Microsoft Finally Begins Killing Off Internet Explorer, Project Spartan

Microsoft has recently announced how it plans to retire Internet Explorer and the legacy version of Microsoft Edge, originally called Project Spartan.

The whole thing will take place in stages and will begin with Microsoft Teams no longer supporting Internet Explorer 11 after November 30, 2020. On March 9, 2021, Microsoft Edge legacy reaches the end of life, which means no new updates would be received (not even security fixes), while on August 17, 2021, Microsoft 365 will drop support for IE11 entirely.

“Using Internet Explorer mode in the new Microsoft Edge will not help to extend IE 11 access to Microsoft 365 apps and services beyond the dates listed above. Microsoft 365 apps and services will stop supporting IE 11 on the dates listed,” Microsoft explains.
The new Chromium Edge

Needless to say, Microsoft recommends users to switch to the new Edge browser, which is based on Chromium and now runs on Windows 7, 8.1, Windows 10, macOS, and soon on Linux too.

“Nearly two years ago, we started working on the new Microsoft Edge, listening to our customers’ needs for world-class compatibility (including legacy app support), security, privacy, easy and unified manageability, and productivity. The result is a whole new Microsoft Edge from the inside out: a browser built on the Chromium open source engine with the latest in Microsoft enterprise capabilities,” the company explains.

On Windows devices, the new Microsoft Edge is offered via Windows Update, and on Windows 10, it even replaces the legacy version as the new default browser. The transition is as smooth as possible, as the new browser automatically imports settings, favorites, history, passwords, and everything else, making the migration even more difficult to notice for beginners.

The new Microsoft Edge browser is also projected to land on Linux, with a preview build likely to go live by the end of the year.

:story: Softpedia