Microsoft finally kills Internet Explorer 6, in the U.S.

Microsoft finally kills Internet Explorer 6, in the U.S.
Microsoft has celebrated the death of Internet Explorer 6 in the U.S. with a cake frosted with the phrase, "Goodbye IE6!"

The software giant has made it a priority to kill off the decade-old browser, and it appears they have finally succeeded, at least in the U.S. Microsoft says that only 0.9 percent of users were running IE6, as of the new year.



Microsoft used data from Net Applications, which tracks notable data from browsers, operating systems and mobile applications. "IE6 has been the punch line of browser jokes for a while, and we've been as eager as anyone to see it go away," added Roger Capriotti, the head of IE marketing.

IE6 debuted in August 2001, alongside the first RTM of Windows XP.

Microsoft says that most of the IE6 users in the world are now in China, and NetApp says there are such a large amount that IE6 still amounts to 7.3 percent of global browser share. Many of the Chinese users are running pirated Windows XP operating systems, which came integrated with IE6, and are likely too uninformed or scared to try to update and tip off Microsoft to their piracy.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 3 Jan 2012 18:08
Tags
Microsoft Browser Internet Explorer 6
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  • 12 comments
  • xnonsuchx

    Now if they'd just kill off all their newer, shoddy browsers! ;-)

    3.1.2012 19:36 #1

  • patrick_

    IE9 would be OK if it wasn't for their lousy HTML5/CSS3 support.

    4.1.2012 04:01 #2

  • kalidus8

    The security in IE is horrible. Not once on any PC have I used IE safe. Even with "enable 3rd party ext." disabled in the properties. Trojans and toolbars always find a way. I dont care waht anyone says, tool bars are trojans. thats how they know how many people are running which browser.

    Free stuff are good stuff,sometimes better.

    4.1.2012 10:23 #3

  • SProdigy

    Good riddance! And somehow I STILL find someone using IE6 or IE7. People aren't aware of updates and those pirated versions of XP refuse to update to SP3, which included the IE7 update.

    I've long since stopped developing with IE6 in mind. Now if only we could do something about IE8 being heavily used since that's the last version XP users could update to.

    4.1.2012 15:01 #4

  • dab0ne

    only 0.9 percent of people in the US are running IE6 because only 1% of all people in the US use IE.

    5.1.2012 07:17 #5

  • Gameman

    I use IE 8 and never intend to switch. It's user friendly and fast. I've downloaded and tried Firefox (too similar to bother changing and as far as I'm concerned Chrome sucks period (couldn't find faves, etc). Strictly IE for me.

    5.1.2012 23:47 #6

  • GrandpaBW

    What was the last version of IE that allowed the use of Outlook Express for e-mail?

    Life is good!
    GrandpaBruce - Vietnam Vet - 1970 - 1971
    Computer: Intel Core i7-920 Nehalim;Asus P6T Deluxe V2

    7.1.2012 22:32 #7

  • Gameman

    I don't know and don't care. I use AOL for my email. I find it the best for organizing my stuff and it allows you to email the largest file sizes to people. It also has a fantastic spam filter (hardly ever get any and the spam folder for found items is huge. Definitely prefer it to Gmail and Hotfile.

    8.1.2012 12:14 #8

  • aldan

    just did a reinstall of xp on comp and couldnt imagine how slow and buggy ie 6 was.not to mention all the web sites that dont work well with it.it only stays long enough to download ff.

    8.1.2012 15:36 #9

  • ddp

    GrandpaBW, it is not the ie that determines outlook express but the windows which is xp that is last to use outlook express.

    8.1.2012 16:15 #10

  • GrandpaBW

    Originally posted by ddp: GrandpaBW, it is not the ie that determines outlook express but the windows which is xp that is last to use outlook express. Thanks, ddp. I haven't dropped into this portion of the forums for awhile, so I missed your reply.

    Life is good!
    GrandpaBruce - Vietnam Vet - 1970 - 1971
    Computer: Intel Core i7-920 Nehalim;Asus P6T Deluxe V2

    12.1.2012 22:12 #11

  • ddp

    no problem.

    12.1.2012 22:20 #12

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