Goodbye, impromptu doodle sessions, cry users

A torrent of grief and nostalgia hit social media after

Microsoft

announced plans to stop actively developing its 32-year-old iconic application,

MS Paint

. Though the company has clarified that the 'trusty old app' isn't going anywhere, users believe lack of updates and addition of new features translates to slow death.
A widely-circulated statement from Microsoft read, "MS Paint is here to stay, it will just have a new home soon, in the WindowsStore where it will be available for free." Experts and users, however, argue that it won't be the same as it is in its current state as an intrinsic part of Windows, the way Notepad or Snipping Tool are. Paint, it seems, won't be installed with

Windows

by default, especially on office and enterprise machines. And at strict workplaces, the admin may not allow employees to install apps from the Windows Store.
So, while you will be able to use Paint at home by downloading it for free, you may have to say goodbye to impromptu doodle sessions when trying to catch a short break from work. The app has been part of our digital childhood and the idea that it won't accessible the way it has all these years has led netizens to grieve, albeit prematurely, with RIP #MSPaint trending on Twitter. Hyderabad Times speaks to a few fans of MS Paint about their attachment with the app.
Time to bid adieu to a large part of childhood
TIn school, MS Paint comprised a major part of my computer class. While my teachers thought I was busy with some programming language, I would be drawing two crooked hills, a tree and a house next to the river. Now, like many other things, it’s time to say goodbye to a large part of our childhood. Floppy disks and cassettes are gone, and Paint will be one more in that long farewell. But I doubt if today’s kids know much about drawing lines and shapes on the computer; they are busier on their Playstations.
— Anuj Gurwara, stand-up comic

With MS Paint, people avoided using advanced tools
The bright side is that it will let employees learn more advanced editing tools. Because of MS Paint, which obviously is an important tool for any age group, limits the skill set; people don’t want to try other tools that are way more superior, because it takes time to learn. But it is saddening because I have been using it since I was in class 2. MS Paint will always remind me of my childhood. —

Akshay Tiwari

, community manager

Unless we download and use it, we can’t say anything
Iwouldn’t want Paint removed from the MS Office version. Even kids would love to experiment a lot of things on paint. But if a 3D version of it is available, which has all the basic features and is user friendly, there won’t be any problem. If it’s available on Windows store, we can rest assured that it is an authorised version. But until we get the chance to use it, we cannot reach a conclusion.
—

Vanalatha S

, techie

First thing I learnt on computer was how to use Paint
This news is sad because I have childhood memories attached to Paint. I remember my dad got me a computer when I was class 4 or 5, and the first thing I learnt was how to use Paint. In fact, I might still have print-outs of some of those doodles. We don’t use desktop computers much these days,
but if I ever sit with my laptop, I would want to paint for sure.
— Raj Tarun, actor