Internet Explorer is officially going into retirement and the internet is having a field day.
Microsoft announced it would disable the desktop app on June 15, a long 27 years after it first graced our computers.
And after so many years of what some would call a ‘sluggish’ operating system, people are flocking to the net to celebrate its last day.
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Since news of its retirement, Twitter has become somewhat of a tribute page to the browser.
One meme, which has since gone viral, shows Internet Explorer being burried by its competitors Google Chrome, Firefox and eventual replacement – Edge.
And another shows the Grim Reaper calling the browser away, but in a twist no one will be shocked to hear, the browser is “not responding” to his request.
Internet Explorer peaked in 2003 when it had a market share of more than 90%, but its base dropped rapidly from then onwards.
From its birth in 1995, Internet Explorer was fast to take over the industry.
It was only in 2003 when people started dropping off and jumping ship to new browsers like Firefox.
Check out this graphic showing the rise and fall of the browser… it really puts things in perspective!
Microsoft said its decision to retire the browser ultimately came down to the fact web developers were now much less likely to make their sites compatible with it.
They said that after years of “attempting to address incompatibilities as they arose with different websites – including some of the most popular ones on the Internet” they decided it “no longer made sense” to continue.
Microsoft is now directing users towards the Edge browser which is built on Google’s open-source Chromium.
And while the internet celebrates, we can’t help but feel a little nostalgic.
After all, Internet Explorer was what a lot of Millenials like me grew up with.
So, adios, good friend. It’s been real.
