Gone-but-not-forgotten: A look back at discontinued Microsoft products

The M365 products you know and love—like Microsoft Outlook and Teams—were all born out of a rich history of product development. Over the years, Microsoft products have undergone many stages of growth and development to keep up with a rapidly growing tech landscape. Take a trip down memory lane and see which discontinued Microsoft products you remember.

A scooter in front of a colorful fountain

The products that now make up the M365 suite owe their current iterations to the numerous software developments that came before. Although no one wants to trade the 2023 version of Teams for the 1999 version of Windows Live Messenger, or the 1988 version of Microsoft Mail for Outlook, we can’t help feeling nostalgic for some of these products of yesteryear. Even if they’re not available anymore, discontinued Microsoft products like Microsoft Mail and Windows Live Messenger are an important part of Microsoft’s history—and today’s latest M365 products wouldn’t be possible without them.

Microsoft Mail

Microsoft Mail was one of the earliest email services released by Microsoft. Created in 1988, the original Microsoft Mail had two separate system architectures for Macintosh versus PC networks. Microsoft Mail released four versions in total and was eventually replaced by Microsoft Exchange Server and Outlook.

Windows Live Messenger

First released in 1999 under the name MSN Messenger, Windows Live Messenger (renamed in 2005) started out as an instant-messaging platform with very basic text messaging and contact list features. Over time, Windows Live Messenger evolved to have more advanced capabilities like grouping contacts and voice conversations. Messenger merged with Skype in 2012 and was discontinued in all markets by 2014.

Microsoft MapPoint

Before using a smartphone GPS to generate step-by-step directions became common practice, users had to turn to other digital mapping solutions to find directions. MapPoint, released in 2000 (five years before Google Maps!), was a service that provided map viewing, editing, and integration services. Although it was discontinued in 2014, MapPoint’s technology lives on in services like Bing Maps.

“Although no one wants to trade the 2023 version of Teams for the 1999 version of Windows Live Messenger, or the 1988 version of Microsoft Mail for Outlook, we can’t help feeling nostalgic for some of these products of yesteryear.”

Internet Explorer

You can’t talk about digital nostalgia without mentioning Internet Explorer. At its peak, Internet Explorer was the most popular web browser, with a striking 95% of internet users choosing to browse on IE over Netscape in 2003. Active since 1995, Internet Explorer was only recently discontinued and replaced by Microsoft Edge. As of June 2022, support for Internet Explorer is no longer available. In its 27-year history, Internet Explorer gave numerous users access to the World Wide Web and for that, we’ll never forget it!

Microsoft Bob

Calling all millennials, this one’s for you! Microsoft Bob’s lifespan may have been short—it was released on March 11, 1995 and discontinued in 1996—but it remains beloved by those into esoteric software programs. The aim of Microsoft Bob was to guide first-time users through a computer’s interface. With the program, a cartoon dog named Rover would appear on the screen and provide instructions via speech bubbles. Unfortunately, the usage rates for Microsoft Bob led to its early discontinuation, but Microsoft Bob’s legacy lives on through later versions of virtual assistants.

Office Assistant

Office Assistant was a program that was launched in 1996 and discontinued in 2007. Office Assistant featured friendly animated characters that helped Microsoft Office users navigate the software. The most well-known character was named Clippit, a.k.a. Clippy, who was a floating paperclip.

Microsoft PhotoDraw

Microsoft PhotoDraw was a software for graphics and image editing released in 1999 as part of the suite of Microsoft Office 2000 products. The 1999 version of PhotoDraw came on two CDs and was a successor of an earlier Microsoft image software called Picture It! PhotoDraw allowed users to design layouts and create graphics for two-dimensional objects like brochures and posters, as well as design for the web. Its features included image editing, text manipulation, drawing, layering, and clip art tools. Microsoft PhotoDraw was short-lived—it was discontinued after the release of its second version.

Looking back at discontinued Microsoft products can be nostalgic, but it also helps paint the picture of how M365, as we know it today, came to be. Many of the latest M365 product features integrate software from earlier Microsoft services like Microsoft Mail, Windows Live Messenger, Internet Explorer, MapPoint, and others. As software continues to evolve, we may not know exactly what the future holds, but we can always turn to history for a greater understanding of the product developments that lay the groundwork for new technological innovation.