We've been talking about Internet Explorer version 7, or IE7, for a while in previous newsletters and finally Microsoft has released it and made it available for download.

I've had it installed on my computer for a couple weeks now and I have to say I'm well impressed – especially as someone who's become a faithful convert to Firefox, over the previously moribund version of IE 6.

While using IE7 took a little getting used to as things like favorites, tools and page options have all been moved around a bit, I still don't mind the effort for two reasons in particular: tabbed browsing and the built in RSS Feed Reader.

For those of you unfamiliar with tabbed browsing, it's a total godsend. Rather than having about 10 browser windows open – one for your favourite news page, another for internet banking, a handful for Internetrix applications like Affinity & Freestyle – all you need is one. To open a new tab in the same window all you have to do is hit "ctrl" and "t". Then right from one window you can easily "tab" between the different pages you're browsing.

Once you get used to tabbed browsing, there's no going back. This is a feature that Firefox has had for a while and the main reason why I was such a devout Firefox user, but now that IE7 has it, I may be tempted to switch back.

Oh and the other thing that may get me to become a regular IE user again is the built in RSS news feed reader. (See our previous coverage of Online News Feeds for more background on RSS). Previously, to get RSS feeds you would have to go download a special program from another site and hopefully you chose one that would integrate into your browser.

But with IE7, getting feeds is a breeze. When you're on a site – like this one – that offers RSS feeds a little RSS icon under the URL section of the browser turns from gray to orange. Just press the orange button and you automatically start getting those feeds. Too easy. To see your feed listings, press on the "favourites" star and then Feeds. I love this.

But IE7 isn't all good news. If you've already starting using it you probably noticed that many web pages are not yet compatible with it yet and it makes them look very strange indeed. A lot of sites will need to be updated for IE7 so they can be surfed properly. This is really a case of Microsoft's bad habits coming home to roost; after many years flippantly ignoring standards, the admirable decision of Microsoft to finally focus on supporting web standards in IE7 means sites built to suit bodgy versions of IE now appear broken!

If you're concerned about your website not looking its best in IE7, please give us a call on +61 2 4228 6464 and we'll be happy to quote you for the updates.

This review written by Natalie Creces. If you want to make a comment or ask a question please email natalie.creces@internetrix.com.au