Dive Brief:
- Microsoft says it plans to dump Outlook Express and its Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) tool and benching its classic Paint app in the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, according to a Microsoft blog. Paint can still be used, but it will no longer be supported.
- The company listed 22 features that are to be deprecated or removed. The Windows 10 Fall Creators Update is expected for general release in September.
- The functionality of Paint has been integrated into 3D Paint, the company noted, while EMET has been improved and incorporated into Windows Defender Exploit Guard in Windows 10.
Dive Insight:
Microsoft naturally wants to continually streamline and change Windows 10 to meet user needs.
But in this case, the company may have another goal in mind as well. EMET offers tools administrators can use to fix holes in software that hasn't been patched, so some companies might be leveraging the tool as a way to avoid upgrading to Windows 10.
Ending updates to certain tools is an effective way to get users to upgrade, funneling users into current product offerings. Microsoft wants to push as many people to upgrade as possible given vulnerabilities in older versions of the company's software.
It's a tactic Microsoft taps often. In April, Microsoft announced it would no longer support Windows 10 devices running version 1507, the original version of Windows 10.
Paint is 32 years old and the fallout has been swift, vocal and very visual.
