4 ms·

As the linked FAQ states: "For supported operating systems, Internet Explorer 11 will continue receiving security updates and technical support for the lifecyc

As the linked FAQ states: "For supported operating systems, Internet Explorer 11 will continue receiving security updates and technical support for the lifecycle of the Windows version on which it is installed." and sadly IE11 came bundled with even Windows Server 2022, so if you're creating a website for users who spend all their time administrating Windows servers, you still have to support IE11...

mario_kart_snes 4y ago
Hilarious technicality. Nice.
rsstack 4y ago
But they would also have Edge installed in Windows Server 2022. It's a very small population that has a trivial workaround: use the _default_ default browser that came with the server operating system.
- dane-pgp 4y ago
  Well, yes, "Just use a different browser" has always been a workaround that web developers can suggest to their users, but let me point out a more substantive problem with that recommendation: Microsoft Edge was not included with Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry (although it was later made available for it), and that operating system is still within "extended support" until July 2023. You're right, though, that basically anyone on any supported Windows operating system has an option available to them which probably takes less effort than that required for someone to add and maintain IE11 support to their website.
  - rsstack 4y ago
    > Microsoft Edge was not included with Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry (although it was later made available for it), and that operating system is still within "extended support" until July 2023. Do people browse generally available websites from cash registers? I'd assume they only browse internal portals.
  - zinekeller 4y ago
    Microsoft has broken its maintenance-only policy (and in Windows 7's case its EOL policy) by pushing an update that installs Microsoft Edge and WebView2 (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/kb5001027-update-for-the-new-microsoft-edge-for-windows-7-sp1-and-windows-8-1-march-16-2021-d43148cf-39b4-449e-9903-c4bc1499cf0a https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/kb5001027-update-f...)
- MBCook 4y ago
  Except that new browser won’t support Active-X or Java applets. Yes those still exist. Yes they are needed. Yes I have to support them. Pity me.
  - rsstack 4y ago
    There's a difference between "our website uses ActiveX which is unique to IE11, so we need to support IE11" and "our website is HTML/CSS/JS, and we need to support IE11". I do pity you, but I no longer have to pity other people :)
  - Beltalowda 4y ago
    > Except that new browser won’t support Active-X or Java applets. That's mostly just used for specialized websites/webapps I think (often internal)? You can still launch IE for that, and use Edge, Chrome, Firefox, or any other browser for regular browsing. It's not substantially different from using Electron for desktop apps when you think about it. Many years ago I worked for a company that used an internal ActiveX-based application (which worked fairly well for us) and this is pretty much what everyone was doing. The biggest hurdle is probably corporate policies and such that prevent installing any alternative to IE yourself and IT dept. doesn't want to provide you with one either, but at this point I think that's just $BigCorp's problem and I don't care any more. For the record: I take web compat fairly serious and made things compatible with IE11 up to last year, but there's a limit.
    - MBCook 4y ago
      Oh it’s definitely specialized stuff using Java. Like one feature of the specialized B2B thing I work on. The process to replace that feature is not done. So here I am.
  - saratogacx 4y ago
    Edge has an IE mode which is essentially hosting a trident control in an edge host so you can still stop using iexplore.exe and use this as your exception case. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/edge-ie-mode https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/edge-ie-mode We've tested this at my company that hasn't finished getting rid of java applets and it is taking place of IE until we're done with migrating away from them.
zinekeller 4y ago
Not really. This is the nuance that some people miss: you could only use the IE11 engine inside Edge when an administrator explicitly enabled your website to be there. This has two consequences: a) All ActiveX extensions are dead. This is problematic if the reason why IE is still being used is because it required an ActiveX content to work (so you couldn't just flip the switch to IE11 compat mode in Edge, you need to rewrite it since three years ago) b) if you're developing a public-facing website, you can stop worrying IE11, but if you're developing enterprise software you're still in hell for around seven years (give or take if Microsoft offers an ESU à la Windows 7).
babypuncher 4y ago
That is a stretch; Windows Server 2022 includes Edge. And any Server 2022 user who goes out of their way to make IE11 the default should probably be fired.
- ratww 4y ago
  Yep. We have a Window Server 2022 VM for testing sites in IE11 (we're in a Microsoft partnership thing so we need IE11 support) and after some recent updates it's been a pain in the ass to use IE even on purpose. Happy to not need it anymore.
_-david-_ 4y ago
Do people browse the internet on their servers? What exactly is the use case?
- technion 4y ago
  Most common thing is Citrix/rds server environments. Plenty of orgs have all staff working on serversvas desktops. I was watching a doctor yesterday use a patient admin portal in IE.

mario_kart_snes 4y ago

Hilarious technicality. Nice.

rsstack 4y ago

But they would also have Edge installed in Windows Server 2022. It's a very small population that has a trivial workaround: use the _default_ default browser that came with the server operating system.

dane-pgp 4y ago
Well, yes, "Just use a different browser" has always been a workaround that web developers can suggest to their users, but let me point out a more substantive problem with that recommendation: Microsoft Edge was not included with Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry (although it was later made available for it), and that operating system is still within "extended support" until July 2023. You're right, though, that basically anyone on any supported Windows operating system has an option available to them which probably takes less effort than that required for someone to add and maintain IE11 support to their website.
- rsstack 4y ago
  > Microsoft Edge was not included with Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry (although it was later made available for it), and that operating system is still within "extended support" until July 2023. Do people browse generally available websites from cash registers? I'd assume they only browse internal portals.
- zinekeller 4y ago
  Microsoft has broken its maintenance-only policy (and in Windows 7's case its EOL policy) by pushing an update that installs Microsoft Edge and WebView2 (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/kb5001027-update-for-the-new-microsoft-edge-for-windows-7-sp1-and-windows-8-1-march-16-2021-d43148cf-39b4-449e-9903-c4bc1499cf0a https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/kb5001027-update-f...)
MBCook 4y ago
Except that new browser won’t support Active-X or Java applets. Yes those still exist. Yes they are needed. Yes I have to support them. Pity me.
- rsstack 4y ago
  There's a difference between "our website uses ActiveX which is unique to IE11, so we need to support IE11" and "our website is HTML/CSS/JS, and we need to support IE11". I do pity you, but I no longer have to pity other people :)
- Beltalowda 4y ago
  > Except that new browser won’t support Active-X or Java applets. That's mostly just used for specialized websites/webapps I think (often internal)? You can still launch IE for that, and use Edge, Chrome, Firefox, or any other browser for regular browsing. It's not substantially different from using Electron for desktop apps when you think about it. Many years ago I worked for a company that used an internal ActiveX-based application (which worked fairly well for us) and this is pretty much what everyone was doing. The biggest hurdle is probably corporate policies and such that prevent installing any alternative to IE yourself and IT dept. doesn't want to provide you with one either, but at this point I think that's just $BigCorp's problem and I don't care any more. For the record: I take web compat fairly serious and made things compatible with IE11 up to last year, but there's a limit.
  - MBCook 4y ago
    Oh it’s definitely specialized stuff using Java. Like one feature of the specialized B2B thing I work on. The process to replace that feature is not done. So here I am.
- saratogacx 4y ago
  Edge has an IE mode which is essentially hosting a trident control in an edge host so you can still stop using iexplore.exe and use this as your exception case. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/edge-ie-mode https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/edge-ie-mode We've tested this at my company that hasn't finished getting rid of java applets and it is taking place of IE until we're done with migrating away from them.

zinekeller 4y ago

Not really. This is the nuance that some people miss: you could only use the IE11 engine inside Edge when an administrator explicitly enabled your website to be there. This has two consequences: a) All ActiveX extensions are dead. This is problematic if the reason why IE is still being used is because it required an ActiveX content to work (so you couldn't just flip the switch to IE11 compat mode in Edge, you need to rewrite it since three years ago) b) if you're developing a public-facing website, you can stop worrying IE11, but if you're developing enterprise software you're still in hell for around seven years (give or take if Microsoft offers an ESU à la Windows 7).

babypuncher 4y ago

That is a stretch; Windows Server 2022 includes Edge. And any Server 2022 user who goes out of their way to make IE11 the default should probably be fired.

ratww 4y ago
Yep. We have a Window Server 2022 VM for testing sites in IE11 (we're in a Microsoft partnership thing so we need IE11 support) and after some recent updates it's been a pain in the ass to use IE even on purpose. Happy to not need it anymore.

_-david-_ 4y ago

Do people browse the internet on their servers? What exactly is the use case?

technion 4y ago
Most common thing is Citrix/rds server environments. Plenty of orgs have all staff working on serversvas desktops. I was watching a doctor yesterday use a patient admin portal in IE.