Biggest computer fair cancelled

A return of Comdex will need a new board to rally support

Comdex, once the world leader in computer shows, bigger even than CeBit, has been cancelled for this year.

Poor attendance figures and a trend towards specialist IT shows means it will be given a breather, said organisers of the event.

The show is likely to return to Las Vegas next year, with a contract at the Convention Centre until 2007,

Technology buffs need not despair as the other international versions of Comdex will continue as planned.

Roots

The huge show has its roots with a casino owner who brought computers under one roof with the 1979 Computer Dealers Exposition.

It became a legendary place for its followers to hear speeches from Bill Gates who delivered his first keynote speech at Comdex.

At the 1983 show he demonstrated Microsoft's new DOS 2.0.

At its peak, the show attracted more than 200,000 visitors with more than one million square feet of floor space.

At the height of the tech boom of the 1990s, companies were falling over one another to exhibit at shows such as Comdex, building massive, futuristic stands in an attempt to grab attendees' attention among the thousands of competing attractions.

A faltering technology sector and security concerns from IT companies has left the show distinctly sparse.

"The brand came to represent some of the excesses of the 90s," Eric Faurot, vice president of Comdex organiser MediaLive International, told technology web site CNet News.