Isn't it getting a little tiresome that Microsoft has to be taken to the mat over every objectionable, insensible licensing decision they make lately?

ComputerWorld reports that Microsoft has backtracked on its initial decision to limit OEM downgrades (wherein customers purchase PCs with Windows 7 licenses but which are running legitimate copies of Windows XP on delivery) to six months after the release of the next Windows; instead, the timeline has been pushed back potentially as far as 2011. This provides some breathing room for organizations which fully intend to upgrade to 7 but need time to test and plan for the migration, while still provisioning and supporting their existing XP installation base.

I doubt that the original decision had anything to do with what the conspiracy theorists are already proposing, which is that the company was going to find a way to extract its pound of flesh for Vista one way or another. Instead, I suspect this was just the result of general thoughtlessness... either no one at Microsoft considered what realistic upgrade timelines might look like for their customers who sensibly decided to wait for 7, or whoever over there might have known this was a bad idea wasn't brought into the decision making process.

Neither of those possibilities makes the company look very good, and they certainly don't reassure customers that Microsoft is truly invested in delivering what they need to run smooth and efficient information systems.