Solved RIP - Internet Explorer

I'm not sentimental about old web browsers so I haven't missed IE11. I use mostly Edge Chromium (which I like), also use Chrome Dev and Opera a bit.

TraderGary said:

I agree. I used Chrome for a couple of years and then started using Edge (Chromium) when it was introduced. The new Microsoft Edge is decidedly superior to Chrome. And Microsoft isn't selling your browsing history to advertisers like Chrome does. I too love Microsoft Edge.

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I like it so much, I use it on my Android phone. :)

Dch48 said:

I like it so much, I use it on my Android phone. :)

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I do too! Edge works beautifully on my Android Pixel 6 Pro and stays in sync with Edge on my W11 computer!

Winuser said:

And I have to wonder why. Was it because Internet Explorer was the best or was it because Internet Explorer was preinstalled? IMHO, a very large number of Internet Explorer users only used it because it was preinstalled and didn't know or didn't care that they could use a different browser.

Edit: For me ,Netscape was the best browser ever and Firefox is number 2. I do use the Canary builds of Edge on my devices that are running the Insider Builds. After getting use to it I have to admit that I do like it but it's still number 2 compared to Firefox.

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No doubt majority used it as it was the default and met most users needs.

However the rise of Chrome to its ascendency was due to it being more flexible and much faster.

The irony was when Edge came out, everybody perceived it as IE+ and failed to get any traction in the browser market, prompting MS to more or less become a Chrome clone (slight exaggeration I know).

However, people still have perception Edge is inferior which is not really justified but overcoming that prejudice takes years.

Edge is making inroads though and is now the second most used browser but as Chrome is integrally seamless with Google and Android, it will always be the market leader.

I actually think Edge could get a much bigger share of the browser market if MS would stop the ridiculous insistence on using crappy BING as its search engine.

BING is fine if you want to know who is the latest film star to be evicted from "Watch Paint Drying" but is useless for serious searchs (particularly for engineering searching).

You have to go through hoops and loops to make google the nain search engine, and that just puts people off and they install chrome anyway despite fact Edge is a more efficient browser in terms of resouce use these days.

I still don't care for Edge, too much cruft built in, too many nags and can't sync Google account.

I don't care for any browser that forces me or tries to force me to do anything.
My computer, my choice.

TraderGary said:

I do too! Edge works beautifully on my Android Pixel 6 Pro and stays in sync with Edge on my W11 computer!

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Yep, it works perfectly on my Moto G Power with Android 11.

cereberus said:

No doubt majority used it as it was the default and met most users needs.

However the rise of Chrome to its ascendency was due to it being more flexible and much faster.

The irony was when Edge came out, everybody perceived it as IE+ and failed to get any traction in the browser market, prompting MS to more or less become a Chrome clone (slight exaggeration I know).

However, people still have perception Edge is inferior which is not really justified but overcoming that prejudice takes years.

Edge is making inroads though and is now the second most used browser but as Chrome is integrally seamless with Google and Android, it will always be the market leader.

I actually think Edge could get a much bigger share of the browser market if MS would stop the ridiculous insistence on using crappy BING as its search engine.

BING is fine if you want to know who is the latest film star to be evicted from "Watch Paint Drying" but is useless for serious searchs (particularly for engineering searching).

You have to go through hoops and loops to make google the nain search engine, and that just puts people off and they install chrome anyway despite fact Edge is a more efficient browser in terms of resouce use these days.

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Bing has come a long way in the past 2 years. I find it just as good as Google now if not better. It is my default.

Dch48 said:

Bing has come a long way in the past 2 years. I find it just as good as Google now if not better. It is my default.

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I also find Bing quite good and if I can't find something then Google is still available as default in address bar.

These days it's more the GUI than what's behind the browser that people choose. I like Firefox because I still like menus and don't need all the extra bits and pieces that things like edge offer but that's a purely individual choice. I also like the book marking arrangements better in Firefox.

However I switch off when "Performance" is mentioned. So much of that is not due to the browser but Internet speed (both yours and the target site), code execution on the target site, amount of "multi media" target site throws up, load or amount of traffic on target site etc etc.

Cheers
jimbo

I have a problem with anything that tries to "force" choices on me.
Whether it's a browser, a search engine, a program or even an operating system.

I've seen a lot of that lately.

One glaring example would be the Windows 11 Start Menu, or even File Explorer.
We find tweaks to make them more amenable to us, and Microsoft "actively" blocks the tweaks?

Another example would be Edge trying to force a certain search engine, or MS creating sites that can only be accessed by Edge.
That would be like making a hammer that could only drive green nails (sinkers rather than common nails).

I've noticed a disturbing trend with Google's and Bing's search engines as well.
They seem "weighted" to return certain results, rather than being UN-discriminatory.

Even software that does still give the user options, seems to be hiding those options, more efficiently.

/end rant

IE still lives on my government laptop and that's a good thing because sometimes its the only browser that some government websites will work right with.

Good Riddance. Cant move forward if we are stuck in the past. Ive used all the browsers out there and in my opinion right now Edge is the best for me. I used to be a solid firefox or chrome user. I do like firefox second and chrome third. I think brave browser is a fourth. for me its not just Look but customization abilities and security but also plugins and all the other features it has.