Microsoft Internet Explorer Is Said To Be Retiring Next Year

 


Internet explorer previously known as Windows Internet Explorer is going to retire next year after more than 25 years of a long journey. Internet Explorer is developed by Microsoft in the year 1995. Redmond-headquartered Microsoft announced in a blog that the browser will no longer be supported by the company from June 15, 2022.

Microsoft revealed last year that it would no longer support Internet Explorer in its Microsoft 365 applications and services. The transition will take effect on August 17th.

We are announcing that the future of internet explorer on windows 10 is in Microsoft Edge,” says Sean Lyndersay, Microsoft edge program manager. She advised individuals and organizations impacted by the end of Internet Explorer. For the most part, it will be an easy transition, but it's important to know how to make the transition go smoothly.

 

Microsoft Edge

Microsoft is not giving up on the browser space yet with its new browser called Microsoft Edge. The Company has been working for nearly two years now on the new Microsoft Edge, making the browser world-class for their customers.

Microsoft Edge is a modern web browser that comes with the newest edition of Windows, Windows 10. It is based on the open-source Chromium project which is also used by Google chrome and has most of the features that internet explorer and other browsers have.

Microsoft Edge is more secure, faster and modern than internet explorer. Internet Explorer mode is created in Microsoft edge for a couple of years. Several companies have websites based on Internet Explorer, so these websites and applications can operate with the Edge at least until 2029.

 

Rise of Internet Explorer

The rise in the dial-up connection at home in 1990's Internet explorer was the only way to access the World Wide Web. There were other browsers like Netscape and Opera Mini; internet explorer had taken over the markets like India as it came bundled with desktops.

When Microsoft launched internet explorer in 1995 Netscape had nearly 90 percent of the browser market. Netscape was its main rival.  

But between 1996 and 1999 Microsoft made the browser freely available, unlike Netscape which required a paid license for use. Internet explorer had other advantages too; it was integrated into Microsoft windows operating system which made the browser popular. The internet Explorer is successfully winning in taking over the market from its competitors.

However, the win did not come easily. The US government filed an anti-trust lawsuit against Microsoft and this case dragged until 2001. In the end, Microsoft agreed to settle the case with the US department of justice but by then other browsers including Netscape were practically wiped out of the market.

By 2002, Internet Explorer took over 95% of the market becoming the dominant browser and vanishing competitors from the market. Even today, internet explorer comes pre-installed on Windows PCs alongside its Edge browser.

 

Fall of Internet Explorer

For years, Internet Explorer was the default browser on Windows PCs until competitors like Mozilla's Firefox and Google's Chrome snatched users away. By 2004, other browsers had appeared, and the win was short-lived. After Google released Chrome in 2008, forced standards, a weak user interface, and bloated web pages made Internet Explorer obsolete.

Over the past ten years, Internet Explorer's dominance reduced to less than 2% of the global browser market. In a world dominated by smartphones, the rise of mobile operating systems such as Android and iOS began to make Internet Explorer less important.

The Internet Explorer web browser has undergone many redesigns over the years, but still more users switch to Google's Chrome, which dominates both desktop and mobile platforms.

According to the 2020-2021 statistics chrome has 64.45 percent market share followed by safari created by Apple and are available in apple devices and system with nearly 18.13 percent and Firefox at 4.08 percent of the browser market share. Edge has a market share of just 3.39 percent as of April 2021, so it will be an uphill battle for the browser.


Reactions Received

After the announcement of Internet Explorer retirement audience took social media to write about their experience and appreciated the updates made by Microsoft in the Edge.

Internet Explorer might seem old and outdated, but back in the day’s everyone needed it. So many people experienced the internet for the first time by this browser. This is the only browser which was available for free.

“I still fondly remember my childhood days, the very first experience of the internet which was made possible using Internet Explorer. IE9 was pretty good and became my choice over the rest,” Abhinav Pathak, Co-Founder and CEO of Perpule.

Written by - Kriti Verma

Edited by – Adrija Saha