The fundamental phrase processing software program WordPad, which was supplied free on the PC for practically 30 years, will not obtain updates and can not be obtainable in future variations of Home windows, in accordance with a help notice from Microsoft.
WordPad was first launched 28 years in the past with the Home windows 95 working system. The device lets you learn recordsdata in .rtf, .docx, .odt and even .txt format. Nonetheless, it doesn’t have options equivalent to correcting spelling errors or footnotes.
WordPad’s demise isn’t a shock, Microsoft hasn’t paid it a lot consideration in over a decade. The newest notable replace dates again to the introduction of Home windows 8 in 2012. One other signal: Since 2020, PC homeowners have additionally been in a position to uninstall the applying from their laptop, which was not attainable earlier than.
Changed by Phrase
The net big now recommends (New window) utilizing its paid software program Microsoft Phrase, which has a extra complete vary of features. Nonetheless, buying a license for this device shouldn’t be appropriate for each funds; the non-public model, which additionally contains different software program from the Microsoft 365 suite (PowerPoint, Excel, and so forth.), prices $70 per yr.
In any other case, the WIndows Notepad device for plain textual content paperwork (.txt) can be an answer. The corporate additionally not too long ago added new options to this software program together with computerized backup and computerized restore of tabs launched on Home windows 11.
Plainly this yr Microsoft has got down to clear up a few of its instruments which are thought of outdated. The voice assistant utility Cortana, for instance, shall be phased out by the tip of the yr.
Specialists assume that Microsoft will launch the subsequent model of its Home windows 12 working system software program in 2024.
With data from Le Monde, The Verge and Mashable