Is Internet Explorer going away? Not really.

John, NFLS' Information Technologies Coordinator, has been hearing / seeing things from some libraries about not being able to use Internet Explorer (IE) anymore. Some staff are reporting messages popping up about IE going away.

There are actually a couple of things going on here so John wanted to break it down . . .

(1) An older version of IE, ver.10, is going end-of-life in January.  All of our library computers have long been on IE 11 so no one is going to lose Internet Explorer.  Please know that you do not have to change to Chrome, Edge, or Firefox; continue using Internet Explorer if you want.  Here is a description of the situation:

IE 11 will get Technical Updates as long as Windows 10 gets supported.
Windows 10 will get support until the next Version of Windows, but Windows 10 is the last Version of Windows, thus IE 11 is immortal. 
   (Source: https://medium.com/@burger.neal/the-end-of-life-of-internet-explorer-11-12736f9ff75f)

(2) With that being said, you may still want to move on to another browser because IE has fallen out of favor with web app developers.  There are many flaws in it that cause problems, thus you may find sites that are either locking up or will not work at all in IE.  This is what has recently happened with WiscCat at many libraries.  The solution was to move to another browser.  Most folks should have at least one other browser already installed.  If not, Microsoft Edge comes with Windows 10 by default so maybe you just do not have the shortcut on your desktop.  You can find it in the list of programs in the Start menu.  You can also feel free to install Chrome and/or Firefox yourself on your Staff computers.  If you have problems with this let me know and I will help.  Honestly, we will be phasing out Internet Explorer as we move forward with new computers and the installation of My PC so it will be disappearing (from our computers) before long.

​If interested, the easiest way to confirm what version of IE you have is to open it and Select Help in the menu bar at the top left of the window and select the bottom option, About Internet Explorer.  If you do not have the menu bar showing, right-click somewhere in the top border area of the window and select the Menu Bar option.

While you have that window open, make sure there is a check in the box to Install new versions automatically.  Let me know if you do actually have IE 10 and I will either upgrade or uninstall it.
 
Thanks,
John Kronenburg
Information Technologies Coordinator
Nicolet Federated Library System
(920) 448-4410 x3