Internet Explorer shuts down 27 years after its launch
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Internet Explorer (IE) shuts down forever on 15 June, after 27 years of helping millions surf the world wide web with 11 versions from its launch in 1995 to 2013.
A window user relying on IE11 has to upgrade to Microsoft Edge from tomorrow to access the internet.
Microsoft in July 1995 released Internet Explorer 1.0 as an add-on to Windows 95 operating system which was at the time the most advanced of its kind. Windows, now on almost every computer, has since dominated the software market of its genre.
Internet Explorer itself reached its peak in 2003 with a 95 per cent user share. Maxthon based in China released Maxthon browser in 2002 to compete with IE.
Google joined the scramble with its release of Google Chrome in 2008 and has become the most preferred browser, being backed by the giant search engine itself.
________________________________________________________________
Related articles:
Nigerians spend N100.3b accessing the internet
Microsoft opens $100m development centre in Lagos
Google to invest $1b in Africa, create 1.6m jobs in Nigeria
__________________________________________________________________
Future of IE in Microsoft Edge
Internet Explorer has seen a downward trend and Microsoft has not introduced a new version since 2016, after the last upgrade to IE11 in 2013.
Instead, Microsoft released Microsoft Edge in 2015 to claw back the top spot from Google, its fellow American competitor. Safari by Apple is also in the fray.
Microsoft introduced Edge as a system application for Windows 10 and Xbox and released it for Android and iOS in 2017.
“Instead of waiting, we recommend that you schedule your own internal retirement date – the best way to prepare for IE disablement after June 15 is to proactively retire IE in your organizations before June 15,” Microsoft advised IE users in a blog post in April 2022.
“It has been quite a journey this past year, and we appreciate all the work you have put in to make sure your organization is ready for when IE retires on June 15, 2022.
“The future of Internet Explorer is in Microsoft Edge, and with Microsoft Edge, your organization gets a dual-engine advantage, capable of running your IE-dependent sites, while offering a faster, more secure, and modern experience for everything else.”
Browser world ranking
StatCounter lists world market share of the top five desktop browsers as of October 2021 as follows:
- Chrome – 67.17 per cent
- Safari – 9.63 per cent
- Edge – 9.33 per cent
- Firefox – 7.87 per cent
- Opera – 2.89 per cent
 shuts down forever on 15 June, after 27 years of helping millions surf the world wide web with 11 versions){kind=link}