IE-tan
 | “If possible, could I have some more?” This article could be expanded on and use more details, and needs them as much as XP-tan needs more RAM! |
Technical Details
Internet Explorer is a web browser that was released on August 16th, 1995. Started as a project in 1994, IE took much of its source code from Spyglass Inc.'s Mosaic web browser, with Microsoft Internet Explorer (aka IE 1) being a reworked version of Mosaic. IE was bundled with Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95 and the OEM release of 95. IE 1.5 was released several months later for Windows NT. Microsoft providing it for free on their operating systems, however, resulted in a lawsuit from Spyglass (who they had licensed the code from), which was eventually settled in early 1997.
Over the years, Internet Explorer has gone through many versions, with the latest release being IE 11, released for Windows 8 in mid-October 2013. It supports many extensions, favourites, tabbed browsing (introduced in IE7), and a built in search bar. Despite all these enhancements, however, IE has been called insecure, unstable, and clunky. Even with newer versions and "upgrades", many Windows patrons still use third-party browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Opera. IE continues to stand among the major web browsers as the preferred browser of some, making it another one among many.
Character Details
IE-tan is typically depicted as a teenaged girl with blue hair (in varying lengths, sometimes in pigtails, depending on version) and a white outfit. She is nervous, but also very enthusiastic, cheerful, and eager to please. As a nod to the security vulnerabilities, IE-tan is prone to panty-flashing (though not on purpose), and can sometimes freeze or crash. It is likely that she is friends with the other browsers (though they may sigh and laugh at her antics a bit), Outlook-tan and various Windows-tans (though they may not always like her that much). In addition, a group of fans created an IE-tan for IE 11, which was subsequently picked up and given more life by Microsoft Singapore, the creator of the Silverlight girls.
Inori Aizawa
Inori Aizawa is the "official" OS-tan for Internet Explorer. She has brunette/blonde hair, and is, get this, a Magical Girl!
Creation
Unlike most other OS-tans, Inori Aizawa was not created by Microsoft, but instead, was created by Collateral Damage Studios as a way to make a design for IE-tan after seeing someone's design for -tans for Firefox, Chrome, and Safari. After posting an early design[1] on facebook and getting numerous positive feedback, being encouraged by this initial success, CDS fleshed out her design and Inori was born[2], drawing more than 20,000 likes and comments and close to 2,000 shares across all of Facebook.
"This initial success led to an extended partnership between Microsoft Singapore and the Studio to officially adopt the character as a mascot for Internet Explorer. Additionally, Microsoft also partnered with Nanyang Technological University’s CACANi Animation to develop a short two-minute promotional video[3] introducing Inori."[4]
