Microsoft Internet Explorer He deserves to die. Or at least to get out of the misery. The 27-year-old browser has long been plagued by performance and security issues, and Microsoft has gone all-in on the Edge browser. (All others go to Google Chrome.)
Microsoft officially killed off the beleaguered IEE last year, though its ghostly presence remains on Windows PCs around the world. Microsoft has begun automatically removing Internet Explorer from users’ computers in an effort to clean up the skeleton. A software update to the Edge browser that began rolling out this week will permanently disable Internet Explorer 11 on any Windows computer.
In some ways, it’s a fitting end. Microsoft had a habit of forcing Internet Explorer into everything, a move that took place in 2010. Until it sparked a federal antitrust lawsuit against the company in 1998. Forcing the software in and out feels like the end of the cycle is very difficult.
Of course, everything is stellar, and the tattered remnants of Internet Explorer will live on in some form or another. The browser’s visual elements, such as its icons and shortcuts, will remain on the desktop until a Windows update later this year adds those, and Microsoft says it will support some basic compatibility features in the Edge browser with Internet Explorer until 2029.
Here’s some other tech news.
Instagram channels
Instagram is getting a new broadcast feature that will allow individual accounts to send direct messages to followers who opt in. Instagram’s parent company Meta announced the feature (itself a similar feature in Telegram) this week, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed. From his first example.
Channels work like a one-way group chat. An account posts content, whether it’s a photo, video or text message, and followers can respond with emoji responses or polls. The feature is currently in testing, only a few users can try it. Channels are also available through Facebook Messenger, again in limited testing.
Microx
Where is your god now? Minecraft-themed Crocs are real.
“Completely handcrafted as in Crocs Comfort,” says the collaboration’s chaotic commercial copy.
Also announced on Microsoft’s official website, the famous fashion-adjacent shoe brand has teamed up with Voxel Craft Game to produce four pairs of shoes, from high-top clogs to simple slides. The cozy starts sporting a unique green-brown color palette for Minecraft and can come with detachable charms in the shape of classic Minecraft characters like “Steve” and “Pig”. Both real and available for purchase.
Getin chat
If you’ve spent more than a second on the Internet this week, you’ve noticed that chatbots are everywhere. Generating endless wisdom and discussion and inspiring conferences filled with marketing evangelism and amazing freestyle raps about AI. Chatbots can now help with online searches and occasionally defeat panic attacks in the process. (They’re like us!)
Microsoft revitalized its Bing search engine by deploying a creative AI bot to guide people through searches. Not to be outdone, Google is quick to announce its own search bot called Bard. It is the biggest competition in the increasingly competitive AI ecosystem.
