The Internet Explorer browser bid a tearful farewell to the internet after almost 27 years. Microsoft has now encouraged its users to opt for Microsoft Edge for a faster and more secure internet experience.
Although the Explorer was long defeated by competitors including the Chrome, Mozilla FireFox, and even Opera, it will forever be etched in the memory of users from the 90s and early 2000s. Internet Explorer’s demise caused one user to build a gravestone to commemorate the event.
An engineer from South Korea, Jung Ki-young, spent about $300 (approximately Rs 25,000) on a gravestone honoring the Internet Explorer. Inscribed on his gravestone was, “He was a good tool for downloading other browsers.” Well, he isn’t quite wrong here. Historically, people used Explorer primarily to download better and faster browsers like Chrome or Firefox. Explorer came pre-loaded in all the Windows devices so the users saw it as the only tool that would help them in getting other browsers to their systems.
The gravestone was showcased at a cafe run by his brother in the southern city of Gyeongju, South Korea. The picture of the gravestone went viral on the Internet soon after it was created.
Talking about the explorer, Jung told Reuters that he has mixed feelings about the now defunct Microsoft Explorer. “It was a pain in the ass, but I would call it a love-hate relationship because Explorer itself once dominated an era,” he told Reuters. Jung further said that he wanted to make people laugh with the gravestone but was surprised to see how the picture went viral.
“That’s another reason for me to thank the Explorer, it has now allowed me to make a world-class joke. I regret that it’s gone, but won’t miss it. So its retirement, to me, is a good death,” he added.
On June 15, Microsoft, in a blog post announced the retirement of Internet Explorer and also encouraged people to switch to the Edge browser for a better experience than IE. “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.”
