Internet Explorer, As We Know It, Is Going Through Changes

Internet Explorer is undergoing big changes. And, as you would expect, it’s taking the same amount of time Internet Explorer took to load a page — seemingly forever.

The New York Post is reporting that IE, the default browser for the Microsoft Windows operating system, is undergoing an overhaul for the new Windows 10. Gone is the name Internet Explorer, IE for short, but the architecture for the old browser will remain. Enter the new browser, currently under the name Project Spartan, as Microsoft begins the process of rebranding the browser in the hopes it can distance itself from the negative connotations that IE projects.

Though Windows 10 will carry Project Spartan, some older versions of Windows will continue to carry IE as a legacy program, now known as Internet Explorer 11. IE has become less popular as a standalone browser, but better known as a tool to download more efficient, popular browsers, such as Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Opera. Even Microsoft didn’t think highly of IE. For years, Microsoft created a negative campaign again IE in the hopes that customer would return and forgive Microsoft for an inferior product. All the campaign did was prove to Microsoft that IE needed to go away, and go away soon.

Also, Internet Explorer hasn’t had a compatible browser for any Apple OS for years now.

According to PC World, Microsoft’s marketing chief, Chris Capossela, announced the change at the Microsoft Convergence in Atlanta, Georgia, on Monday of this week.

“We’re now researching what the new brand, or the new name, for our browser should be in Windows 10,” Capossela said. “We’ll continue to have Internet Explorer, but we’ll also have a new browser called Project Spartan, which is codenamed Project Spartan. We have to name the thing.”

Internet Explorer is still the most popular browser for Windows operating systems, but far from the most liked. Google Chrome, for example, offers ease of use, numerous add-ons that customers want, and is even gearing itself to be a web-based operating system. Even Opera and Firefox have bitten into the Internet Explorer pie, but Microsoft eventually had to concede the fact that IE was on its way out.

The biggest change to Project Spartan is that it will resemble Cortana, the personal digital assistant software that Microsoft was able to build into Windows. Project Spartan will also use Edge, a brand new rendering engine, and will wean itself from the older Trident rendering engine. Trident has been built into the IE software, and legacy versions will still be able to use it.

More information about Project Spartan, plus other features of the new Windows 10, are scheduled to be released later in March.

[Image courtesy of Handmade CS Designs]