Microsoft is shutting down Internet Explorer after 27 years

Team Udayavani, Jun 12, 2022, 10:46 AM IST

Internet Explorer soon will be a thing of the past. With stiff competition from other browsers, Microsoft has decided to retire the venerable Internet Explorer web browser that was first published in 1995, as part of the Plus! add-on package for Windows 95.

Later versions of Windows 95 and later versions of Windows were accessible as free downloads or in-service packs, and were included in the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) service releases.

According to reports, the browser’s popularity peaked in 2003, with a 95 percent usage share. However, as other competitors released new browsers, their user base dwindled in the years that followed.

In 2016, fresh feature development for Internet Explorer was halted in favour of Microsoft Edge, a new browser. This was the first time Microsoft had announced that Internet Explorer will be phased out gradually.

On August 17, 2021, Microsoft 365 will stop supporting Internet Explorer, while Microsoft Teams will stop supporting it on November 30, 2020.

According to reports, Internet Explorer will be phased out on June 15, 2022.

‘The future of Internet Explorer on Windows 10 is in Microsoft Edge,’ according to Sean Lyndersay, Microsoft Edge program manager.

Unilad quoted him saying, “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,”

“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. With Microsoft Edge capable of assuming this responsibility and more, the Internet Explorer 11 desktop application will be retired and go out of support on June 15, 2022, for certain versions of Windows 10,” he added.

Internet Explorer will be remembered fondly by anyone who used computers at home, in schools, and in offices in the 1990s and early 2000s. The browser was the initial gateway to the internet for millions of people all around the world.

It was also the only way to use the popular browsers that we are all familiar with today.

That is why netizens are feeling nostalgic right now.