Another technology product that is closely related to 90s children will be retired. This time it's Internet Explorer's turn to be shut down by Microsoft on June 15, 2022.
Turning off Internet Explorer is actually not something surprising. Microsoft has announced since 2020 that Internet Explorer will be removed from most versions of Windows 10 and for the past few months has been warning users to stop using it.
Upon reaching the end of its life, the Internet Explorer desktop application will be disabled. Internet Explorer will be replaced by Chromium-based Microsoft Edge, and users who open Internet Explorer 11 will be directed to Edge.
Internet Explorer will be retired on Windows 10 client SKU (version 20H2 and later) and Windows 10 IoT (version 20H2 and later). After June 15, 2022, Internet Explorer will still be available on Windows 7 ESU, Windows 8.1, and all versions of Windows 10 LTSC client, IoT, and Server.
"The Internet Explorer (IE) qq desktop application will be discontinuing support for the semi-annual Windows 10 channel starting June 15, 2022," Microsoft said in a special Internet Explorer page, as quoted from Bleeping Computer, Tuesday (14/6/2022).
"For supported operating systems, Internet Explorer 11 will continue to receive security updates and technical support for the lifecycle of the installed version of Windows."
The Internet Explorer desktop app itself is not available in Windows 11, as Microsoft has set Microsoft Edge as the default browser on its latest operating system. But Internet Explorer will still live in IE Mode which can be accessed via Edge.
Microsoft will provide support for IE Mode in Edge until 2029 to give developers time to modernize old apps and eventually shut them down.
Internet Explorer is also deprecated by some Microsoft applications and products. For example, on November 30, 2020 Microsoft discontinued support for Internet Explorer in Teams, followed by discontinuation of support for Microsoft 365 on August 17, 2021.
Microsoft first introduced Internet Explorer in 1995 as an add-on for Windows 95. Since then Internet Explorer has become the default browser in various versions of Windows after that.
Internet Explorer reached the peak of its popularity in 2003, with a market share of 95%. Since then, Internet Explorer began to lose its prestige because it could not compete with other browsers.
The latest and final version of Internet Explorer (IE 11) was released in October 2013. In 2015, Microsoft started bundling Windows 10 with Edge and since then Internet Explorer's age is only a matter of time.