The love of all teachers will soon be gone: Internet Explorer is coming to an end. That’s what Microsoft announced. The browser was once the standard browser, but was replaced by Google Chrome, Safari and Firefox.
People in their twenties will recognize it: you’re in class, the teacher is working on a PowerPoint and wants to open a link. Suddenly the whole computer crashes and everything can be restarted.
Right, they were so eager to stick to their familiar Internet Explorer. But that will soon be in the past, because Microsoft is pulling the plug on the browser that was once so popular.
Hello Google Chrome
In 1995 Microsoft launched Internet Explorer, in 2003 no less than 95% of surfers used the browser. But barely 1 year later, in 2004, Mozilla Firefox came, in 2008 Google Chrome followed and the popularity of Internet Explorer got a serious dent.
The browser tried to innovate, but kept feeling dated. In 2015, Microsoft decided to replace the browser with Microsoft Edge, but a year later, Google Chrome officially became the most widely used browser.
The inevitable came and is now almost a fact: Internet Explorer will soon die a silent death after 25 years of service.
Microsoft Edge
As a replacement for Internet Explorer, Microsoft presents Edge, as expected. The new browser which recently runs on Chromium, the web engine developed by Google. The previous version of Edge, which does not work with Chromium, will also stop.
Microsoft previously stopped Internet Explorer 8, 9 and 10 in 2016. That Internet Explorer 11 is now also coming to an end is therefore no big surprise.
“While we know this change will be difficult for some customers, we believe that customers will get the most out of Microsoft 365 when using the new Microsoft Edge. We are committed to helping make this transition as smooth as possible.”
“We believe that Microsoft 365 subscribers, in both consumer and commercial contexts, will be well served with this change through faster and more responsive web access to greater sets of features in everyday toolsets like Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, and more.”