Bye-bye, Control Panel: Microsoft to finally drop this relic of the past but still unsure about it

Last week, Microsoft published a support document that mentioned the death of the Windows Control Panel, which has been around since Windows 95 arrived. The document said that this iconic component of Microsoft's operating system "is in the process of being deprecated in favor of the Settings app, which offers a more modern and streamlined experience." In addition to this, they said that the users are encouraged to use the Settings app "whenever possible" and that the Control Panel is still around for compatibility reasons. So far, so good, but this week things have changed.

The aforementioned support document was edited by Microsoft ever since, and now it reads the following: "The Control Panel is a feature that's been part of Windows for a long time. It provides a centralized location to view and manipulate system settings and controls. Through a series of applets, you can adjust various options ranging from system time and date to hardware settings, network configurations, and more. Many of the settings in Control Panel are in the process of being migrated to the Settings app, which offers a more modern and streamlined experience."

Based on the above, it is certain that Microsoft won't bury the Control Panel anytime soon, at least not until all its settings become part of the Settings app. Back in 2015, a senior Microsoft executive mentioned that "Settings will eventually supersede Control Panel." Based on how everything at Microsoft is moving these days, it will probably take at least half a decade more for this to finally happen. While some people love it and others consider it a relic of the past, the Control Panel is apparently still here to stay. On the other hand, Paint 3D, which was released in 2017 as a refresh of the 1995-born Microsoft Paint, will be retired in early November 2024. 

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