What Is Internet Explorer (IE)?
If you're looking for a browser with some serious clout, you can't do any better than Internet Explorer. This free browser application has been around for ages—since 1995. It was designed to compete with Netscape Navigator, the first geographical browser. The Internet Explorer (IE) we know today results from years of updates and improvements. However, it still has the same primary purpose: to let you browse the web without worrying about any pesky coding stuff. It was initially released with the name Microsoft Internet Explorer and was later rebranded in 2001 as Windows Internet Explorer. In October 2011, Internet Explorer was rebranded as Internet Explorer 11. The latest version is IE11, released on October 16, 2015. Internet Explorer is the second most used web browser (after Chrome). It is also the most used browser for desktops (roughly 40% share). Internet Explorer is installed on Microsoft Windows operating systems and Windows Phone operating systems. Internet Explorer is also available for Mac OS X and a variety of Unix-based operating systems. It was the browser that broke the Internet. When Bill Gates saw Netscape's Navigator, he knew he had to have it. He downloaded it, and then he spent the entire night using it. The next day, he called up his team at Microsoft and told them they needed to change direction. They would make Internet Explorer the core of their business strategy. and they did! By giving away the browser free (and bundling it with Windows), Microsoft crushed Netscape—and by the late 1990s, Internet Explorer was the leading browser. Internet Explorer had a good run, but it's time to move on. Is it just us, or does it feel like more competition in the browser market than ever? Even though Netscape is no longer around, its codebase has evolved into Mozilla's Firefox, and there continues to be massive competition from Google (Chrome), and Apple (Safari), among others. That's not to mention the plethora of mobile browsers out there. You've probably got a bunch on your phone right now!
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