Microsoft retires Internet Explorer browser

Microsoft launched the Internet Explorer (IE) on August 16, 1995. Initially, it started off as a handy add-on browser application with Windows 95 in 1994 and was later offered pre-loaded with every new Windows OS iteration on PCs.

In the early years, it received a good reception, as IE was well optimised to work seamlessly on Windows-run PCs and also even killed its nearest rival Netscape Navigator browser.

In 2003, IE was at its peak, however, with the advent of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, DuckDuck Go, and Brave, Microsoft had a tough time selling Internet Explorer to urge Windows PC users to make the latter a default browser. At the end of the next decade between 2013-14, it totally fell out of favour among PC users.

Eventually, in 2016, Microsoft officially stopped the work on the development of new features for the IE and shifted focus on the new Chromium code-based Edge browser (launched in 2015), which by the way has a much better user interface, offers faster accurate results and more secured than the predecessor.

Now, after 27 years, Microsoft is pulling the plug on Internet Explorer on June 15.

"The future of Internet Explorer on Windows 10 is in Microsoft Edge. 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, GM, Microsoft Edge Enterprise said in a blog post on May 21, 2021.

While several 80s and 90s-born computer users are getting nostalgic over the demise of Interner Explorer, others are offering farewell with fun memes. Here are some tweets:

If you are one of the sentimental and finding it difficult to let go of Internet Explorer, there is an actually IE view mode built into the Microsoft Edge. Here's how to enable it:

Internet Explorer mode on Microsoft Edge (screen-grab)

Step 1: Click on the Options (three-dotted line) button in the top-right corner of the Edge browser and select Settings
Step 2: Scroll down to find the Default browser listed on the left
Step 3: Then, click the dropdown menu for Allow sites to be reloaded in Internet Explorer mode and select Allow.
Step 4: You will be prompted to restart the browser, and click Restart.
Step 5: Also, there is also the option to switch on the Internet Explorer mode and then, click the Options button and select Reload in Internet Explorer mode.
Step 6: Then, press Leave to return to Microsoft Edge’s standard mode, or else click Show in the toolbar to add an exit button to the toolbar.

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