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They’re finally putting Internet Explorer out of its misery.
With the debut of Windows 95 in, well, 1995, Microsoft added a new means of browsing the internet to replace Netscape Navigator: Internet Explorer. For a long time, Internet Explorer was the most-used internet browser in the world, though that was less because anyone actually liked it and more because it was more or less the only game in town. When new browsers like Firefox and Google Chrome started popping up in the mid-to-late aughts, the internet-going community as a whole almost immediately dropped Internet Explorer like a trig class. Since then, it has quietly existed in the background, existing only for the sake of outdated office systems, while its successor, Microsoft Edge, has taken on its role of being ignored by everyone. I’d say it’s well past the point to take this old program out of its misery, and Microsoft agrees.
Microsoft announced today that as of June 15, 2022, it will officially be ending all support for Internet Explorer 11. While Internet Explorer still comes pre-installed in Windows operating systems, Microsoft has barely acknowledged it in years, pouring its energy into repeatedly requesting we all use Edge.
“We are announcing that the future of Internet Explorer on Windows 10 is in Microsoft Edge,” Microsoft said in their announcement. “Not only is Microsoft Edge a faster, more secure and more modern browsing experience than Internet Explorer, but it is also able to address a key concern: compatibility for older, legacy websites and applications.”
Internet explorer about to die? NOT SO FAST. pic.twitter.com/VG6w12LeWp
— Maurício Linhares (@mauriciojr) May 20, 2021
Putting aside the fact that nobody was that into Internet Explorer in the first place, Microsoft has acknowledged that modern browsing trends and requirements have simply outpaced the browser. “Customers have been using IE 11 since 2013 when the online environment was much less sophisticated than the landscape today,” they admitted last August. “Since then, open web standards and newer browsers — like the new Microsoft Edge — have enabled better, more innovative online experiences.”
Most Workplace apps have long since moved on from using Internet Explorer’s framework, and Edge now has legacy compatibility with IE-designed pages, so it seems the old warhorse’s role in internet history has well and truly come to an end.
