IE 7 is done. Nobody panic.
Microsoft has released to manufacturing the final Internet Explorer (IE) 7 bits for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. But that doesn't mean you and/or your organization will actually have them pushed to you via Automatic Update any time soon.
This is the rollout schedule, according to Gary Schare, director of IE product management:
* As of today, October 18, at 8 p.m. EST, users who really want the final build can download the gold IE7 bits from Microsoft's Web site (or from Yahoo's, if you want Yahoo's customized IE 7 variant)
* Automatic update releases of IE 7 will start in November. Microsoft is advising businesses who don't want it pushed to users' desktops to get Microsoft's IE 7 blocker toolkit (which has been available since July) and install it by November 1
* Individuals who have been beta testing IE 7 will be first in line to have IE 7 pushed to them via Automatic Update. After that, users can expect to get a notice from Microsoft anytime over the next three months, alerting them of availability of IE 7.
By the way, you can just say no to having the IE 7 update pushed to you.
If you want to see what the final IE 7 looks like, here are some IE 7 screen shots.