Microsoft forcibly removes Internet Explorer from your computer

Microsoft officially killed IE last year, though its ghostly presence still lingers on Windows PCs around the world. Microsoft has begun scraping the scraps automatically removed Instances of Internet Explorer from users’ computers. A software update for the Edge browser that started this week will permanently disable Internet Explorer 11 on any Windows PC that still has it installed.

In some ways, it’s a fitting ending. Microsoft had a habit of forcing Internet Explorer into almost everything, to the point that the practice prompted a federal antitrust suit against the company in 1998. Going in and forcefully uninstalling the software seems like a typical depressing end to the cycle.

Of course, everything is just made of stardust, and the fragmented remnants of Internet Explorer will continue in one form or another. The browser’s visual elements, such as icons and shortcuts, will remain on desktops until a Windows update later this year also removes them, and Microsoft says it will. support Some basic compatibility features with Internet Explorer in the Edge browser until 2029.

Here’s some other tech news.

Instagram channels

Instagram is getting a new broadcast feature called Channels, which allows individual accounts to send messages directly to followers who join it. Instagram parent company Meta announced The feature (itself a clone of a similar feature in Telegram) was introduced this week when Meta CEO Mark Zuckerburg showed off its first example.

Channels work kind of like a one-way group chat. One account posts the content, whether a photo, video or text message, and followers can respond with emoji reactions or answer polls. The feature is in early testing right now, and only a few users can experiment with it. Channels are also available via Facebook Messengeragain in limited early trials.

Minecrocs

Where is your god now? Minecraft-themed Crocs are real!

“Craft because you’re in total Crocs Comfort,” screams the chaos of the collaboration commercial copy.

Also announced Official Microsoft websiteThe fashion-adjacent shoe brand has partnered with the voxel crafting game to produce four pairs of shoes, from high-top clogs to simple slides. The cozy launcher features Minecraft’s signature green-brown palette and can feature detachable charms in the form of classic Minecraft characters like Steve and the pig. They are both real and available for purchase.

Gettin’ Chatty!

If you’ve spent more than a second on the internet this week, you’ll have noticed that chatbots are everywhere. They create endless art and talk and inspirational conferences filled with marketing evangelism and obnoxious freestyle rapping about artificial intelligence. Chatbots can now even help with online search and sometimes obey it existential panic attacks during. (They’re just like us!)

Microsoft has revived its failing Bing search engine by deploying a generative AI bot to guide people through the search path. Not to be outdone, Google was quick to announce its own search bot called Bard. It’s the biggest competition yet in the increasingly competitive AI ecosystem.

This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED Senior Writer Will Knight joins the show to talk about chatbots and how everyone wants to cash in on generative AI.