Recently, the developer behind the popular image editing app Paint.NET announced plans to bring it to the Windows Store. In a new post on the Paint.NET blog (via Neowin), developer Rick Brewster has gone into a bit more detail on his plans, though an exact release date still remains a mystery.
In his initial post, Brewster noted that he would work to release version 4.0.17 of the app before moving onto the Windows Store version. While we don't have a precise release window, Brewster's latest post does lay out a general timeline of what needs to be done:
I'm traveling for work right now but when I'm back, my plan is: 1) release 4.0.17 which has some important fixes for performance and high-DPI, and then 2) focus exclusively on bringing 4.0.17 to the Windows Store. I'd love to give a date but I've always gotten them wrong. There may also be a 1.5) or a 3) in there because my code signing certificate is expiring soon and obviously I need to renew it. Hopefully that won't be too onerous.
As far as pricing is concerned, Brewster says his current plans are to release the app for free. It sounds as if the Windows Store version will eventually be monetized in some manner, but that exact method remains up in the air for now.
To recap, Paint.NET originally hit the scene in 2004 as a relatively simple, but handy image editor. The project has been consistently evolving over the years and it has a group of devoted users. The Windows Store version of the app will be a desktop conversion utilizing Microsoft's desktop app bridge — a tool that was also recently used to bring another handy image tool, IrfanView, to the Store.
For now, if you're interested in trying out Paint.NET, you can grab the latest desktop version of the app from the Paint.NET website.
