April 24, 2008 - 6:10pm: A Microsoft spokesperson has officially quelled any speculation over a change in strategy. According to an official statement, Microsoft's current plans to end XP sales are "unchanged", and the company is "confident that's the right thing to do based on the feedback we've heard from our customers and partners."

While the CEO stressed that most people purchasing new PCs today do so with Vista, customer demand has been high enough that sales of Windows XP may be extended past its original June cutoff date.

Vista has seen its share of lumps since being released to the public last year. The continuing popularity -- or resistance to upgrade to Vista depending on how you look at it -- has caused manufacturers like Dell to offer XP installs as an option.

In recent weeks, bloggers and petitions have begun to circle the Internet to keep Microsoft's former flagship operating system alive. If Redmond decides to keep selling XP it would be a victory for these fans by any measure.

Some 160,000 people have signed a petition to save XP, calling on Microsoft to continue selling it through the next version of Windows, set to release in 2010.

However, at the same time it also calls into question Microsoft's commitment to Vista. If it keeps selling the previous release of Windows, what does that really say about the newest OS?

Maybe nothing, according to Ballmer. In his comments during a press conference in Belgium, he said consumers are generally not opting for XP. At this time, it appears more of a function of IT departments who have a great deal of legacy equipment.