Writing at CNET, Stephen Shankland previews the LinuxWorld Expo and discusses some key announcements expected this week. Shankland writes . . .

“The growing influence of the Linux operating system and the open-source software movement will be on display as several large companies announce products and plans at the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo. Not only will staunch Linux advocates such as IBM and Red Hat be at the four-day convention in San Francisco, so will recent convert Sun Microsystems and even Linux's sworn enemy, Microsoft . . . “

“Sun, though, believes Linux can be used outside just the server market into desktop computers where Microsoft is king and software must work for more than just technical experts.”

“What you will see from Sun is a lot more attention paid to Linux on the desktop, because there is a lot more growth there than anyone is willing to suggest,” said Jonathan Schwartz, executive vice president for Sun's software group. Sales of Sun's StarOffice suite–based on the OpenOffice code–brought in millions in revenue for the first time last quarter, he said, and desktop computers can help drive sales of products for tasks such as e-mail or complex Web sites where Sun has more expertise . . . “

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