For most of its life, Internet Explorer failed us. Today, it feels like we failed Internet Explorer.
Microsoft updated both Windows and its websitetoday to mark the official death of Internet Explorer 26 years after it first graced our boxy, little Windows 95 PCs. If you try to download or use the browser, Microsoft will now nudge you towards Edge (its new default browser) instead.
Tweet may have been deleted
The browser's death is not a surprise nor is it especially inconvenient for a large majority of internet users in 2022. Microsoft started ringing the death knellfor its old internet portal last year. Web analytics site Statcounter (as noted by The Verge) indicates that, by its death, IE usage had dropped to less than 1 percent of total browser market share. The world functionally decided it was dead long before Microsoft did.
Microsoft's digital gravestone for Internet Explorer.Credit: MicrosoftTweet may have been deleted
I’m not here to dance on Internet Explorer’s grave, though. Yes, for much of its existence, IE was one of the worst browsersyou could use. Depending on the year and what you were doing with it, some sites wouldn’t even display correctly, or you’d get dozens of pop-ups, or even open up your Windows XP machine to a barrage of viruses. PC users of a certain age may recall loading up IE after a parent or grandparent used it to find seven illegitimate browser toolbarstaking up half the screen because of malware.
Tweet may have been deleted
Having said all that, though, it’s also worth remembering IE as the first door to the internet for a lot of people (if they didn't use Netscape Navigator first) because it was pre-installed on everyWindows PC from 1995 onwards. I had done a little bit of web-surfing using the awful built-in AOL browser as a kid, but once my family moved on from dial-up and the internet became accessible, IE was how I jumped into it. Watching early viral meme content on eBaum’s World before I understood that much of it was stolen without credit, playing RuneScape, or looking up cheat codes for video games (remember those?) were all formative experiences for me that were enabled by IE.
SEE ALSO:12 Chrome extensions that will help you save timeAnd like a lot of like-minded individuals I knew at the time (read: nerds), we all realized IE kind of sucked and moved on to Firefox or Opera, and eventually Chrome. Internet users, collectively, didn’t owe IE anything. It died because of meritocracy, as even its parent company eventually released a much better browser in Edge.
Tweet may have been deleted
Good memories aren’t an adequate substitute for good performance and security. But they are indicative of Internet Explorer’s cultural importance for people who grew up alongside the internet, watching it go from a digital Wild West to the all-encompassing cyber-hell we know and love today.
Rest in peace, you beautiful, broken browser.
TopicsMicrosoft
(责任编辑：熱點)
Mall builds real
You can now order from Uber Eats and expense it to your company
'13 Reasons Why' star named in lawsuit involving Kurt Cobain and a murder conspiracy
What to expect from Apple's iPad and Mac October event
This chart shows just how high Simone Biles can jumpWhatsApp announces plans to share user data with Facebook
Big changes are coming to WhatsApp.。On Thursday, WhatsApp announced in a blog post it will begin sha
...[详细]'Call of Duty's Blackout mode takes battle royale and perfects it
I thought battle royale games weren't for me. Until I played Blackout in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.
...[详细]
Mondo, the Austin-based boutique art house behind so many amazing limited edition pop culture poster
...[详细]Senator Flake faces dramatic confrontation by survivors
On Friday morning, Senator Jeff Flake finally announced that he'd vote to confirm Judge Brett Kavana
...[详细]Katy Perry talks 'Rise,' her next batch of songs, and how to survive Twitter
Katy Perry recently surpassed 90 million followers on Twitter, making her the person with the most f
...[详细]Apple's iPhone XS Max is selling a lot better than XS, report claims
Apple's 6.5-inch iPhone, the XS Max, is absolutely crushing its smaller sibling in sales. This is ac
...[详细]Period apps will teach you more about your flow than sex ed
The internet has changed how kids learn about sex, but sex ed in the classroom still sucks. In Sex E
...[详细]Ted Cruz makes a Zodiac Killer Halloween joke in a last
The timeline just got a whole lot darker. Still recovering from getting roasted for the time the Tex
...[详细]Over 82,000 evacuate as Blue Cut fire rapidly spreads in southern California
A rapidly spreading wildfire in southern California's Cajon Pass has grown in hot, dry weather, thre
...[详细]This drag queen's Voldemort impersonation is going viral and it's amazing
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but we don't necessarily think Tom Marvolo Rid
...[详细]Metallica to seek and destroy your eardrums with new album this fall
10 gateway games that make great gifts for the non
