On Wednesday, Microsoft announced it was , and will replace it with a set of online consumer services targeting Windows 8, the operating system upgrade expected to launch later this year.

In a yesterday, Windows Live Writer was noticeably absent, leading users to conclude that the company was killing the blog publishing program.

Windows Live Writer debuted in late 2006, two months before the launch of Windows Vista, and supported the follow-up Windows 7 as well. It was last upgraded in 2010.

Scott Lovegrove, a U.K.-based Windows Live MVP -- for Most Valuable Professional, a title Microsoft bestows on people who contribute to its various technical communities -- took exception to the pending death of Windows Live Writer.

Today, Lovegrove launched a drive on the online petition website to save the program.