WINDOWS XP: `WAIT AND SEE'; Microsoft's new operating system upgrade could face a slow start.

Byline: JONATHAN MAZE Of The Post and Courier Staff

s an avid computer user, David Goode is well aware that the new version of Windows, Microsoft's dominant operating system, is set to be released. Yet his enthusiasm is a bit tempered. Past experience tells him the new system, Windows XP, could have bugs. Also, upgrading likely would mean he'd need to buy a new computer. "I'm going to wait and see," Goode said. Microsoft officials hope such sentiment isn't the norm and that Windows XP will perform well once the upgrade is released to the public Oct. 25. (It's already available on new machines.) Nor is Microsoft the only company that holds that hope. Because Windows runs 90 percent of the world's personal computers, computer firms and retailers have hoped for months that XP will bring new PC sales out of their recent doldrums. "There's always the hope that anything new will spark interest in a newer machine," said Bob Lesser, manager of IN A PC, a North Charleston computer retailer. "There's always someone out there who wants the newest, greatest thing." That …