After 25 years of service, Microsoft has decided to retire their longest surviving Internet Explorer. The search browser was released in 1995 as an add-on for Windows 95.
The Internet Explorer, known as the “OG” search browser, witnessed a significant increase in 2003 before declining once new browsers entered the market.
The company will discontinue widespread support for the outdated search engine on June 15, 2022, rendering it unworkable.
“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,” the company said in a statement.
Microsoft Edge includes an Internet Explorer mode that allows users to browse legacy IE-based websites and applications.
“We can’t thank everyone enough for supporting Internet Explorer over the years. Many people and organizations worldwide have depended on IE to support them as they’ve learned, grown and conducted business online,” Microsoft added.
The announcement that Internet Explorer would be phased out made some internet users sentimental, while others took to Twitter to share posts and memes about the browser. While some of these will make you laugh, others will make you nostalgic.
Some of you may recall how long it took Internet Explorer to fully load a web page or download a file, which could take decades. Unresponsiveness was widely associated with the search engine.
But, whatever the case may be, Internet Explorer significantly influenced the lives of people born in the 1990s.