End of an era: Microsoft kills Clip Art

Microsoft today announced that it has closed its Clip Art library. While most references to Clip Art disappeared in Office 2013, users still were still able to access the retro image library through Office.com. Office users will now be able to view and download royalty-free images curated through Bing Images.

"Usage of Office’s image library has been declining year-to-year as customers rely more on search engines," said Doug Thomas, author on the official Office blog. "Bing Image Search has higher quality images that are more up-to-date. For example, searching for 'cellphone' gives more variety and modern looking phones instead of the old-school bricks from Clip Art."

Users of Office 2010 or older will still have access to all their favourite pieces of clipart in addition to Bing's royalty free images.

Source: Office Blog