Microsoft Retires Internet Explorer Browser After 27 Years

Internet Explorer (IE) is finally headed out to pasture, Richard Jacobsen reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: Microsoft fully integrated Internet Explorer with its ubiquitous Windows operating system, to the point where many users simply used it by default, marking the end of Navigator.

As of Wednesday, Microsoft will stop supporting the once-dominant browser that legions of web surfers loved to hate — and a few still profess to like. The 27-year-old application has now gone the way of BlackBerry phones, dial-up modems, and Palm Pilots.

The downfall of Internet Explorer was not unexpected. Microsoft said a year ago that Internet Explorer would be phased out on June 15, 2022, in favor of its Edge browser, which debuted in 2015. The firm stated that it was now time to move on.

“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,” Sean Lyndersay, general manager of Microsoft Edge Enterprise, wrote in a May 2021 blog post.

On Twitter, users mourned Explorer's demise, with some calling it a "bug-ridden, insecure POS" or the "top browser for installing other browsers," while for others it was a moment for 90s nostalgia memes.

In 1995, Microsoft published the first version of Internet Explorer, ushering in a bygone era of online surfing dominated by Netscape Navigator, the first widely used browser.

Its release marked the beginning of the end for Navigator: Microsoft moved on to fully integrate Internet Explorer with its ubiquitous Windows operating system, to the point where many users simply used it by default instead of Navigator.

In 1997, the US Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Microsoft, alleging that it violated a previous consent agreement by mandating computer manufacturers to use its browser as a condition of adopting Windows.

In 2002, it agreed to settle an antitrust lawsuit over its use of its Windows monopoly to stifle competitors. It also had a run-in with European regulators, who claimed that tying Internet Explorer to Windows gave it an unfair edge over competitors like Mozilla's Firefox, Opera, and Google's Chrome.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic