Microsoft to retire Internet Explorer after 27 years; netizens say 'Good bye old friend'

Microsoft has decided to shut down Internet Explorer on 15 June, close to 27 years after its first version was released in 1995. Microsoft has been calling on its users to start shifting to Microsoft Edge which it calls "faster and more secure" on Windows 10. Internet Explorer will go out of support on June 15, 2022, for certain versions of Windows 10. With Internet Explorer shutting down, netizens took to Twitter to express their views on its retirement. 

The retiring of the Internet Explorer application will not affect "in-market Windows 10 LTSC or Server Internet Explorer 11 desktop applications and the MSHTML (Trident) engine," Microsoft said. Sean Lyndersay, General Manager, Microsoft Edge Enterprise, in a blog post in May, 2021, had announced that the future of Internet Explorer on Windows 10 is in Microsoft Edge. Lyndersay said that Microsoft Edge has built-in Internet Explorer mode ("IE mode") allowing users to use legacy Internet Explorer-based websites and applications using Microsoft Edge. According to AP, Microsoft released the first version of Internet Explorer in 1995 at a time when Netscape Navigator was used as the browser. Over the years, users started complaining that Internet Explorer was slow and vulnerable to hacks. Internet Explorer's market share was more than 90% in 2000s; however, it began to reduce as people started using other alternatives. 

"We are announcing that the future of Internet Explorer on Windows 10 is in Microsoft Edge...a faster, more secure and more modern browsing experience than Internet Explorer," Sean Lyndersay said in the blog post. 

Netizens say 'Good bye Internet Explorer'

As Internet Explorer is retiring, netizens have filled the microblogging site with nostalgic posts and memes. IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals also took to its Twitter handle to react to the shutting down of Internet Explorer. A netizen wrote, "No more internet explorer, I remember having to ask my Mum if she needed to ring anyone before I dailed up the internet. How I miss that dial up sound." Another social media user wrote, "On its last day and Internet Explorer still asking me to make it my default browser. Obviously, i’m clicking on yes." The adhesive company Fevicol also reacted to the shut down of Internet Explorer. Check out some more reactions below: 

 (With inputs from AP, Image: Shutterstock)