Internet Explorer

(commonly pronounced: I-E)

A Web browser produced by Microsoft, Internet Explorer was first released back in the day after the Netscape browser had already gained market share. At that time in 1995, it supported many of the original Netscape HTML extensions (as well as some of its own, such as bgsound.src, which allowed a sound file to load automatically when a Web page is accessed).

In time, many versions of "IE" were released and each one tried to offer more bells-and-whistles than the previous (which can become annoying because you finally get to know one interface and then it changes).

Microsoft was sued by the U.S. Department of Justice for violating antitrust regulations because it bundled IE with the Windows operating system, gaining a competitive advantage in the browser market (since Windows had already attained critical mass). For details on that trial, visit the Wikipedia link below.

Historical perspective: Even though many die-hard netizens were originally loyal to Netscape, then Firefox, and then Chrome, the IE product line eventually proved itself as a reliable browser. Microsoft announced they would stop supporting it in 2016.