Microsoft is killing off the Internet Explorer brand

IE will live on, but only as plumbing for Windows

[bill]

http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/17/8230631/microsoft-is-killing-off-the-internet-explorer-brand [theverge.com]

Microsoft is killing off the Internet Explorer brand

While Microsoft has dropped hints that the Internet Explorer brand is going away, the software maker has now confirmed that it will use a new name for its upcoming browser successor, codenamed Project Spartan. Speaking at Microsoft Convergence yesterday, Microsoft's marketing chief Chris Capossela revealed that the company is currently working on a new name and brand. "We’re now researching what the new brand, or the new name, for our browser should be in Windows 10," said Capossela. "We’ll continue to have Internet Explorer, but we’ll also have a new browser called Project Spartan, which is codenamed Project Spartan. We have to name the thing."

[Marshall]

A rose by any other name? Time will tell.

Marshall

[fathom]

Spartan - defined as: showing the indifference to comfort or luxury.

who are they trying to kid.

[incrediBILL]

This from the idiots that brought us "Metro" because the new UI looks like subway tiles.

When you have a brand that everyone knows and loathes, um loves, you don't mess with it.

Just ask whatever happened to New Coke?

I sure haven't seen it anywhere.

On the flip side the only reason you might want to rebrand it is if it's breaking the MSIE browser mold and going in a bold new direction, like using Apple Webkit so the pages render like every other browser :)

[not2easy]

It sounds like they are planning to join the rest of the internet and become standards compliant. yay.

[bill]

They've said it's just a fork of Trident, so no such luck there iBill. ;)
Good news is that it's supposed to out perform Chrome and Firefox in a number of rendering functions.

[graeme_p]

When the IE logo disappears, we will hear a lot of wails of "my internet has gone".

[rish3]

The little 'e' will be replaced with a white flag.

[toidi]

Hopefully they spend as much time and effort making it work as they are on the name.

[RedBar]

My Lumia's IE works very well, is there a massive difference between that and the regular version?

[Rlilly]

Geez, did not M$ pay 700 million in fines in the EU becuase of IE bundled with other software?

[Nutterum]

I bet a kidney they will name it something "brand extending" like discovery or some other BS. To be honest Spartan is already glued in people`s heads...so I hope they leave the name as is.

[RedBar]

Ah, the caffeine's kicked-in, so we're talking about the "brand" not the actual software?

[JAB Creations]

I think a large chunk of the developer world thinks it's an admission of defeat while I think it's just another pseudo-marketing gimmick to get attention. IE isn't bad any more, anyone remember the HGST Deskstar nick named the Death Star hard drive? Hitachi worked hard to really improve the failure rates and I bought three 4TB drives of theirs recently. Improve, don't rename.

John

[mcneely]

Microsoft can never truly turn the page on it's browser until it starts writing for all of the major operating systems ... Linux for one has yet to see, and most likely will never see, a browser from Microsoft -- If Microsoft intends to do what it says, then they'll have to be open to what's out there, otherwise it's all just going to be smoke and mirrors like usual ...

[J_RaD]

no matter how great and perfect they make IE...... people will always make fun of and dismiss it.

HGST Deskstar nick named the Death Star hard drive? Hitachi worked hard to really improve the failure rates and I bought three 4TB drives of theirs recently.

Yep, i now seek out Hitachi drives because they are built like TANKS!

[engine]

In some respects, IE is very poor, imho. Standards are the problem; It has drifted too far, or failed to follow what people want from a browser. Nobody wants to get a message from a site that the browser is incompatible, or, the site doesn't display properly.

If Spartan (codename) is going to become the basis of Windows 10 we're going to have more fun when it launches later this year. [webmasterworld.com]

For completeness, here are the other Spartan threads on WebmasterWorld.

Windows 10’s new browser will have the most advanced features ever [webmasterworld.com]

Microsoft's Spartan browser: What's under the hood [webmasterworld.com]

'Spartan' browser to get extensions [webmasterworld.com]

[incrediBILL]

Good news is that it's supposed to out perform Chrome and Firefox in a number of rendering functions.

Rendering is the least of their problems.

Maybe they're just changing the name because all of those legal restrictions that were imposed on MSIE call it by name, perhaps this is a bundling loophole :)

[EditorialGuy]

Never mind killing off the brand: Just kill off the browser.

[incrediBILL]

Never mind killing off the brand: Just kill off the browser.

Sadly that won't fly because there are many Windows only corporate sites out there that use nothing but MS tech which would leave a lot of companies that drank the kool-aid lost in the shuffle. That reason alone is probably why MSIE will remain plus this new browser because if MS pisses off the corporate world and lose all those sales, they'd be in really big trouble.

Really, MS Windows is the only non-Linux platform left, just a matter of time...

[IanCP]

Yawn! What's in a name?

I use IE 11 for some applications, and Firefox 32 for the rest.

If it works for me? That is all I care about.

Tinker all you like, I'll only end up customising it my way - as in my Win 8.1 mostly looking like Win XP Pro.

[martinibuster]

...as in my Win 8.1 mostly looking like Win XP Pro.

That's a goodie. First thing I do on a new computer is revert to the Windows Classic skin. :)

Killing off the brand is probably a good idea. The brand itself had too much baggage so good to start over and build a new one.

[IanCP]

I look at it this way, my PC is a Custom Built Desktop put together by myself to my specifications and requirements.

To me it is nothing more than one of many tools at my disposal, I never look at it as an experience as it seems to be for so many other people today, particularly the young.

I've always configured my tools in a way which works best for me.

[mcneely]

First thing I do on a new computer is revert to the Windows Classic skin

Funny, that's one of the first things a lot Linux users do too ...

Microsoft might have set the standard for GUI, but Linux sets the standard for everything else ..

[graeme_p]

@mcneely, I like to set up my desktop the way I like it, but it does not look like any version of Windows. The most popular Linux distro is Ubuntu which cannot be made to look like Windows without installing a new desktop environment. My own current desktop is probably best described as XFCE made to look like Ubuntu Unity....

I do think that Windows users who like ton customise things heavily need to release their inner Linux user - Linux is so much more customisable.

[edited by: graeme_p at 9:21 am (utc) on Mar 19, 2015]

[graeme_p]

Really, MS Windows is the only non-Linux platform left, just a matter of time...

I think you mean *nix, given MacOS is Unix, not Linux, but yes. It worries me slightly that the existence of just two operating systems families holds back innovation that requires a break with the past/ It would be really nice is BeOS was still around or Plan 9 had taken off just so people would do things in more different ways.

[mcneely]

without installing a new desktop environment

Which is exactly what a lot of people do - They aren't used to the launcher, so they hide it and set it up with the tools and folders on the desktop .. just like Windows ... There are several configs that will give you the Windows style layout - Lighter builds including Lubuntu gives you the Windows look right out of the box --

[webcentric]

When the IE logo disappears, we will hear a lot of wails of "my internet has gone".

I here that every time one of my clients accidentally sorts his desktop.

It worries me slightly that the existence of just two operating systems families holds back innovation

Or opens the door for someone with the moxie and money to do an end around. In reality though, the polarity of these two OS's is still driving a great deal of innovation. We've come a long way in the area of conformity where Internet standards are concerned but there's plenty of room for more improvement. Guess I'm saying is that before someone comes along and invents a completely new way of doing things. The players currently in the game should at least make an attempt to conform to the well-planned specifications for things like HTML, CSS and Javascript.

[physics]

Ding dong the wicked witch is dead. Long live the wicked witch. :p

Have to say that the name Spartan is funny, seeing that M$ tends to deliver software I'd describe more as "Bloated" than "Spartan".

[EditorialGuy]

Have to say that the name Spartan is funny, seeing that M$ tends to deliver software I'd describe more as "Bloated" than "Spartan".

No funnier than "Safari." (Who wants to set out on a cross-country trek while waiting for a page to load?)