The news that Microsoft would only allow OEMs to offer Windows 7 to Windows XP downgrades for the first six months after the Windows 7 release made the rounds on various technology news sites two days ago. This basically meant that businesses and individuals would be able to downgrade to Windows XP Professional if they purchased a new computer system running Windows 7 Professional or Windows 7 Ultimate before May 2010. The only downgrade after that six month period would be to Windows Vista.
This plan could be a potential disaster for companies that decided to skip Windows Vista as most analysts predicted a 12-18 month period after the Windows 7 release before companies would begin using the operating system.
According to a Channel Web news article Microsoft is going to offer Windows XP downgrades until at least April 2011 or until the release of Windows 7 SP1.
Microsoft late Tuesday said it will give customers that buy new Windows 7 PCs the option of downgrading their machines to Windows XP Professional until April 2011, or until the release of a Windows 7 Service Pack 1.
