with each OS update?"

        Yes. Yes you do.

      2. bombastic bob Silver badge
        Trollface

        Re: Take away apps/functionality with an OS update?

        "I don't like that idea that MS can just remove whatever app they want with OS updates"

        Just like DRM invalidating keys so your content quits playing. They do it *BECAUSE*! *THEY*! *CAN*!!!

      3. LewisRage

        Re: Take away apps/functionality with an OS update?

        Yes, this is a good point I hadn't thought about. Removing full functional, existing features from the OS really isn't something that should be happening.

  7. Chewi
    Linux

    Who needs MS Paint when you can have...

    Tux Paint! The noises it makes crack me up every time.

    I was in Edinburgh's sick kids hospital a while back and saw they had a (hopefully disconnected) Windows XP desktop running MS Paint to keep the kids amused. The temptation to install Tux Paint via a USB stick was very strong but so was the risk of my wife divorcing me on the spot.

    1. Snorlax Silver badge

      Re: Who needs MS Paint when you can have...

      "The temptation to install Tux Paint via a USB stick was very strong but so was the risk of my wife divorcing me on the spot."

      The doctors would have taken you down to the operating theatre for a lobotomy. Probably.

    2. wolfetone Silver badge

      Re: Who needs MS Paint when you can have...

      "The temptation to install Tux Paint via a USB stick was very strong but so was the risk of my wife divorcing me on the spot."

      Does she have shares in Microsoft?

  8. Snorlax Silver badge

    Can you not...

    ...just take paint.exe from an XP install disk and use that?

    Or had MS planned on straight up preventing you from using the executable, in much the same way as they did with old versions of Office? Hardly seems worth the effort to do that though...

    1. artem

      Re: Can you not...

      Legally, only if you own a license for Windows XP, otherwise no dice.

    2. Smed

      Re: Can you not...

      Paint, Solitaire, Minesweeper, etc... from XP all seem to work fine in recent builds of Windows 10. You might needs to grab a couple of .dlls that might be missing but the last time I tried, worked fine.

      1. Snorlax Silver badge

        Re: Can you not...

        @Smed:"Paint, Solitaire, Minesweeper, etc... from XP all seem to work fine in recent builds of Windows 10."

        Cheers, that's what I thought alright. Crisis averted.

        @artem:"Legally, only if you own a license for Windows XP, otherwise no dice."

        Yeah, of course. It goes without saying... :rolleyes:

    3. LaeMing

      Re: Can you not...

      I think the issue was more that it was flagged as not going to get security updates anymore, so using the XP version is a step even further backward in that regard.

  9. ratfox
    Megaphone

    Good

    I honestly don't understand why Apple doesn't include MacPaint with their OS anymore. It used to be the best app in the system.

    1. Snorlax Silver badge
      Meh

      Re: Good

      Creative neckbeard types these days prefer the full-on Adobe Creative Suite experience, even if they only use a tiny fraction of its features.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Good

        "Creative neckbeard types these days prefer the full-on Adobe Creative Suite experience, even if they only use a tiny fraction of its features."

        Oh God, O Montreal!

        Reminds me of one of them complaining when asked to submit a document in .doc rather than .docx that he would lose the "upgraded" features of his document.

        Which turned out to be a one page continuous text blob in 10 point sans.

    2. ritey

      Re: Good

      I think MS worry that people will say the same about MS Paint.

    3. WolfFan Silver badge

      Re: Good

      I honestly don't understand why Apple doesn't include MacPaint with their OS anymore. It used to be the best app in the system.

      Unfortunately MacPaint was written in 680x0 assembler and using APIs discontinued after System 7. It was never updated for PPC and System 8 to OS 9, and definitely can't run on OS X on either PPC or Intel.

      MacPaint was written back when the boyz (and it was then almost all boyz) at Apple could write compact, documented, easily debugged, fast code which didn't use much RAM or disk. Those days are long gone.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Good

        "Apple could write compact, documented, easily debugged, fast code which didn't use much RAM or disk"

        Not only Apple. Ashton-Tate Fullwrite Pro came on 3 720k floppies and was more than capable of producing adequate black and white documents, including fiddling with kerning.

      2. davidp231

        Re: Good

        And the machine MacPaint (and MacWrite) were originally written for only had 128K of memory. Later versions of MacPaint run fine under 7-9 (runs quite happily on my Beige G3).

  10. inmypjs Silver badge

    Anyone cares really?

    I much prefer operating systems not to come with bundled crap.

    That said, in terms of bundled crap I would like Win 10 not to come with paint is way down the list.

    1. Shadow Systems

      Re: Anyone cares really?

      Of all the things that come with Win10 that one might not want (I certainly don't), telemetry is right there at the top. How many people screamed at MS to drop that particular clusterfuck? Did MS listen? And there's your answer to if MS gives SFA about the customer feedback.

      1. salamamba too

        Re: Anyone cares really?

        and the snooping is why no-one using windows 10 should open a microsoft account - otherwise you are just linking all the crap win 10 reports on with an actual identity.

    2. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      Re: Anyone cares really?

      "I much prefer operating systems not to come with bundled crap."

      Most people only want the applications. They'd prefer them to come without bundled crap operating systems.

  11. Oh Matron!

    Windows 3.11

    I haz on floppy if anyone is desperate for a copy of paint...

    1. davidp231

      Re: Windows 3.11

      That's Paintbrush.. NOT Paint. If you really want Paint, go dig out a Win95 install.

      1. 's water music

        Re: Windows 3.11

        That's Paintbrush.. NOT Paint.

        although 'pbrush' is still aliased to paint

        1. davidp231

          Re: Windows 3.11

          Yeah, beacuse they stripped the pbrush.exe executable and turned it into a loader for Paint after they got rid of Paintbrush. Still doesn't make them the same thing - and neither does using an alias link.

          Only difference is Paintbrush was allowed to retire without being afflicted with a ribbon.

          1. TRT Silver badge

            Re: Windows 3.11

            DeluxePaint IV on the Amiga. Ah, what joy!

      2. wolfetone Silver badge

        Re: Windows 3.11

        "That's Paintbrush.. NOT Paint. If you really want Paint, go dig out a Win95 install."

        Such a hipster.

  12. adam payne

    I don't want it in the store I want it included with the OS like it has been from the year dot.

    Don't go changing things for no reason, then say you've listened and dump it on the store.

  13. Christopher Reeve's Horse

    It's a simple recipe...

    Problem: No one is using MS Store.

    Solution: Take something that everyone uses, and make it only available from MS Store.

  14. artem

    This is ridiculous.

    Come and see C:\Windows\WinSxS which is filled with literally _gigabytes_ of libraries you'll never need (like localized versions of many core libraries even though you don't intend to install and use any language pack) while a lightning fast, super easy to use application which weighs less than 1 megabyte gets removed.

    Microsoft has lost touch with reality.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      That's half the problem, it's too fast and too easy to use. It's making their other products look bad.

    2. richardcox13

      > filled with literally _gigabytes_ of libraries

      Wrong.

      Many filenames for a few files thanks to hard links. The actual storage usage is much smaller than most tools will show.

      Some day tools for getting the space taken up by files will be updated to support multiple directory entries referencing the same file ... maybe given Explorer has yet to handle this.

      1. D@v3

        @ richardcox13

        The folder may not *actually* be filled with gigabytes of files, but, if all the tools say it is, and you cant use the space for anything else, or delete the files, then does it really matter?

      2. bombastic bob Silver badge
        Boffin

        "Some day tools for getting the space taken up by files will be updated to support multiple directory entries referencing the same file"

        yes, I too have built embedded Linux systems that use BUSYBOX...

        (Micro-shaft is, once again, late to the party)

        warning: technical content

        busybox uses a single executable to offer most of the standard command line utilities like cat, ls, etc. as well as the shell itself (if I remember correctly). Symbolic links are used for all of the relevant commands, all of which point to the busybox executable.

        Whenever Linux loads an application, the first argument in the list in 'argv' will be the application name. Busybox then checks to see if it was invoked using 'ls' or 'cat' or one of the other things its implementing, and jumps to the appropriate place in the program. This way it can exist in a much smaller form without shared libs and other things that actually slow things down considerably. You'll find busybox (or things like it) on wifi routers dating from the mid "noughties" (or is it 'nowties' ?), made by companies like Linksys and DLink. It may also be part of OpenWRT and other similar open source implementations, where it must smash down into a very tiny FLASH image that's extracted into a memory file system at boot time. So "being very tiny" is extremely important.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Great, now I'll have to start footling about adding simple bits of software to my windows installations to get them to function the way I expect, just like I already have to do with my Linux distro of choice. Is this some strange tactic to gain share of the hobbyist market...?

  16. mark l 2 Silver badge

    The best bitmap paint program for me still has to be Deluxe Paint III on the Amiga. Back when EA used to do software other than games.

    I remember using it to edit some IFF's of the Flintstones cartoon I had grabbed from TV using my Vidi frame grabber on my A500+ when I was about 12 year old. Happy days.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Windows 10 = Toblerone

    This nostalgia is being driven by the fact that Microsoft have made their product infinitely worse.

    Given a Toblerone with huge gaps in it, of course people long for a bygone era, but then you realise that actually Windows XP was annoying as hell, and that you don't even like Toblerone, and only bought it for something to do at the duty free.

    1. Captain DaFt

      Re: Windows 10 = Toblerone

      Oof, the downvotes you've gotten.

      But the truth is, the original XP received the same kind of hatred that Win10 does now.

      It wasn't until SP3 that XP became something that was rather stable and usable, and a bit secure.

      Then along came Vista, and it made XP look like perfection in comparison!

      A brief bump up with Win7, then it all keeps going downhill at an ever accelerating pace.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Windows 10 = Toblerone

        No sweat. The downvoters are just Toblerone apologists.

      2. bombastic bob Silver badge
        Devil

        Re: Windows 10 = Toblerone

        "But the truth is, the original XP received the same kind of hatred that Win10 does now."

        among a very small number of people, maybe. The Win-10-nic hate is MUCH bigger. Even 'Vista Hate" pales by comparison. Perhaps 'windows 8 hate' is on the same level, though...

        [at least, from what I've seen - YMMV]

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Slimming...

    It's about time Windows went on a diet, there's a plethora of crap that could be separate downloads.

    Notepad AND Wordpad for instance what's that about?

  19. Sorry that handle is already taken. Silver badge

    Err...

    Wasn't this the case all along?

  20. Kevin Johnston

    Required software

    It has often been said with the mildest hint of sarcasm that 80% of staff only ever needed Calc, Notepad and Paint to perform their jobs.

    1. Dan 55 Silver badge
      Flame

      Re: Required software

      Don't make me start on what they've done to Calc in Windows 10...

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I like paint but what I really want brought back is proper size monster munches not this namby pandy rubbish they peddle these days.

    Yes, it's off topic and yes Microsoft can't do anything about it but that doesn't not change the fact that I want proper monster munch.

    Someone could in fact point out that maybe my hands have got bigger as I grew up but again I don't care, I also don't care if my memory is fuzzy and that maybe they were the same size all along.

    1. John 110

      ...I want proper monster munch...

      and Wagon Wheels the size of your head

      1. IsJustabloke
        Thumb Up

        Re: ...I want proper monster munch...

        "and Wagon Wheels the size of your head"

        Yes, with chocolate that was at least an inch thick!

  22. Jonathan 27

    Perfect

    This is the perfect solution, I personally don't use paint anymore so I like the option to not have it installed if I don't want. I've already made use of the option to remove Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer from Windows 10. It would be nice to see Microsoft unbundle more of the software that ships with Windows so we can remove it if we want.

    I know a lot of people have been talking about Notepad too, which I also don't really use (NotePad++ FTW). But I think a basic text editor should be bundled with the OS because you occasionally need it to get yourself out of situations with corrupted config files. I suppose I'd be ok if it was a store package, as long as it was installed by default. Microsoft also needs to work on the store, I never have issues installing anything from Google Play on my phone, but the Windows Store is always having install issues and I barely ever use it.

    P.S. I noticed a lot of people haven't noticed that Microsoft has already removed calc.exe, the current one is just a launcher for the WinRT calculator app. As such it doesn't work if you corrupt your WinRT subsystem, as are parts of the start menu.

    1. Baldrickk

      Re: Perfect

      It also wont work if your father has a MS acount on two machines, and has only updated his settings (for Creators Update) on one of them.

      Other things that won't work incude, but are not limited to:

      mail

      calendar

      news

      maps

      skype

      weather

      ...

      So when he came home from an extended holiday, I had some fixing to do.

      Annoyingly, with the calendar broken on one machine, it then also required a password reset before it would begin working again, and even then it is refusing to sync the updated calendar...

      These things should be simple.

  23. conscience
    FAIL

    Desperate PR stunt

    This reads more like a desperate PR move so that people actually talk about the Microsoft App Store, something that isn't happening organically because it is a failure that few are interested in using.

  24. TVU Silver badge

    "Microsoft ctrl-zs 'killing' Paint, by which we mean offering naff app through Windows Store"

    ^ Excellent news and a win for people power (we like it when that happens).

  25. 0laf

    I was worried for a bit but "Jim'll Paint it" has Paint on an XP VM so he can continue to work.

    Worth looking up if you need a chortle.

  26. Solarflare

    A Microsoft spokesperson told The Register that "many of of the MS Paint features people know and love" such as "photo editing and 2D creation" are in the free Paint3D, Paint's replacement.

    What's Paint 3D? I mean, sure i can work out exactly what it is, but before now I hadn't heard of it at all...

  27. 2Fat2Bald

    I like Paint.Net - it's a nicely enhanced version of Paint.exe that is nicely judged for clipping and adding notes to photos and the line.

  28. Steve Aubrey
    Joke

    ERM

    I happened across a recent newsletter from the Edlin Resistance Movement the other day. Both members are convinced that any day - even Real Soon Now - edlin will be reintroduced as the text editor of choice.

    They look forward to the glorious day.

  29. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Classic Coke 2.0

    That is all.

  30. Anonymous Coward
    Windows

    Get serious!

    Paint should be in the Olde Curiosity Shoppe, not the Store.

  31. Anonymous Coward
    Windows

    Kewl!

    I'd be happy to subscribe to Paint Online at £1/month/user

    1. D@v3

      Re: Kewl!

      Don't give them any ideas

  32. mrmond

    Classic paint & Calculator

    Both available from Winaero.com

  33. Private Citizen.AU

    Paint and Notepad the OS survivors and saviours

    The best thing about Paint and notepad is that they have been around since windows 1.x and they are available on every Windows computer.

    When someone asks to support their windows computer in person or remotely you have two tools that work consistently. That most users can use or start these two apps.

    Now Microsoft want to bury it in their itunes wannabee store.

    Microsoft will finally have a must-have app in their app store,

    1. davidp231

      Re: Paint and Notepad the OS survivors and saviours

      *The best thing about Paint and Notepad is that Paint has been around since 1995, and Notepad has been around since Windows 1.

      Fixed.

      Paint != Paintbrush. And no, the executable/alias doesn't make them one and the same - it just launches Paint.

  34. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I ride an old paint

    I ride an old dan

    I'm going to Montana

    To throw a hoolihan...

  35. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Windows Store? I don't want a Microsoft account.

    Neither do I wish to partake in any of Microsoft's products and services which require a Microsoft account e.g. Cortana, OneDrive, Outlook (Hotmail), Skype, Office 365.

    And I sure do not want to download or purchase anything on the Windows Store. We still haven't forgotten how you had 'nickel-and-dime'd' the 'new and improved' Solitaire game when Windows 10 was released.

    http://time.com/3977862/windows-10-solitaire/

    All I need from Windows is:

    1) The ability to run win32 applications (productivity, games, legacy) well.

    2) The ability to get on the Internet, and browse the web with the non-Microsoft browser of my choice.

    3) Compatibility with hardware old and new, with their drivers running well.

    Anything other than the above three points is irrelevant.

    Nice try but no thanks, Microsoft.

  36. JellyBean

    Meh

    Sire. Sire! The peasants are revolting!

    Yes, aren't they ...

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like