Do you use Internet Explorer? I’m willing to bet that unless you have to for web development, you don’t. And you’re not alone. Despite being one of the most popular browsers for a long time and emerging as the winner of the first great browser wars back in the 1990s Internet Explorer has rapidly dropped in popularity to the point now where Chrome, FireFox and Safari make up a majority of the market share and Chrome (38.5%) has even surpassed Internet Explorer (21.2%) as the most popular browser (see source).
Despite the improvements which have come to Internet Explorer in recent versions, the reputation of IE as a poor quality and slow browser continues to haunt Microsoft. As such, maybe it’s no surprise that in a recent Reddit AMA with the Internet Explorer team at Microsoft they revealed they had entertained the idea of changing the name of Internet Explorer.
Considering the legacy of Internet Explorer and the fact that it is still seen by many as THE Internet and not merely an application used to access the internet, this would seem like a bold move from Microsoft. However, the name of Internet Explorer may have become too poisoned, particularly among the geeks, that such a measure is necessary to have any success at all.
Of course, the Internet Explorer team did not confirm this was a certainty; all they confirmed is the option had been discussed and not the outcome of that discussion. Plus, changing the name of Internet Explorer may cause more problems than it solves. After all, we’ve all seen terribly named tech products for experienced companies. Microsoft may well keep hold of the brand Internet Explorer for some time to come.
What would you change Internet Explorer’s name to? Let us know in the comments below, or on Google+, Facebook, or Twitter.
Photo Credit: yukop
Last Updated on November 27, 2018.
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