So Long, and Thanks For All The Memes: Microsoft Is Finally Killing Off Internet Explorer

Microsoft has finally announced the exact date on which it will retire Internet Explorer. In a blog post, the company stated that the IE desktop app will be "removed on June 15, 2022, on most versions of Windows 10."

Internet Explorer has been a huge part of Microsoft's history since its original release in August 1995, and people of a certain age will no doubt associate it with their early dial-up web browsing days.

In recent times, it has increasingly been consigned to anonymity due to a slew of faster browser options — though Internet Explorer memes have, somewhat ironically, been an enduring cornerstone of internet culture in recent years.

The move from Microsoft, which won't affect the Windows 10 Long-Term Servicing Channel used for crucial systems such as MRI machines and air traffic control, sees it pushing its new browser Microsoft Edge. 

Back in August last year, Microsoft announced that Internet Explorer 11 would no longer be supported by many of Microsoft's own services, including Office 365 and Outlook. 

Internet Explorer and iconic IE memes consigned to the internet history vault

Any time such a thing happens, there's an important discussion to be had about cultural preservation. We are talking, of course, about the countless memes inspired by Internet Explorer over the years. For purely historical reasons, here are some of our favorites.

This one never gets old ! pic.twitter.com/DR1sr70RUp

— Internet Explorer Parody (@Fastest_Browser) December 14, 2019

As many have pointed out over the years, Internet Explorer is slower than the likes of Google Chrome and Firefox, both of which do use a little more processing power and, therefore, battery.

Internet Explorer will officially be killed off by August 2021, after 25 years of service. Thank you for helping me download Chrome. pic.twitter.com/XKc0uJmMzY

— MGAG (@My_MGAG) August 21, 2020

Ever since its release in 2015, Microsoft has put most of its browser programming efforts into updating Microsoft Edge, meaning that Internet Explorer has increasingly felt behind the competition. 

Internet Explorer dies later this year, the poor champ knew, been wearing its halo for the longest time pic.twitter.com/qPscBsQJv8

— BossLogic (@Bosslogic) August 20, 2020

One of the most prevalent memes about Internet Explorer states that it is, in fact, the most popular browser — because everyone's used it at least once ... to download a different browser.

I only used it to download other browsers.https://t.co/JkTlgWeiam

— 9GAG (@9GAG) August 19, 2020 

Now that we're entering the era of Microsoft Edge, some are getting in early with the Microsoft Edge memes, though they don't quite have the same ring to them:

I know that I put up a tweet about the new Microsoft Edge Logo but who else thinks that it looks like a tie pod or Firefox?. pic.twitter.com/3q3bsxC5TT

— ? The Tek Effect ? (@TheTekEffect) November 2, 2019

As Microsoft points out in its blog post, Microsoft Edge is "a faster, more secure and more modern browsing experience than Internet Explorer."

The new browser also has an in-built mode called 'Internet Explorer mode' that allows users to view legacy websites that still require IE. Hopefully, it'll remove the "searching, please wait" function for which Internet Explorer is so well known.