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[Para recordar] Internet Explorer’s Ups and Downs

Life is made of cycles and not even software can escape it. The latest proof of this is the official retirement of the iconic Internet Explorer (IE), which begins to take effect from this Wednesday (15). Pioneering, popularity, decline and oblivion were some of the main moments experienced by Microsoft’s browser.

Brief history of Internet Explorer

overwhelming start

If every story has a beginning, the beginning of IE’s trajectory began in August 1995. It was around this time that Microsoft decided to launch its first internet browser. And as its name suggests, the idea of ​​the tool was precisely to break through this hitherto unknown environment.

Compatible with the Hypertext Transfer Protocol — the famous “HTTP” — and capable of browsing the internet through links, the browser quickly became the “darling” of internet users. Consolidation came in 2003, when Internet Explorer reached a 95% share of the browser market.

In addition to the characteristic logo based on the letter “e”, the browser’s simple (but functional and intuitive) design certainly marked the lives of more veteran internet users.

Image: Reproduction/Wikipedia

the decline

The success lasted for many years, but the advantage over competitors became smaller and smaller. In 2010, Internet Explorer still held a 58% market share in the segment, but it was already beginning to see rivals like Firefox, Google Chrome and Safari in the rearview mirror.

Internet Explorer Domain - Browser Market

Image: Disclosure/BrowserMedia

Against this backdrop, the inevitable happened. In 2012, IE was overtaken by Chrome and continued to go downhill. In the following years, Microsoft also saw its browser lose market share and be overtaken by other competitors.

The reason for the decline? Competing browsers brought more support for new software and applications and presented relatively superior performance. The critical point, however, was the security problems presented by IE, making attacks and spyware spread more and more frequent.

In this sense, fixing so many architectural gaps posed increasing challenges for Microsoft and browser support was not the best. By the way, big tech support for the browser has become increasingly scarce over time.

scheduled retirement

Faced with this, Microsoft had little choice but to retire Internet Explorer. The announcement took place last year, but it was officially confirmed only this Tuesday, June 15, 2022. In February this year, the browser’s market share represented only 0.47% of the sector, according to Startcounter.

According to Microsoft, IE is officially retired and will no longer be supported. Although it is still available on devices running Windows Server 2022 or older operating systems through long licenses, the browser is expected to be discontinued entirely in the coming months.

Microsoft Edge, the new successor

As sad as the news is for some, Edge, which has been Microsoft’s flagship browser for some time, should be the new haven for remnants of Internet Explorer. Based on Chromium, it is relatively better than IE in several aspects: performance, support, and most importantly, security.

Microsoft Edge

Image: Disclosure/Microsoft

The good news is that Edge brings “IE mode” so older web sites can be accessed. And support for this mode will extend until 2029.

Furthermore, it remains to be thanked Internet Explorer for having helped in the exploration of the internet and for having been part of the lives of millions of internet users.

Rest in peace, IE.

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