Corel_s desktop version will highlight introductions at LinuxWorld show.

Corel and IBM are among the horde of firms expected to use LinuxWorld Conference & Expo to launch or demonstrate new products based on the popular open-source operating system. More than 12,000 developers, businesspeople, and other enthusiasts attended the first LinuxWorld show in March, and organizers hope to top that figure next week. The show runs Monday through Thursday in San Jose, California. Linus Torvalds, creator of Linux, will deliver a keynote Tuesday evening. Among product rollouts, Corel on Tuesday will provide the first peek at a beta version of its desktop Linux release that it hopes to release commercially by the end of the year. Corel_s Linux release is based on the Debian Linux distribution and the K Desktop Environment graphical user interface, and targets less technical users who want an easy-to-use and install version of Linux to run on their desktop. SuSE will announce that it is shipping version 6.2 of its Linux distribution, and will give the first public demonstration of that product at the show. New features include support for the 2.2.10 Linux kernel, an upgrade to version 5.1 of StarOffice, and support for pluggable authentication modules for added security, said Marc Torres, president of SuSE. On the hardware side, IBM will introduce a Netfinity 3500 server certified to run Linux distributions from SuSE, Red Hat Software, Caldera Systems, and Turbolinux (formerly known as Pacific HiTech). Priced starting at $1800, the 3500 M10 will ship this month, targeting retail stores and small businesses, said Michael Riegel, IBM_s global executive for e-business and Linux with IBM_s Netfinity Division.