Microsoft Bids A Final Goodbye To The Iconic Internet Explorer

The time has come for us to bid adieu to what was many of our first browsers—the original Internet Explorer. 

This week, Microsoft will be retiring the application and ending support for it across versions of Windows 10, making it possibly the last time we’ll ever get to use it as the company has slowly phased it out in favor of the newer Edge.

“The Internet Explorer (IE) 11 desktop application will end support for Windows 10 semi-annual channel starting June 15, 2022,” Microsoft said in a blog post. 

Launched nearly three decades ago in 1995, Internet Explorer was no doubt the go-to browser in its heyday, having come preinstalled on billions of Windows computers sold worldwide. 

However, as ABC News notes, in recent years, it had lost a considerable share of the market to Chrome and Safari, leading Microsoft to launch Edge as the “future of Internet Explorer” in 2015 in hopes of winning back users.

If you’re a diehard fan or just want to take a nostalgic trip down memory lane, Bleeping Computer reports that the application will still be available after its retirement date on Windows 7 ESU, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 LTSC client, IoT, and Server. 

Ah, the end of an era. 

[via ABC News and Bleeping Computer, cover image via Monticelllo | Dreamstime.com]