Microsoft scrapping IE

[bodminman]

Microsoft is scrapping Internet Explorer – Quartz

[mjk]

I thought they'd been killing it off since 2009

[Edu-IT]

What is the point?

[mjk]

probably another re-branding exercise

[localzuk]

What is the point?

 

The Internet Explorer brand is somewhat toxic - you're never going to convince people that the new version is better. So, doing it in stages like this makes sense. Create a new browser, with a new name (even if the core is actually the same code), announce it, then later announce that the old one is going away. It means people don't associate the old "bad" name with the new browser.

[Arthur]

With there not being an IE12 and IE11 only included in Windows 10 for backwards compatibility purposes, didn't we know this already? .

[Michael]

The Internet Explorer brand is somewhat toxic - you're never going to convince people that the new version is better. So, doing it in stages like this makes sense. Create a new browser, with a new name (even if the core is actually the same code), announce it, then later announce that the old one is going away. It means people don't associate the old "bad" name with the new browser.

 

This is exactly my thoughts - is it a complete code re-write or a renaming exercise? Logically speaking there should be some (if not all) code re-write, seeing as they're still bundling IE11 for compatibility. You'd think Microsoft would just include an IE Compatibility Mode built in, rather than have two browsers. Will be interesting to see how this plays with file associations.

[Arthur]

is it a complete code re-write or a renaming exercise?

The following article explains what Microsoft have done.

 

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2015/01/26/inside-microsofts-new-rendering-engine-project-spartan/

 

It's a bit like what Google did with Chrome and WebKit/Blink. Fork the rendering engine and start removing all of the old crud, although in Microsoft's case there's a brand new UI too.

Edited March 18, 2015 by Arthur

[Michael]

You'd think they'd leave the UI alone - it works, it's simple. Not everything about IE is bad, Microsoft have to remember this!

[JRowley]

Personally I love the new UI, it's so clean!

[Arthur]

You'd think they'd leave the UI alone - it works, it's simple.

The new UI is hardly what I would call complicated. It actually fits in well with the updated look of the desktop.

 

 

Microsoft could do with purging more of the old code from Windows.

[Michael]

Weren't Microsoft going to re-write their OS in .NET all those years ago, but then dropped the Windows Server .NET branding very quickly!?