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Is IE8 the end of the line for Internet Explorer?

weblog.infoworld.com — IE8 is the last version of the Internet Explorer Web browser. At least, that's what I'm hearing through the grapevine. It seems that Microsoft is preparing to throw in the towel on its Internet Explorer engine once and for all.

Who dugg this? Made popular Mar 10, 2009

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  • takamalak, on 03/10/2009, -13/+294We can only hope this is true. Would make web developer's lives a lot easier.
  • nudedos, on 03/10/2009, -7/+121As a Web Designer, I applaud this.
  • MassiveTaTas, on 03/10/2009, -9/+110God I hope!
  • LANjackal, on 03/10/2009, -4/+75The solution is simple: leave ActiveX with IE8 and lower versions, and make these available but unsupported for non-enterprise users. Then move on with new tech in IE9. This way those who need their legacy apps can take their time doing their own upgrades while everyone else can progress into the future. Shipping an OS without a browser is nonsensical, so IE's not dying anytime soon.
  • cntlscrut, on 03/10/2009, -2/+68as a developer that would be great! of course ie7 and possibly ie8 have actually decided to join the rest of the browser world in supporting new standards.

    to be honest, i just wish people would stop using ie6. that would be beautiful.

    UPGRADE you *****!!!
  • realnowhereman, on 03/10/2009, -1/+58LOL, that's pure speculation. Gazelle it's an architecture, not a rendering engine. That might still be Trident.
  • MScrip, on 03/10/2009, -2/+58Except... IE6 will still be around and used by some people.
  • jsep, on 03/10/2009, -5/+60Misleading title. IE isn't going anywhere. The rendering engine will change, but IE is here to stay. Hooray I still have a job as a web developer!
  • inactive, on 03/10/2009, -2/+51If they don't pack their own explorer how will people get to Mozilla to download Firefox when they buy a new PC?
  • saranagati, on 03/11/2009, -3/+38serves your company right for creating a web application that only runs in IE.
  • robotfriendly, on 03/10/2009, -2/+34Thanks for letting us in on the secret and the link, we couldn't have found that on our own.
  • richard2, on 03/10/2009, -0/+30I consider myself an optimist, however I think there's a higher probability of Hell freezing over than Microsoft ever using an open-source and standards-complaint rendering engine in their most popular web browser. :)
  • trollick, on 03/10/2009, -6/+35Yeah, IE's market share is only x3 of the nearest rival. Game over, man.
    /s
  • amk29j, on 03/10/2009, -2/+26was it excited?
  • benologist, on 03/10/2009, -4/+28Soon as anyone, anywhere, loses against Safari and Apple we'll let you know.
  • basotl, on 03/11/2009, -1/+24I'm glad you can't read well enough to tell the difference between programmer and user.

    To restate it for you: an MS programmer should be able to write an app in less than an hour that would prompt a user to download a browser from a selection.
  • koanage, on 03/10/2009, -14/+36firefox crashed twice in a row opening this story ...
  • fotoman607, on 03/10/2009, -4/+26and I jizzed in my pants....
  • GregLoire, on 03/10/2009, -1/+23Keep us posted on your attention span.
  • GodsTwin, on 03/10/2009, -1/+21Yeah and then after that IE7/IE8 would be around for even longer.
  • Me1000, on 03/10/2009, -6/+25Most likely not, but one can always hope...
  • SkippyDoorknob, on 03/10/2009, -3/+21I propose something new called ActiveY
  • aprocter, on 03/11/2009, -3/+20Funny, my firefox (3.0.7) crashes every time I try to open this link.
  • FelixDrylock, on 03/11/2009, -3/+20DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS!!!
  • peteyb1313, on 03/10/2009, -1/+18To answer the title, No.
  • GreenLynx, on 03/10/2009, -5/+20Rome wasn't built in a day but it crumbled for centuries...
  • inactive, on 03/10/2009, -0/+15Quote: "Others insist that that the whole WebKit story is merely a feint and that Microsoft will in fact be adopting a brand-new engine coming out of its Microsoft Research division. Dubbed "Gazelle," this new engine will supposedly be more secure than Firefox or even Chrome, making copious use of sandboxing to keep its myriad plug-ins isolated and the overall browser process model protected."

    I find this a more plausible outcome given how Microsoft operates. I'm sure they'll produce their own tech instead of adopting a pre-existing one. That's what they always do. Of course, the claims of being more secure than Firefox is laughable at best.
  • xino, on 03/11/2009, -2/+17If Windows didn't come with a web browser, how would Windows users ever get to surf the web? I personally prefer Firefox myself, but if I didn't have IE or any other browser in the first place, I wouldn't know where to get Firefox or any other web browser from.
  • ICasualty, on 03/10/2009, -3/+17I'm glad you think everyone is an experienced programmer and can pull that off.

    Actually what should happen is Firefox should be pre-installed on all computers. That or Safari will do just fine.
  • soopafly, on 03/10/2009, -4/+18Everyone? Really??
  • Gizza, on 03/11/2009, -2/+16You're obviously not a web developer.

    We don't hate IE because we have to use it, we hate IE because everyone else ***** uses it.
  • inactive, on 03/10/2009, -2/+16I heard Foxhound is the code name for MS's next IE replacement.
  • moduc, on 03/11/2009, -0/+14Don't hold your hope too high. I would say Microsoft would not do that in the next 10 years. Unless all their investor and employees go crazy overnight, I don't see that happen. Most things move on to the internet now. Including application. Get rid of IE would just be against what MS is. They're a control freak of their dominant (base on their history).

    Actually, there is another possibility that they may abandon IE. They would create another application, and call it something else, not IE. Like Microsoft Vista Live. Or just the IBrowser.
  • richard2, on 03/10/2009, -3/+16Any experienced programmer would require less than an hour to create an application which prompts the user to choose a web browser to download and install.

    A web browser isn't required to open network connections.
  • d0nkeyBOB, on 03/10/2009, -6/+19how many addons are you running?
  • PhoenixReborn, on 03/11/2009, -3/+16*gasp* DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS !!
  • svivian, on 03/11/2009, -1/+14I'm certain that 95% of all IE6 installs are (a) in public libraries; (b) in company intranets; or (c) people still on dialup or pre-XP systems who don't have or use Windows Update.
  • FLarsen, on 03/11/2009, -2/+15DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DELEVOPERS DELEVOPERS DELEVOPERS DELEVOPERS DELEVOPERS DELEVOPERS!
  • c010rb1indusa, on 03/10/2009, -3/+15Even though IE sucks, they still have a dominant market share, why would Microsoft throw in the towel?
  • Hermmunster, on 03/10/2009, -8/+20No, it is integrated into the OS. Deleting the .exe file does not in any way resolve the issues inherent in having the internals of the OS exposed to the internet. All the pieces are still there. They will not remove IE in any way shape or form other than to give the impression it isn't there or you have a choice. The EU is going after them for artificially giving IE greater share of the market and thus monopoly power via the company's other monopoly. The only way to overcome the effects of IE is to completely remove it from the OS, 100% of the way.
  • KMartSheriff, on 03/11/2009, -3/+15I'm surprised they don't FORCE people to upgrade via Windows Update.
  • colouredlights, on 03/10/2009, -4/+15Won't affect developers' popularity tho
  • amk29j, on 03/10/2009, -2/+13Didn't most computers ship with Netscape Navigator before? It wasn't embedded into the OS and it doesn't need to be made by the same company that makes the OS to be bundled on a computer. Not to mention that it really is up to the computer manufacturers (HP, Dell, Sony, etc.) on what is and what is not bundled with the computer... Don't some Windows PCs come with FF preinstalled on them?
  • glui2001, on 03/10/2009, -10/+21DIE IE! JUST ***** DIE!
  • dext3r, on 03/11/2009, -2/+12I
  • jasdf, on 03/11/2009, -2/+12Y is normally the dependent variable; no self respecting company would make their product dependent on something.

    This comment made no sense.
  • bmsterling, on 03/11/2009, -0/+10I could not agree with you more! No other browser - Safari, Firefox, Chrome, etc - cares about supporting IE6 or IE7 "features" so why should IE, or what ever it will be called, have to continue? If the need a feature, have a plugin that can sit in one of those "sandboxes" and move on.
  • svivian, on 03/11/2009, -1/+11IT'S A SIGN
  • twiztidsinz, on 03/10/2009, -1/+10Who doesn't use damn ad block plus these days anyway?
  • nicnic77, on 03/10/2009, -1/+10I don't know. Perhaps not since my Firefox CRASHES every time I try and open the link!! Who uses damn automatic popups these days anyway?!
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