Internet Explorer users are now hurtling through space without a tether after Microsoft announced Wednesday it would stop supporting the web browser after a 26-year run.
The company had already shifted to its replacement browser, Edge—rolled into Windows 10 back in 2015—and Internet Explorer had many detractors for its security issues and slow speeds, according to CNBC.
Edge also jumps directly to Microsoft’s Bing search engine, where the company earned advertising revenue, to the tune of just under $3 billion in the first quarter of 2022, the report noted.
By announcing it will no longer support IE, die-hard users will not receive security updates from Microsoft or tech support.
The reaction
As expected, the Twitter verse had a field day after Microsoft announced it was ending the iconic web browser’s run. One post portrayed a military funeral with Internet Explorer’s blue “e” and swoosh pictured in a memorial frame, under the heading: “He was the worst, but he was family.” Soldiers, whose faces are substituted with Apple Safari, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox browser symbols stand at attention.
At Microsoft’s official Twitter account for Edge, it noted: To our predecessor: You helped the world explore the internet along with every facet of life. Now, it’s time to surf the big web in the sky.
To our predecessor: You helped the world explore the internet along with every facet of life. Now, it's time to surf the big web in the sky 🕊 pic.twitter.com/43L0UpL0gQ
— Microsoft Edge (@MicrosoftEdge) June 15, 2022
Microsoft said IE will be disabled eventually in future Windows updates, CNBC reported, and the icons removed. “Microsoft Edge will also check in with the user every 30 days to make sure they still need IE mode for the site,” according to the report, citing a blog post from the company’s general manager, Sean Lyndersay.
In 1995, Microsoft packaged Windows 95 into its operating system, essentially becoming the default browser for users. At the time, then-CEO Bill Gates said Internet Explorer would “set the course of our industry for a long time to come.” While the company has since moved into cloud computing, in April, Greece’s state agency Enterprise Greece said it would fast-track a 100 million euros ($110 million) Microsoft investment project for three data centers in the country. Computer operating systems at the time was its focus.
In 1997, the US Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft, alleging it illegally bundled IE in with Windows 95, stifling competition. Microsoft eventually resolved the dispute, allowing device makers more control of the icons on the operating system.
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