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Windows XP is, in a sense, like a horror movie franchise that the studio just won't let die.  Microsoft has said it will deliver XP licenses up until May 30th, 2009, even though January 31st of the same year was supposed to represent a death date of sorts.

Actually, January 30th, 2008 was the first deadline XP faced.  One extension occurred, and then perhaps thanks to the 200,000 signatures collected by the "Save XP" drive, a planned June 30th cutoff was disregarded, as well.

Now, Nilay Patel reports, "Vendors will still have to place their orders before the official cutoff date of January 31, but they won't have to take delivery (or pay, we'd imagine) until May.  All of this is supposed to alleviate the problem of vendors stockpiling copies of XP -- it wouldn't be good for Microsoft if manufacturers start charging a demand-related premium for XP licenses after Redmond goes Vista-only."

And Vista's unpopularity is almost certainly one reason behind Microsoft's move.  All sorts of companies and organizations have failed to embrace the operating system, even as many individuals continue to regard it with suspicion (see Microsoft's own Mojave ad campaign).

Growth in the netbook sector may be to thank or blame (depending on one's point of view), as well, since most of those machines aren't even capable of running Vista.

Bookies are probably taking bets as to whether another extension will keep XP around until Windows 7 is released.