Microsoft Really Wants Internet Explorer to Die

Still using Microsoft's Internet Explorer as your default browser? Change is good, and in this case, necessary.

In a Wednesday blog post, Microsoft Windows Principal Architect Chris Jackson urged companies to migrate to modern browsers instead of using IE as their default.

"You see, Internet Explorer is a compatibility solution," Jackson wrote. "We're not supporting new web standards for it and, while many sites work fine, developers by and large just aren't testing for Internet Explorer these days. They're testing on modern browsers."

Jackson said he sometimes, even to this day, receives queries from enterprise customers about how to ensure all web traffic goes to IE. If most of your sites were originally designed for IE, it might seem easier to use it by default, he acknowledged. But in 2019, that's not a good decision.

"If we continued our previous approach, you would end up in a scenario where, by optimizing for the things you have, you end up not being able to use new apps as they come out," he wrote. "As new apps are coming out with greater frequency, what we want to help you do is avoid having to miss out on a progressively larger portion of the web!"

In the comment section, Jackson clarified that he's not telling people to never use IE—just "don't use it for everything." As for which browser you should use, Jackson said that's up to you.

"I'm not here to enforce any browser on anyone," he wrote (Microsoft lawyers likely thank him for that). "Windows gives you a choice in your browser, and you should choose the one that best meets your needs."

Microsoft Edge earned an "excellent" rating in PCMag's review for its fast browsing experience, simple interface, reading mode, and more. For more, check out our roundup of the best web browsers.