Seoul, June 17 (Reuters) – Jung Ki-young, South Korean software engineer, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O) The decision to retire the Internet Explorer web browser marked the end of a quarter-century love-hate relationship with technology.
To commemorate its closet, he spent 430,000 a month ($ 330) designing and ordering a headstone with Explorer’s “e” logo and the English epitaph: “He’s a good tool for downloading to other browsers.”
The photo of the grave went viral after a memorial service at a hotel run by his brother in the southern city of Kyongju.
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Microsoft on Wednesday cut back on support for Internet Explorer, a once-in-a-lifetime operating system, after 27 years of running to focus on its fast-paced browser, the Microsoft Edge.
Jung said the monument showed mixed feelings for old software that had played such a big role in his career.
“It’s a pain in the ass, but I call it a love-hate relationship because Explorer once dominated,” he told Reuters.
He said he found it took longer to make sure his websites and online applications were working in Explorer than other browsers.
The tomb of the Internet Explorer browser, set up by South Korean software engineer Jung Ki-young, was photographed on the roof of a hotel in Gyeongju, South Korea, on June 17, 2022. Via Jung Ki-Young / Handout REUTERS
But his clients have repeatedly asked him to make sure their websites are good in Explorer, which has been the default browser in South Korean government offices and many banks for years.
Launched in 1995, Explorer has been the world’s leading browser for more than a decade as it integrates with Microsoft’s Windows operating system, which is already installed on billions of computers. read more
But it began to lose ground to Google Chrome in the late 2000s and became the subject of countless web memes, with some developers suggesting that it was sluggish compared to its competitors.
Jung said he wanted to keep the grave and make people laugh, but was still wondering how far that joke went online.
“This is another reason I want to thank Explorer, which has now allowed me to create world-class comedy,” he said.
“I’m sorry it’s gone, but I will not miss it. So its rest, a good death for me.”
($ 1 = 1,292.2600 won)
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Minwu Park and Hyunhee Shin Report; Editing Andrew Heavens
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
“Lifelong social media lover. Falls down a lot. Creator. Devoted food aficionado. Explorer. Typical troublemaker.”