“Microsoft recently announced that WordPad, the basic text-editing program that’s been around since 1995, will no longer receive updates and will eventually be removed in a future Windows update. While they haven’t given an exact date for this change, they’re recommending Microsoft Word for those who need rich text documents and Windows Notepad for plain text documents.
This move isn’t entirely unexpected. WordPad became optional in Windows systems starting with the Windows 10 Insider Build 19551 in February 2020. Even though it’s still included by default, users have had the option to uninstall it since then.
One potential reason for this change might be security concerns. Earlier this year, the Qbot malware started exploiting a flaw in WordPad to infect computers and avoid detection.”
Cortana slowly being killed off
“Five years ago, Microsoft said they’d remove the classic Windows Paint app with the Windows 10 Fall Creator’s Update in 2017. But because people liked it, they kept it available through the Microsoft Store.
If lots of people ask, Microsoft might do the same thing for WordPad, making it available in their app store. It’s not as fancy as Microsoft Office, but it’s a simple option.
Microsoft is also getting rid of the Cortana voice assistant in Windows 11. They have a new AI helper called Windows Copilot to take its place.”
