Microsoft is waving goodbye to what was its flagship web browser for 27 years long years as the desktop version of Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) will no longer work on devices that run on Windows 10.
The company updated its app retirement frequently asked questions (FAQs) section earlier today to inform the public that IE11 has been permanently disabled and will be replaced by Microsoft Edge â the companyâs new web browser.
However, some visual references and icons from this out-of-support version of IE will stick around until 13 June this year when the company rolls out the required security update to finally remove all of the remains.
Microsoft Edge Will Come to Replace IE â Is it Better?
âThe future of Internet Explorer on Windows 10 is in Microsoft Edgeâ is the message that users will get whenever they attempt to access any shortcuts they may have created by using IE.
According to Microsoft (MSFT), Edge is a faster, more secure, and more modern version of IE that also deals with some of the major flaws of its predecessor including some compatibility issues.
For quite a while, the two web browsers from the Redmond-based tech firm had to coexist in the Windows environment, causing users the inconvenience of having to open some websites with IE and others with Edge depending on the functionalities that the sites demanded.
Before the internet became dominated by Googleâs search engine and web browser Chrome, Internet Explorer held the reins and helped advance what could be deemed as the first stage of development of multiple industries such as e-commerce, software-as-a-service, and even streaming.
However, the solution became progressively outdated as it failed to support the many changes that websites experienced over the years. At some point, Microsoft noticed that it was losing its massive share in the web browsing segment rapidly but it was just too late to do something about it.
The announcement comes only a few days after Microsoft revealed the AI-powered versions of its web browsing and search solutions â Bing and Edge â which rely on the companyâs proprietary Prometheus model to provide a top-notch experience that other companies are rushing to offer as well.
Microsoft is Responding Rapidly to The New Technological Trends
The tides are turning in the tech industry and this long-awaited goodbye to Internet Explorer can be considered an important emotional milestone for Microsoftâs team, who has been working on revamping the firmâs web presence by tapping into the newest and most revolutionary technologies.
In other related news, Microsoft is also shutting down its enterprise social network Yammer, which it acquired more than ten years ago for $1.2 billion and that was at some point integrated with the firmâs productivity solutions to create a collaborative environment for organizations.
The company headed by Satya Nadella is reportedly integrating Yammer with Viva â a program created by the company that focuses on developing highly-sophisticated employee experiences in response to the changes that organizations and their work methodologies have lived as a result of the pandemic.
The workplace productivity ecosystem of Microsoftâs solutions is growing and becoming stronger with the introduction of products such as Microsoft Teams, which has become a tough competitor of what remains the leader of the video conferencing business â Zoom Video Communications (ZM).
In addition, the firm is heavily invested in the world of possibilities that highly-evolved artificial intelligence technologies are bringing to the table and that is reflected by its latest $10 billion investment into OpenAI â the company behind the popular generative AI solution ChatGPT.
During the event hosted by the firm to unveil its new AI-powered versions of Bing and Edge, Nadella deemed this technology as one that will âshape pretty much every software categoryâ.
Even though these are bold predictions for something that has been around â at least for the general public â for only a few months, the fact that companies like Alphabet (GOOG) are rushing to get similar products out and the explosive growth of ChatGPTâs user base indicate that Nadellaâs predictions may not be as far-fetched as it may sound.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.