Yahoo Finance RIP Internet Explorer: Microsoft shuts down browser
Microsoft has announced Internet Explorer will be shut down in June 2022 and will be replaced by Microsoft Edge, which it launched in January last year.
Internet Explorer was Microsoft’s pioneer web browser, but has been the butt of many jokes for years as other, faster browsers entered the scene.
As news of the shutdown spread across the web, Twitter users mostly reacted with humour, not missing the opportunity to mock the browser for a final time.
A number of users wondered how they would be able to download other browsers like Chrome and FireFox, while others simply joked the browser was shut down long ago, and had just taken this long to close.
RIP chrome downloader
— VICCINATE 🚀 (@Viccinate) May 19, 2021
It actually retired in 1997 it’s just taken 25 years to respond to it.
— Charles Schuler (@Charles379) May 19, 2021
History of Internet Explorer
Launched in 1995, Internet Explorer became one of the most popular tools for accessing the Internet.
Microsoft released 11 versions between 1995 and 2013.
As many young people’s first foray into the World Wide Web, Internet Explorer was a mainstay on home computers and laptops around the world.
From 2006 to 2009, Internet Explorer started losing market share as competition heated up. Slowly but surely, people phased it out.
Now, the majority of internet users use Firefox for Chrome.
Firefox was created in 2002 but took some time to catch on with the consumer market, and Chrome was launched in 2008.
The digital graveyard
Internet Explorer is now joining many other names from the early era of the internet to sink into obscurity.
Instant messaging platforms like MSN Messenger and AOL Instant Messenger have been replaced by the likes of WhatsApp and Facebook’s Messenger.
Blackberry and the Palm Pilot, once synonymous with corporate America, were swiftly replaced with Apple’s iPhone.
MySpace was once the hub of social networking sites, but ultimately lost out to Facebook. Even Google Circles couldn't compete with Mark Zuckerberg's social network empire.
And now, the humble set top box is currently being replaced by the endless adoption of streaming services like Netflix.
Even though it is the end, some people are expressing their thanks to the old browser for being the portal of access to the internet so many years ago.
— Azizul (@zizulirwan) May 19, 2021
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