Users React to Possible Removal of Microsoft Paint

For more than 30 years, purchasers of Microsoft's Windows package were assured their acquisition would come with Paint, the computer graphics program that allows users to create and edit image files. But per CNBC, a list updated last week by the company deems Paint "deprecated"—meaning it's at risk of being nixed from the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, which ZDNet notes is anticipated to be released in September. And those who've become accustomed to seeing it with each new release since November 1985 are already expressing pained reactions at the program's possible demise. "Please tell me [it's] fake news," one commenter tweeted, along with a weeping emoji, while others wistfully shared their previous Paint efforts online.

CNBC details Paint's evolution over the years, explaining that even though it wasn't the most sophisticated graphics program—users couldn't even save their creations as JPEG files until Windows 98—"the simplicity was perhaps what made it so popular." Technically, "deprecated" in Microsoft-speak means a program will "not be in active development and might be removed in future releases," so a for-sure death knell hasn't yet been sounded. Meanwhile, on the Microsoft list for definite removal in the update are the Outlook Express email program and the 3D Builder design app, among others. (Microsoft was recently hit with a bout of layoffs.)