Internet Explorer End of Life (EOL) on Windows 10

Although not unexpected, Microsoft has officially announced the End of Life (EOL) for Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10.  Internet Explorer 11 will go out of support on June 15, 2022, for certain versions of Windows 10.   From The future of Internet Explorer on Windows 10 is in Microsoft Edge:

Note: This retirement does not affect in-market Windows 10 LTSC or Server Internet Explorer 11 desktop applications. It also does not affect the MSHTML (Trident) engine. For a full list of what is in scope for this announcement, and for other technical questions, please see our FAQ.

Edge legacy was replaced by Edge Chromium with the April 13, 2021 security updates.  With built-in IE Mode for websites built to work with Internet explorer, the new Edge makes Internet Explorer unnecessary.  IE Mode can be activated using the following simple steps:

• In the address bar for Microsoft Edge, type edge://settings/defaultbrowser and then click Enter.
  
• Slide the Allow sites to be reloaded in Internet Explorer toggle to ON.
  
• Restart Microsoft Edge.

In addition to enhanced security and other improvements over Internet Explorer, the options for extensions available for Edge is almost endless.  If the extension you are seeking isn't available in Microsoft Edge Add-ons, you will most likely find what you are seeking in the Chrome Web Store.

Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...

Chromium-Based Microsof Edge Released

As announced previously, the long-awaited new Microsoft Edge Chromium-based browser has been released.  For consumers, it will be installed in a future update to Windows 10, following a measured roll-out via Windows Update over the next several months. The Windows Update schedule for Windows 10 versions is available at Windows updates for Microsoft Edge | Microsoft Docs.

Having daily used the development version of Microsoft Edge since it was initially made available, the Chromium-based version has proved to be a definite improvement.  Learn about the new features by following the "Learn More" links at Microsoft Edge Browser Features.   

If you don't want to wait for Windows Update, you can download the new Edge browser today.  It is available for Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, macOS, iOS and Android from the download page at Download New Microsoft Edge Browser | Microsoft. Click the arrow to select the version for your device.


References:

• Upgrading to the new Microsoft Edge - Microsoft Edge Blog
• Microsoft Edge Browser Features
• Download New Microsoft Edge Browser | Microsoft
• Windows updates for Microsoft Edge | Microsoft Docs

Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...

Windows 10 Cumulative Update and More News

Microsoft released cumulative update KB4512941 with non-security improvements and fixes for Windows 10 Version 1903 today.  A long list of non-security quality improvements is included in the update.  Highlights were listed as follows:

• Updates an issue that prevents certain games from leveraging Spatial Audio capabilities. 
• Updates an issue that fails to provide a cursor when you select a text input box using touch. 
• Updates an issue that may cause the name of an unsupported application to appear as default text, such as “ms-resource:AppName/Text” in the Start menu after upgrading the operating system. 
• Updates an issue with downloading copyrighted digital media (music, TV shows, movies, and so on) from certain websites using Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer.
• Improves the user experience and app compatibility so that more Win32 apps will work with Windows Mixed Reality. 

To download and install the update, go to Settings -> Update and Security ->  Windows Update and select Check for updates.

 ePub Support

 Included in the KB Article was the following announcement:

"ePub support ending in Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge will end support for e-books that use the .epub file extension over the next several months. For more information, see Download an ePub app to keep reading e-books."

Adobe Flash Player

A separate announcement was made by Colleen Williams, Senior Program Manager, Microsoft Edge in Update on removing Flash from Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer:

"In 2017, we published a roadmap to remove Adobe Flash from Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer by 2020. Since that post, we announced our intent to build Microsoft Edge on the Chromium open source project. In this post, we will provide an update on what to expect for the Flash retirement in Microsoft browsers.

Here's what you can expect for each Microsoft browser:

In the next version of Microsoft Edge (built on Chromium), we will continue to retire Flash in the same timeframe as other Chromium based browsers. You can learn more of that timeline in this blog post. Flash will initially be disabled, and the user will need to re-enable Flash on a site-by-site basis; Flash will be completely removed from the browser towards the end of 2020. Group policies are available for enterprise admins and IT pros to change the Flash behavior prior to that date.

For both the in-market version of Microsoft Edge (built on EdgeHTML) and Internet Explorer 11, the current experience will continue as-is through 2019. We plan to fully remove Flash by December 2020."

Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...