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XP will hit an end-of-life. We have announced one. If customer feedback varies, we can always wake up smarter, but right now we have a plan for end-of-life for new XP shipments.”

–Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, April 24, 2008

Looks like Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer woke up smarter again.

Microsoft had planned to cut off sales of its Windows XP operating system through the retail and original equipment manufacturer channels on Jan. 30, 2008–one year after the Windows Vista debut. But the poor reception given Vista and the unwavering loyalty of XP users caused the company to extend that deadline to June 30, 2008. A few months later, Microsoft extended the deadline further, to Jan. 31, 2009. And now, amid reports that more than a third of all new Vista PCs are being downgraded to XP, it extended the XP deadline again.

Microsoft (MSFT) will now stop distributing Windows XP to PC makers on May 30, 2009. ChannelWeb reports that while distributors must place their final orders for XP OEM licenses by Jan. 31, 2009, they can take delivery against those orders through May 30. And the company will continue to support the OS with security and other critical updates until April 2014 (that’s 13 years after XP was first released).

Which means it’s now not only possible to hang on to Windows XP long enough to upgrade directly to Windows 7 in 2010, but entirely realistic.