Windows 7 Will Downgrade To But Not Upgrade From XP

This is just clarification from MS, not worthy of all this dissent. It's always been common knowledge that as a beta you would have to re-install. Frankly I was very pleasantly shocked when I found I could upgrade the beta to a later build without any re-install.

XP to Win7: I agree with MS here it'll be a better experience for users not to bring their XP junk with them and start afresh. XP will be what, 10 years(?) old when 7 comes out, anyone upgrading should be glad they can't upgrade. And the downgrade option, I don't see why they are bothering. Legacy apps aside there will be little reason to stick to XP once 7 is released.

Vista to Win7 upgrade: anyone thinking this'll be free is crazy; they are a business. 3 years on from Vista, it brings a wealth of new features, interface enhancements and runs far more efficiently. There's more than enough in it to justify a new release and anyway what will an upgrade cost? £40-60(?) hardly a 'huge' amount even if these hard times.

They've done what few software companies have done for the last 10 years, they've brought out a new version of their software that has more, but is easier to use, takes up less space and runs faster. They've acknowledged people don't need super fast machines, that the hardware of 5 years ago is enough for most people and made an OS that runs well on that. This is a major shift in strategy for MS and they should be appreciated for it (it's why I bother posting things like this sticking up for them). Ms ain't so evil anymore, even if it's the changing times and competition that's finally forced them to listen, at least they finally have.

I am sure I have made this point before but XP the vast majority of user will migrate to 7. As mentioned above XP will be 10 years old and only be useful for as long as Microsoft continues development support. Meaning user wanting support for USB 3.0, SSD drives and all the next gen hardware will have to jump ship. Obviously Microsoft product e.g. Office, Media Centre, etc will be phased out for XP as they were for 2000. It is simply a matter of time before XP feels dated. I have been on 7 beta since release day and XP is becoming a hazy memory.

Is there some misunderstanding here? The 'downgrade to XP' is not an actual downgrade to XP - it's the right to use XP in place of Windows 7, if you have a Windows 7 licence. I think this is actually quite reasonable of Microsoft.

For example, where I work we have a corporate volume licensing deal that actually covers us for Vista - however, we don't have to use Vista, we are licensed for any previous version of Windows.

@DEB

I can't see many users at all migrating from an older OS to Windows 7. The overwhelming majority of users use the OS that comes with their PC. Only enthusiasts and a small percentage of bog standard users will buy Windows 7 for their existing PC.

Look at the take up for Vista. MS wanted people to believe it was the second coming yet most people flicked Microsoft the V-sign and said "I'll just stick with what I've got thanks" and this was before all the negative press!

I'll personally buy Windows 7 for my main rig at home but I won't be buying it for my Vaio as that runs perfectly fine on Vista.