My PCWorld peer Katherine Noyes tries to never miss an opportunity for Microsoft-bashing no matter how unfounded it may be, so she was quick to jump to the conclusion that Skype abandoning Asterisk is part of an to close the doors on Skype and cut off support for all but Microsoft.

I expect that kind of unbridled anti-Microsoft sentiment from Ms. Noyes, but sadly she was not alone in blaming Microsoft for the Skype decision. ZDNet's Steven Vaugh-Nichols also , as did this .

I'm sorry, what? Microsoft just announced the for $8.5 billion two weeks ago. It will take months for the deal to pass all of the financial and regulatory hurdles necessary before Skype will actually be a part of Microsoft. For now, the relationship between the two amounts to a press release announcing the intent to purchase. Microsoft does not pull any strings at Skype yet.

Microsoft declined to make any official comment--I assume because it has nothing to do with Skype operations and is not in a position to make any comment about Skype policies and decisions.

I asked Skype to clarify whether or not Microsoft played a role in this decision, and received the following statement from Jennifer Caukin, spokesperson for Skype: