Microsoft announced that its WindowsXP operating system is now complete and that the company will present the final “gold code” version to computer manufacturers today. Windows XP is scheduled for widespread release on October 25th and will be available in several versions: WindowsXP Home Edition will be available as an upgrade for Windows 98/ME users while WindowsXP Professional will be available as an upgrade for Windows 2000/NT users. In the meantime, this month 10 years ago, Linus Torvalds first invited open-source folks to play with his free operating system. Now Linux has grown a lot and it is serious business for giants like IBM, Compaq and HP and competes straight with Microsoft’s OS offerings.