yes indeed, this is all part of a long term plan.
to start with, Microsoft got to be as brutish about its tactics as it liked. Now it is a big company. the eyes of the world are on it, and people get less naive every day. people learn from their mistakes. As time passes, Microsoft must get more and more sneaky.
This is a delicate transitional period for M$. we will see them twisting and turning this way and that trying to get the bulk of the market share of all digital media formats while still legally remaining non-monopolistic. They might do it quietly one week, then when something or things happen to subtly change the climate, they might be blowing trumpets the next. They might be holding something off, then depending on some decision by sun, dell, apple, whoever, might be rushing something through.
The only two ways Microsoft might fail is firstly a lack of foresight, which is possible, and secondly a misreading of the market, also possible but a bit less likely in my opinion.
