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By Dominic Maher, 9 February 2000 00:30

NEWS The Corel user group in the UK has voiced concerns over the $2.44bn merger between Corel and Inprise/Borland which will see the Canadian software house move away from Windows and towards Linux. Brian Smithson, a member of Corel's user group in the UK, said: "I hope they do not abandon their traditional user base." Smithson said group discussions have shown there is a worry over the rush towards Linux. He added: "I'm still unsure to whether or not they will use strong-arm tactics to do this." Now with a 55 million-user base, Dr Michael Cowpland, president and CEO of Corel, has proclaimed the company a "Linux Powerhouse". He said the use of Linux is accelerating more rapidly than people realise and that the quicker people move to the system, the better the benefits. Cowpland said: "People thought it would take a while for it to be user-friendly, but we've changed that landscape with the introduction of the Corel desktop Linux O/S, which has virtually a zero learning curve, to move over from Windows". He said that Corel already does five per cent of its sales in Linux. But Clive Longbottom, strategy analyst at Strategy Partners, said: "It's a very large risk. Corel had $800m in the bank and were making losses, even though they made a profit in the last quarter. But to find $2.44bn to invest into something that no one really knows where it's going is a bit of a gamble." Cowpland will remain as president and CEO, while Dale Fuller, the interim president and CEO at Inprise/Borland, will serve as chairman of Corel's board of directors. For more information see 'Corel and Inprise/Borland form "Linux powerhouse"' (http://www.silicon.com/a35592 ).