Microsoft is discontinuing support for Internet Explorer on Wednesday, after nearly 27 years of service. The announcement comes more than a year after Microsoft announced that the Internet Explorer 11 Windows 10 desktop app would be phased out in favor of Microsoft Edge.
Microsoft has been urging its users to begin using Microsoft Edge, which it describes as "faster and more secure" on Windows 10. Certain versions of Windows 10 will lose support for Internet Explorer on June 15, 2022. With Internet Explorer retiring, netizens took to Twitter to express their feelings.
"In-market Windows 10 LTSC or Server Internet Explorer 11 desktop applications and the MSHTML (Trident) engine" will not be affected by the Internet Explorer application's retirement, according to Microsoft. In a blog post published in May 2021, Sean Lyndersay, General Manager, Microsoft Edge Enterprise, stated that Microsoft Edge is the future of Internet Explorer on Windows 10.
Microsoft Edge contains a built-in Internet Explorer mode ("IE mode") that allows users to use old Internet Explorer-based websites and applications with Microsoft Edge, according to Lyndersay.
According to the Associated Press, Microsoft first released Internet Explorer in 1995, when Netscape Navigator was the dominant browser. Users began to complain over time that Internet Explorer was slow and vulnerable to hacking. In the early 2000s, Internet Explorer had a market share of more than 90%; but, as people began to use other browsers, it began to decline.
It used to be the most popular web browser, with 95% of the market share in 2003. As rivals like Google Chrome grew in popularity, and Microsoft made the Chromium-powered Edge its default browser, use plummeted. According to StatCounter, it recently held about 0.5% of the market.
Netizens have flooded the microblogging site with nostalgic posts and memes as Internet Explorer prepares to retire. Rajasthan Royals, an IPL franchise, also responded on Twitter to Internet Explorer's shutdown. A social media user commented, "On its last day and Internet Explorer still asking me to make it my default browser. Obviously, I'm clicking on yes."
Explorer was the most widely used application during its heyday in the 1990s and 2000s.
However, due to widespread performance issues, it has become the target of numerous online jokes over the last decade.
Despite its reputation, according to Stat Counter, Explorer is still used by 0.65% of web users worldwide.
Chrome and Apple's Safari, with market shares of 64.95% and 19.0%, respectively, dwarf this.
