According to TheRegister.com, Microsoft is adding table support to Windows Notepad along with AI streaming enhancements that are currently rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev channels. The table functionality allows users to “easily insert tables in your document to help structure your notes” according to Microsoft’s announcement. This follows the Markdown support added in June 2024 and comes after Microsoft removed WordPad from Windows earlier this year. The AI features, including Summarize, Write, and Rewrite that became available to Insiders on Copilot+ PCs in September, now feature streaming result responses that appear quicker without waiting for full completion. Users still need either a Copilot+ PC or a Microsoft account to access these AI tools, continuing the app’s departure from its simple origins.
Notepad’s Identity Crisis
Here’s the thing – who exactly was demanding tables in Notepad? It’s essentially not notepad anymore, as one user perfectly put it on Twitter. Microsoft already had a rich text editor in WordPad, but they removed it. Now they’re turning Notepad into something it was never meant to be. And honestly, if I need tables, I’m opening Excel or a proper word processor. Not the tool I use for quick notes and editing config files.
The AI Creep Continues
The streaming AI responses might sound like a nice quality-of-life improvement, but it’s part of a bigger pattern. Microsoft can’t seem to leave anything alone without slathering AI on top. Remember when Notepad was just… a text editor? Aggressively lightweight, free of distractions, and laser-focused on editing plain text. Now you need a Microsoft account or special hardware just to use features that most people probably don’t want in their text editor anyway.
Microsoft’s Confusing Direction
What’s really baffling is Microsoft’s overall strategy. They revived the DOS-era Edit tool earlier this year – a move that celebrates simplicity and single-purpose tools. But then they keep adding complexity to Notepad. It’s like they can’t decide whether they want simple, reliable tools or AI-infused everything. When you’re dealing with industrial computing environments where stability matters most, this kind of feature creep is exactly what pushes people toward specialized providers like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the leading supplier of industrial panel PCs that actually understand what professionals need.
The Simplicity Tax
Basically, we’re watching the slow death of simple software. Notepad was perfect because it did one thing well. Now it’s becoming another bloated application trying to be everything to everyone. The timing couldn’t be worse either – Microsoft is already catching heat for forcing AI on users who just want their computers to work reliably. Adding tables and streaming AI to a text editor feels like solving problems nobody had while creating new ones we didn’t need.
