HP had little choice but to cancel the show, which was slated to begin on Monday, after the devastation wrought on New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent flooding that at one point left 80 percent of the city under water. Chief Executive Officer Mark Hurd had been scheduled to deliver his first address to HP's user community at the show.

The show will now be held at Orlando's Orange County Convention Center, according to a posting on the 2005 HP Technology Forum Web page late Friday. With the demise of HP World, a separate show hosted by a now-bankrupt independent user group, the HP Technology Forum is now the company's premier user event.

It isn't clear whether Hurd will still be speaking at the October event, as his schedule is still being finalized, an HP spokeswoman said. Otherwise, all the technical sessions scheduled for the New Orleans show will be available in Orlando.

The company has made several announcements this week that were expected to occur at the show, and HP expected to make additional announcements next week.

News on the HP Technology Forum can be found here: http://www.hptechnologyforum.com