Gates to kick off a more serious Comdex

A more compact and serious Comdex technology trade show is due to kick off in Las Vegas next week with vendors, exhibitors and keynote speakers shifting away from the latest consumer technologies to focusing on enterprise IT.

The fact that Comdex is even happening at all has to be a relief given that parent company Key3Media was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after last year's show, before emerging from it in June as Medialive.

Visitor numbers are expected to be around 50,000 this year, down from the 125,000 last year and a long way off its peak of 200,000 at the height of the tech boom.

Microsoft's Bill Gates will celebrate 20 years of speaking at the conference by opening proceedings with his Sunday evening keynote, which is expected to cover the Windows XP Tablet PC Edition and the future of technology – although even he has been downsized from the 17,000 seater MGM Grand Arena to the 7,000 seater Aladdin Theatre further down the boulevard.

Sun Microsystems will push the business computing agenda with its new 64-bit servers and Sun chairman, CEO and president Scott McNealy will deliver a Monday keynote entitled 'Scaling Out', on how his firm is applying innovation to volume technologies – no doubt there will be his usual references to the 'jalopy' IT culture of complexity as well as golf.

Other major CEO keynotes include Siebel's Thomas Siebel, AT&T's John Zeglis, Symantec's John Thompson and PalmSource's David Nagel who will be talking about the mobile enterprise. Hewlett Packard will be making a series of announcements around imaging and printing products for businesses with high-end multifunction printers, document management software and digital pen and paper.

Direct computer vendor Gateway will unveil new storage systems at Comdex and announce that Linux will become a standard offering on its servers.

Dell, IBM and Intel will also be making rare appearances on the exhibition floor and various panels and elsewhere security, utility computing, RFID and wireless working are high on the agenda.

In the one nod to Comdex's consumer past Dell is expected to launch a new digital television and a new printer.

Mike Millikin, group senior VP at Medialive, said in a statement: "The $870bn IT market now more than ever needs a place for the industry to connect. Comdex 2003 will continue to be the place for buyers and sellers to meet face-to-face, discuss business problems and identify how technology can provide competitive advantages."