Microsoft considers the new name for Internet Explorer

Click here toMicrosoft is thinking of changing the name of Internet Explorer.

In Reddit's "Ask Me Anything" conversation last week, Microsoft's Internet Explorer team asked questions about the world's most popular web browser.

Answering the question of whether Microsoft ever thought of "rebranding and changing the name of Internet Explorer", the team acknowledged that it was and is.

"It was suggested internally," the team said. "A lot of ideas are started around how we can separate ourselves from negative perceptions that do not reflect our product today."

Recently, "a few weeks ago," the Internet Explorer team said, "has a particularly long email chain, where a lot of people are debating."

Microsoft (MSFT) is not a stranger to changing the name to the product that just does not cut it.

Windows Mobile becomes Windows Phone. Hotmail becomes Outlook. Windows NT becomes Windows Server. Microsoft Wallet becomes Microsoft Passport, then .NET Passport, then Microsoft Passport Network, then Windows Live, and now it's your Microsoft account. (There is something else called Microsoft Wallet).

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None of those name changes have had a significant impact - if any - on sales growth or user growth. A new name for Internet Explorer can not help much either.

Once the Web browser is used the most, Internet Explorer has had a steady downward spiral for years. The browser market share has fallen below the 50% threshold in 2010 and accounts for about 21%, according to a report from the browser StatCounter. Google (GOOGL) Chrome is currently the leading browser, accounting for 45% of the market share.

Internet Explorer has become synonymous with bugs, security issues and backward technologies. Many questions that the Internet Explorer team put forth in the "Ask Me Anything" conversation are whether the browser can improve its reputation among Web users.

A member of IE said, "I hope so." Sincerely, A lot of things are changing. "

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The Internet Explorer team noted that the latest version of Microsoft's browser takes advantage of all the security features and latest software that its rivals use.

To speed up IE 11, the latest version of Internet Explorer, Microsoft said it is ending support for older versions of the browser. The most widely used version of Internet Explorer is IE 8, released in 2009.

Companies tend to use the new browser version very slowly, especially if they customize the applications for them. However, the IE team said Reddit that the latest version of Internet Explorer allowed the company's IT teams to install IE 11 across the company but still run certain applications in IE 8.

"If you keep up the good work and have all the right answers, I would really have to give IE another shot," said Reddit PlacidTick. "Stop."