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You can almost imagine some skinny guy standing in front of large crowd. 

The crowd yells, "Let XP live!"  The skinny guy fidgets, and responds, "Um, we need more feedback." 

Yes, this is Microsoft PR at its best, folks.

Infoworld started a "Save XP" petition in mid-January; since then, over 75,000 people have signed it. 

This, in our analogy, is the chanting crowd.

Now for the skinny guy's response.  "We're aware of it, but are listening first and foremost to feedback we hear from partners and customers about what makes sense based on their needs," a Microsoft spokesperson told Computerworld.

He then continued, "That's what informed our decision to extend the availability of XP initially, and what will continue to guide us."

We are not responsible for any ocular damage that occurs during extreme eye rolls.

In any event, XP should be available through at least June 30th of this year, and it sounds as if Microsoft hasn't completely ruled out another extension of its lifespan. 

Sales figures alone might force the company to rethink things, since, even as Vista gradually catches on, people continue to lean towards other alternatives.  Microsoft's execs are hardly looking to boost the market shares of Linux and Mac OS X.

For now, though, we're left to look forward to the release of SP1 and watch the "Save XP" campaign grow. 

Maybe one thing or the other will budge the situation in some way. 

Microsoft, for its part, is lucky that the skinny guy's encounter is only an analogy - at this rate, a little mob violence would probably have occurred in real life.