Like all those who have held roles that have made history (the history of the Net, in this case), it took him some time to process the retirement, but now Internet Explorer is really ready for retirement. Microsoft’s announcement has arrived and sets the browser deadline for June 15, 2022.
For the avoidance of doubt, the company has fielded the Microsoft Edge program manager: “The future of Internet Explorer on Windows 10 will be in Microsoft Edge”, is the title official post which confirms the decision, complete with a chronological scheme that sounds like a “We told you so, we’re serious”.
The problem is that for at least 5 years the company has been trying to discourage the use of the browser, born in 1995, to accompany it to the exit door with a beautiful plaque to the value in the field: from the arrival of Microsoft Edge, in 2015 , the old pop has been called a “compatibility solution” rather than a browser.
The problem of passage
But transitions are never simple, and appropriate distinctions are needed: on the one hand there are consumers and on the other companies, who struggle to migrate the many apps, sites and services based on Explorer. These are precisely legacy systems (older versions than current ones): “We found that companies have an average of 1678 legacy apps”, reads the post. In these cases, therefore in business and organizational contexts, switching to Microsoft Edge will guarantee the “Internet Explorer mode” well beyond the expiration date of 2022 (the promise is “at least until 2029”).
But also for all the others the steps have been (and will continue to be) gradual: already from 17 August this year the web services linked to Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Office online, OneDrive and the like) will no longer contemplate compatibility with Explorer .
In 2019, Microsoft’s “awareness” operation passed through the head of cybersecurity, who even then illustrated the dangers of the long-lived browser exposing the risks which would have meant continuing to use it as a “default” for navigation.
What happens from mid-2022
From 15 June next year Internet Explorer will therefore expire for the main versions of Windows 10. And even if it will remain available on computers that have already installed it (the question is being defined), it will still be impossible to access updates. Therefore, we will have to put our hearts in peace.
The glorious history of the browser, which began in the mid-nineties, had mixed fortunes: the fire departure, which Microsoft brought home by purchasing the licenses of the old Mosaic, led the iconic E to shake consciences. Within 4 years, Explorer conquered 75% of the market, which became 99% in 1999. Between the end of last and the beginning of the new millennium, competition became more heated between Firefox (Mozilla), Safari ( Apple), Chrome (Google) and Opera.
Over the years, Microsoft’s product firepower has taken a hit: in the 2014 it was even the US Security Department and a British government agency that warned about the Explorer flaws, which had allowed cyberattacks, albeit “targeted and limited”. A year later, Edge’s arrival wasn’t pink and white, so much so that the 2016 budget showed a strong public attachment to the historic product.
Now that the fates are defined, only one question remains open: what will become of all the Facebook pages and Twitter parody accounts that over the years have made fun of the browser, which over time has gained the reputation of being a bit slow in loading capacity? Maybe they will remain as a memento.