In the mid-1990s, few sites defined the emerging Web better than Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

Alas, time has continued its cold march in the intervening years. Now, the once celebrated web browser is being put to pasture, as announced in an official Windows press release.

Microsoft and Windows are ending all official support for Explorer as of today, putting Explorer on the same level as other failed browsers like Netscape, Prodigy and that fearsome butler Jeeves.

Why now? Explorer has been around for nearly 27 years and has seen its share shrink to less than half a percent of the total current market share, according to tracking service StatCounter. Microsoft has been trying to discourage people from using Explorer for years, instead pushing them to the company’s favorite browser, Microsoft Edge.