06-26-2013: Microsoft announced adding 3D printing support to Windows 8.1
It which resulted in the birth of the .3MF format and the introduction of 3D Builder and Paint 3D software
On June 26, 2013, Microsoft announced that it is adding native 3D printer support to Windows 8.1, which meant that 3D printer users could start 3D printing directly from third-party applications by clicking "print". Microsoft announced this news at the Build Conference and promised to make 3D printing as easy as outputting images on paper. A new built-in API was supposed to allow developers to add 3D printing into their apps.
During the conference, Microsoft showed a time-lapsed video of a plastic vase being printed on a Makerbot Replicator 2 without a need to install separate drivers or software. The presented application had a built-in preview of 3D designs and after starting the print, the 3D printing process began like printing a document in Microsoft Word.
Microsoft announced partnering with a number of 3D printer manufacturers - Makerbot, 3D Systems, and Formlabs, as well as software companies like Autodesk and Netfabb. What's more, it was announced that the Type A Machines' Series 1 will be the first open source 3D printer that will have support for 'direct' printing with Windows 8.1. The next ones were supposed to be Fabbster and UP! 3D.
Microsoft also announced that it is going to sell MakerBot Replicator 2 in its stores (which is a different story).
Today, after years, we can say that this initiative did not quite work out as it was announced at the time, but it resulted in several other, much more important events. Over the next two months, Microsoft announced the start of work on a new file format - 3MF, which was to replace .STL and introduced 3D Builder - its first proprietary application for 3D design. Years later, it was replaced by Paint 3D.
Source: www.3ders.org