CorelDraw 8 to sail October

Cowpland said he was determined that the Canadian firm's move into NCs and Java software would not distract it from its most reliable revenue stream. "We're fully aware of the dangers: that's why we totally separate development teams. CorelDraw 8 is right on target for an October release," he said.

Separately, Cowpland said that he was delighted with early acceptance of its Java application suite and predicted a sea change in the industry.

"Microsoft has got so powerful, other people have to team up," he said, referring to the alliance of Netscape, Oracle, IBM, Sun and Corel on NCs. "We're looking at a turning point where it will be awfully tough for Microsoft or Intel to continue in their positions of dominance. There are 700,000 Java developers and chips like StrongARM [the $30 RISC chip planned for Corel's NC] wouldn't have been possible without Java."