Windows XP, the software which has served for 9 years now from 2001 will continue its journey and will be with us for another 10 years. Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) declared that it will allow some Windows 7 customers to purchase Windows XP "downgrade" licenses until January 2020. These licenses will let customers trade the newer operating system and as an alternative install a legal copy of the older one.

Earlier Microsoft intended to allow Windows 7 consumers downgrade to Windows XP by April 2010, but that end-date was soon extended to October 2011. Currently, the company says it will extend the downgrade option throughout the entire Windows 7 support cycle, which is programmed to last until January 2020. This step is taken to mollify business customers most of who missed an upgrade cycle by overlooking the widely panned Windows Vista. A full 74% of Microsoft's business customers are still using the outdated Windows XP, said Windows marketing head Tami Reller .

The extension allows Windows XP to live for 19 years , four times longer than most computers last. For context, downgrading to XP at the end of this decade would be like a current Windows user downgrading to Windows 3.1, which went on sale in 1992.

Daniel Ruby, research director at Chitika Inc said ,"XP has lived to tell the tale in large part because of Vista, which was a complete disaster.Corporate IT departments are suspicious of doing anything until they're sure things are going to work. They're not willing to go from something that works to something that doesn't work as well."

Still, it's doubtful that many customers will continue using Windows XP for too long, Microsoft's support for the operating system is set to end in April 2014.Ruby said that he expects large corporations to migrate to Windows 7 in 12 to 18 months.