Intel, HP prepare for the end of days -- Windows XP's, that is

As the sun sets on support for Windows XP nears, Hewlett-Packard and Intel executives say they're looking to new horizons.

In case you've been living under a rock, support for Windows XP ends on April 8, 2014.

And Microsoft has a message for you: "If your organization has not started the migration to a modern desktop, you are late," the company says on its Support Ends Web page.

That has HP and Intel, not surprisingly, giddy with the prospects of upgrades to new hardware.

Here's what Meg Whitman, HP's CEO, said earlier this week during the company's earnings conference call, responding to an analyst's question.

"So, we're leading...the migration off of XP. And we actually -- I think, Microsoft would probably tell you -- we're among the leaders in terms of spearheading that migration. We've been on this for well over a year, and it's actually going pretty well," she said.

And Intel's general manager of the PC Client Group, Kirk Skaugen, speaking the week before, isn't exactly rueing the day, either.

"Remember, Windows XP [support] end of life is in April so we have confidence that the business refresh which typically comes with a hardware upgrade is heading our way...whether they move to Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 that's a big change for business," he said during the company's investor meeting."

The operating-system-that-won't-die has been around since 2001. It got a new lease on life when its successor, Vista, was declared a disaster back in 2006.

There are still plenty of XP users out there, according to an unscientific poll CNET conduced in June.

New November data from Net Applications shows XP stubbornly holding onto a 31 percent desktop market share.

So, you have to wonder, how many of those polled earlier by CNET want to keep using XP? Chances are there are more than a few.

Are they as giddy at the prospects as HP and Intel? We'll find out on April 8.