Internet Explorer Is Being Killed Off For Good In 2022

Microsoft is sending its Internet Explorer web browser off to live on a farm next year, in favour of switching fully to the 2015-launched Edge. Internet Explorer had already seen support stop in 2016, but as PC Gamer reports, its masters have finally decided to kill it off, for good. I mean, give it a new life in the countryside. Dead? No, no, you misheard son...

Personally, I've not used Internet Explorer for 84 years or so, but there's no doubt that it's been a somewhat iconic part of using the web ever since its introduction in 1995. (Wow, 1995. Remember 1995? No, I don't suppose some of you do. Cantona in the crowd at Crystal Palace. Diana on Panorama. Blackburn Rovers as Premier League champions. A heat wave to melt pavements into a slurry. What a time. Sorry, where was I...) Oh yes, but the much-improved compatibility of Edge with today's websites means that IE is simply not up to snuff anymore. So it's off to the great virtual beyond with it, as of next year.

PCs, right? Great for mods... until mods go too far, which they certainly can in Resident Evil Village...

In a blog post, Microsoft explains that "the future of Internet Explorer on Windows 10 is in Microsoft Edge. Not only is Microsoft Edge a faster, more secure and more modern browsing experience than Internet Explorer, but it is also able to address a key concern: compatibility for older, legacy websites and applications. Microsoft Edge has Internet Explorer mode ('IE mode') built in, so you can access those legacy Internet Explorer-based websites and applications straight from Microsoft Edge."

Which all sounds perfectly reasonable, doesn't it? But at the same time, we all hate change, when it's apparently forced upon us. Oh, it's time to update something, is it Chrome? What if I don't want to? I can't use that thing, at all? Checkmate, you bastard. Continuing, the blog post confirms that "the Internet Explorer 11 desktop application will be retired and go out of support on June 15, 2022, for certain versions of Windows 10".

There's a small caveat, as this discontinuation "does not affect in-market Windows 10 LTSC or Server Internet Explorer 11 desktop applications". And PC Gamer adds that Microsoft 365 will actually end its support for IE sooner than what's said in the blog - on August 17 of this year. The clock's ticking, then - but, and this is just a guess, you're probably not viewing this on IE, anyway. I mean, there's being a stickler for nostalgia, and then there's just being silly.

Topics: Microsoft