Microsoft to pull the plug on IE

Internet Explorer, the browser that had emerged as a symbol of Microsoft's one time dominance of the tech world is about to be retired.

The company confirmed this week that it would not use the IE name for the new browser that it planned to ship with the next version of its Windows operating system, due later this year. The revised software, codenamed Project Spartan, is set to take the company beyond the Web 1.0 world for which IE was designed.

With Spartan, Microsoft hopes to overcome IE's weaknesses and offer a browser that was more attuned to multiple devices, which formed part of the strategy of new chief executive Satya Nadella to break the company's reliance on its old PC monopoly.

Financial Times reported Tom Bedecarre, chairman of Akqa, a digital advertising agency owned by WPP, saying the 20-year old brand was long past its sell-by date. He said in the war of the future, which was mobile, they were losing. He added nobody was going to download Internet Explorer as their mobile browser.

Microsoft had admitted that it failed to make IE a more loved part of daily life over the years and even in a self-mocking take in some of its advertising, referred to it as "The Browser You Loved To Hate".

Microsoft's marketing chief Chris Capossela revealed that the company was still researching on the name for the new browser, The Verge reported.

Capossela added that Microsoft's brand new browser would offer users a cleaner and more organised look, with features like the Cortana integration.

Cortana, a voice-activated assistant, acted as a virtual assistant, popping up whenever it is wanted by the user.

Cortana could be asked a question by users or directions and it would search for the answer.

The outlet further noted that Project Spartan and Internet Explorer would still share similarities such as look and features.

Internet Explorer started losing appeal with users when browsers such as Google Chrome and Firefox came into the picture offering a faster browsing experience.

Internet Explorer soon became the butt of jokes, with some users saying that the only time they used IE was when they needed to install another browser.