Still using an outdated version of Internet Explorer? Might be time to upgrade.

Last week, Microsoft announced that it will drop support and security updates for older versions of the browser and support only the latest edition of each available version of Windows. In other words, Internet Explorer 8 is getting the ol’ heave-ho on Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, and you should probably be on IE 11 on most other platforms. The transition will take place January 12, 2016.

“For customers not yet running the latest browser available for your operating system, we encourage you to upgrade and stay up-to-date for a faster, more secure browsing experience,” the company’s director of Internet Explorer, Roger Capriotti, wrote in a company blog post.

This is a change for Microsoft, which has been known to support outdated versions of its browsers for years—most notably Internet Explorer 6, which had continued to receive support on Windows XP until this past April, a 13-year life span.

To help IT pros manage the transition, the company is working on an array of new tools for businesses, including an Enterprise Mode, which it released in April. The tool will allow companies to support websites created for outdated versions of Internet Explorer until at least 2020.

“Microsoft will continue to improve Enterprise Mode backward compatibility and to invest in tools and other resources to help customers upgrade and stay up-to-date on the latest version of Internet Explorer,” Capriotti wrote.

(That sound you hear in the background is your web developer cheering.)

This Opportunity Comes Once In a Lifetime

“You will feel the pride of America’s great comeback city.” During the Closing General Session on Tuesday at the ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition, Nashville attendees got their first taste of the 2015 conference in Detroit with decorative food sourced from the Mitten. But it was nothing compared to the emotional thrill ride that the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau provided with its launch video for the conference (shown above). It certainly does a good job of encouraging attendees to look past the headlines about the city’s financial troubles.

In case you’re wondering, the dramatic cover of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” comes courtesy of the Larry Callahan & Selected of God choir, who also made a surprise live appearance at the closing session. Learn more about the next conference on the Visitors Bureau’s microsite for the event.

Other good reads

Like the rest of Silicon Valley’s giants, Apple has a diversity problem, according to The Verge—but a less severe one than its competition. Even though, like many other tech companies, just 30 percent of its employees are women, Apple has more black and Hispanic employees than Twitter, Google, Facebook, and others. (One thing to point out, though: The companies vary widely in scale, so it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison.)

When should you switch out your event technology? Writing for the Event Manager Blog, Cathy Key outlines the things to consider when making a decision.

Use Meetup for your events? You may appreciate this upgrade to the company’s mobile app.

(Ivary/Thickstock)