Internet Explorer's Death is Near, Says Microsoft

By Mara Anton

Posted on May 20, 2021

The demise of Internet Explorer is taking no one by surprise, that’s for certain. However, until now, we didn’t know when Microsft was going to pull the plug. The company just rectified that by putting a definitive expiration date on the quart-of-a-century old browser.

Next year, in June, Internet Explorer 11 desktop version will take a step back and let Microsoft Edge… shine. More specifically, on June 15th, Microsoft will let the veteran Internet Explorer retire. Consumers everywhere will stick to Microsoft Edge starting with Windows 10, leaving the former browser live only in the Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC).

As support ends and inviduals stick to Edge or, you know, aall the other browsers easy to download and install, businesses will get a “reward”.

Companies will receive Microsoft Edge with IE mode support. The IE mode has been on the market for a couple of years now and it’s the new Chromium-based browser for older legacy websites. In case you’re wondering, Microsoft intends to offer support for this mode until 2029, at least.

The journey to put Internet Explorer 11 to rest started last year, when Microsoft Teams web app no longer offered support for it and will continue with its removal from Microsoft 365 services. To be fair, though, we’ve been waiting for this moment since 2015, when Microsoft Edge launched.

In it’s memory, let’s go over some of the most interesting facts about Internet Explorer:

Internet Explorer was the default browser for Macintosh from 1998 to 2003.
Its main competitor during the late 1990s was Netscape Navigator.
Internet Explorer has an official anime mascot!
This browser made favicons popular.
In 1994, the browser started as an initiative by 5-6 people. By 1999, more than 1,000 people were involved.
Internet Explorer 1 was referred to as “O’Hare”. This name is a reference to O’Hare International Airport, the largest airport in Chicago; Microsoft cheekily presented the browser as the “point of departure to distant places from Chicago”.
A law passed in the 90s in South Korea forced residents to do online shopping and banking only through Internet Explorer.

Do you know more fun facts? Tell me in the comments!