Microsoft · Developer Tools · Product

Internet Explorer

Discontinued

1995–2022 · 27 years in market

What was it?

The browser that won the first war and lost the next three. Retired in favor of Chromium Edge.

IE 11 retired; Microsoft Edge is the replacement.

Supported by a primary source

Trident could not keep up. Chromium became the web’s runtime; IE became a compatibility mode.

Owning the default does not own the engine. If the web moves and you do not, you become the intranet.

High — primary source on file

Same company, category, or cause of death.

Microsoft

1999–2013 · 14 yrs

MSN Messenger’s last name. The after-school chat of a generation, retired for Skype.

Microsoft

2007–2017 · 10 yrs

The Windows release that made UAC infamous and sent enterprises racing back to XP. Succeeded in the market by Windows 7.

Microsoft

2003–2015 · 12 yrs

Enterprise form designer. Power users loved it; Microsoft wanted Power Apps.

Microsoft

1997–2006 · 9 yrs

WYSIWYG web editor that taught a generation to make sites — and to generate infamous HTML.