And it's not just the
Posted: Thu Dec 26, 2024 8:19 am
When it was first released back in 1985, Microsoft Paint was a mere (rather clumsy) emulator of the iconic MacPaint program that debuted on Macintosh computers just a year earlier. Microsoft's image-editing program, whose charm was almost always how ridiculously bad it was, evolved very little over the years. However, its perception by people did. Paint, initially a mere clone of a program that was actually much better, went on to become one of the most hated apps by Microsoft users. However, that hatred ended up turning into a passionate love. Paint became, not in vain, the canvas of countless "memes" and, although in 2017 it was on the verge of dying, it eventually gave the grim reaper and his sharp scythe the slip .
Despite its rocky path full of ups and downs, Paint is an icon (and it is one in its own right). Perhaps for this reason Microsoft has decided to "tweak" the famous software to turn it into a powerful AI-powered image editor that is available completely free on Windows 11 and on Copilot+ PC , a computer specifically designed to compete head-to-head with Apple's powerful Macs.
If you cannot view the embedded video correctly, click here
The new AI-powered Paint lets users easily edit images by simply selecting the areas they want to alter . If you don't like the background of an image, for example, you can change it with just one click and a few words prompt. And if you want to remove the photobombers from your last vacation photos, you can do that with just one click and no image editing skills.
"With the addition of generative fill and erase, you can edit and alter images with great precision and creative freedom ," Microsoft says of the new Paint.
Is Paint the future of image editing?
Microsoft's flagship image editor allows users to add or remove objects, change backgrounds, and make much more subtle adjustments, bypassing the learning curve associated with more advanced image editing programs like Photoshop . In addition, it is a 100% free program and available on all computers with the Windows 11 operating system (which are counted in the millions across the globe).
An edition that once took several hours is now possible in just a few seconds thanks to a tool, Microsoft Paint, which until recently seemed completely obsolete, and which now, with the help of AI, is claiming to be one of the "crown jewels" of Windows 11.
The metamorphosis of Paint into a powerful (and useful) image editing program is bad news for Adobe , which has been suffering for years from the attacks of another "player" that has stolen many of its spotlights in recent years among those who have no knowledge of graphic design and who have to put themselves in the shoes of a graphic designer from time to time, however: Canva.
Adobe's rivals are multiplying (like mushrooms)
For decades, Photoshop, perhaps Adobe's best-known software, has undisputedly dominated the image editing market (at least on a professional level). Adobe preferred to focus for a long time on the professional universe because its tools were definitely too complex for users without formal knowledge of graphic design. However, Adobe eventually realized that this was a serious limitation and so introduced changes to its UX to appeal to the average consumer with products such as Adobe Express.
The move ended up proving to be very successful for Adobe , but the furious entry onto the scene of AI-powered image editing programs probably makes the use of Photoshop unnecessary for those who are not professional photographers or graphic designers and use this program only to make occasional corrections to their personal photographs.
revamped Paint that could end up condemning Photoshop to irrelevance in algeria whatsapp lead non-professional circles. Meta recently presented important advances in Meta AI, its AI system, which is now multimodal and also has the ability to edit images . Meta AI is able to understand what's in an image and manipulate its content in a matter of seconds. In addition, Meta AI can put its "superpowers" into practice directly in the different Meta apps (and do so at no extra cost).
Similarly, Google's Magic Editor tool also allows users to move, resize and remove objects within images with just a few clicks.
In addition, Canva , which is taking increasingly voracious bites out of Adobe, has also launched AI features such as Magic Edit , a functionality that bears the Stable Diffusion rubric and allows the user to generate images from text prompts and also make changes in a matter of seconds.
Adobe has also obviously ridden the AI wave, but its commitment to this technology has simultaneously raised eyebrows among its main target audience: graphic designers, photographers and artists.
Beyond the disconnect between Adobe and its target, which is inevitably very bad news for the software giant and could eventually put it in serious trouble, it is worth noting that most of the multinational's products are still paid for at a time when there are more and more free tools out there that also offer exceptional quality to the user. This is, for example, the case of the new Microsoft Paint, which could inaugurate a new (much more democratic) era in the world of image editing.
Despite its rocky path full of ups and downs, Paint is an icon (and it is one in its own right). Perhaps for this reason Microsoft has decided to "tweak" the famous software to turn it into a powerful AI-powered image editor that is available completely free on Windows 11 and on Copilot+ PC , a computer specifically designed to compete head-to-head with Apple's powerful Macs.
If you cannot view the embedded video correctly, click here
The new AI-powered Paint lets users easily edit images by simply selecting the areas they want to alter . If you don't like the background of an image, for example, you can change it with just one click and a few words prompt. And if you want to remove the photobombers from your last vacation photos, you can do that with just one click and no image editing skills.
"With the addition of generative fill and erase, you can edit and alter images with great precision and creative freedom ," Microsoft says of the new Paint.
Is Paint the future of image editing?
Microsoft's flagship image editor allows users to add or remove objects, change backgrounds, and make much more subtle adjustments, bypassing the learning curve associated with more advanced image editing programs like Photoshop . In addition, it is a 100% free program and available on all computers with the Windows 11 operating system (which are counted in the millions across the globe).
An edition that once took several hours is now possible in just a few seconds thanks to a tool, Microsoft Paint, which until recently seemed completely obsolete, and which now, with the help of AI, is claiming to be one of the "crown jewels" of Windows 11.
The metamorphosis of Paint into a powerful (and useful) image editing program is bad news for Adobe , which has been suffering for years from the attacks of another "player" that has stolen many of its spotlights in recent years among those who have no knowledge of graphic design and who have to put themselves in the shoes of a graphic designer from time to time, however: Canva.
Adobe's rivals are multiplying (like mushrooms)
For decades, Photoshop, perhaps Adobe's best-known software, has undisputedly dominated the image editing market (at least on a professional level). Adobe preferred to focus for a long time on the professional universe because its tools were definitely too complex for users without formal knowledge of graphic design. However, Adobe eventually realized that this was a serious limitation and so introduced changes to its UX to appeal to the average consumer with products such as Adobe Express.
The move ended up proving to be very successful for Adobe , but the furious entry onto the scene of AI-powered image editing programs probably makes the use of Photoshop unnecessary for those who are not professional photographers or graphic designers and use this program only to make occasional corrections to their personal photographs.
revamped Paint that could end up condemning Photoshop to irrelevance in algeria whatsapp lead non-professional circles. Meta recently presented important advances in Meta AI, its AI system, which is now multimodal and also has the ability to edit images . Meta AI is able to understand what's in an image and manipulate its content in a matter of seconds. In addition, Meta AI can put its "superpowers" into practice directly in the different Meta apps (and do so at no extra cost).
Similarly, Google's Magic Editor tool also allows users to move, resize and remove objects within images with just a few clicks.
In addition, Canva , which is taking increasingly voracious bites out of Adobe, has also launched AI features such as Magic Edit , a functionality that bears the Stable Diffusion rubric and allows the user to generate images from text prompts and also make changes in a matter of seconds.
Adobe has also obviously ridden the AI wave, but its commitment to this technology has simultaneously raised eyebrows among its main target audience: graphic designers, photographers and artists.
Beyond the disconnect between Adobe and its target, which is inevitably very bad news for the software giant and could eventually put it in serious trouble, it is worth noting that most of the multinational's products are still paid for at a time when there are more and more free tools out there that also offer exceptional quality to the user. This is, for example, the case of the new Microsoft Paint, which could inaugurate a new (much more democratic) era in the world of image editing.