Microsoft has announced that Internet Explorer will be discontinued after an existence of about two decades. Microsoft announced that it has decided to put to an end its pioneer internet browser, Internet Explorer. The browser will be replaced with Microsoft Edge.
The browser’s deprecation is no surprise as it has been frowned at for many years due to its slow speed. Internet Explorer will stop working on certain devices from June 15, 2022. In a blog post, Microsoft stated, “Today, we are at the next stage of that journey: we are announcing that the future of Internet Explorer on Windows 10 is in Microsoft Edge”. Microsoft also explained that it is pulling the plugs out on its Internet Explorer 11 desktop application, as it is due for retirement. The app will go out of support on June 15, 2022, for certain versions of Windows 10.
Quite hard to believe, it might be, but Internet Explorer was once the most preferred browser. Not just that, it remained the dominant browser for many years before being overthrown and sidelined by the likes of Google Chrome, Firefox, etc. People soon started to migrate to other browsers which were faster.
Microsoft Edge is a faster, more secure, and more modern browsing experience than Internet Explorer. Microsoft noted that Microsoft Edge is “able to address a key concern: compatibility for older, legacy websites and applications.” The company stated that “Microsoft Edge has Internet Explorer mode (“IE mode”) built in, so you can access those legacy Internet Explorer-based websites and applications straight from Microsoft Edge”.
Additionally, Microsoft explained, “With Microsoft Edge, we provide a path to the web’s future while still respecting the web’s past. Change was necessary, but we didn’t want to leave reliable, still-functioning websites and applications behind”.
Microsoft announced last year that its 365 services and other apps will no longer support Internet Explorer from 17 August 2021.
The company expressed their knowledge of the difficulty that users may experience but assured that the transition would be as smooth as possible.
The older version of the Microsoft browser might have lost its relevance over the years, but it no doubt constitutes an important part of the history of the Internet. For now, it is farewell to Internet Explorer.
