View source for Software:Caldera OpenLinux

{{Short description|Defunct Linux distribution}}
{{Redir|Caldera (operating system)|the DOS operating system|OpenDOS}}
{{Use list-defined references|date=December 2021}}
'''Caldera OpenLinux''' ('''COL''') is a defunct [[Software:Linux distribution|Linux distribution]]. Caldera originally introduced it in 1997<!-- or was it 1996? OpenLinux 1.1 came in 1997, when was OpenLinux 1.0 released? --> based on the German LST Power Linux distribution, and then taken over and further developed by Caldera Systems (now SCO Group) since 1998. A successor to the Caldera Network Desktop put together by Caldera since 1995, OpenLinux was an early "business-oriented distribution" and foreshadowed the direction of developments that came to most other distributions and the [[Software:Linux|Linux]] community generally.{{citation needed|reason=Sweeping assertion|date=November 2019}}

=={{anchor|Corsair|Ferret|Expose|Internet Desktop}}Novell Corsair==
'''Corsair''', a user interface for [[Software:NetWare|NetWare]], was a project run by [[Company:Novell|Novell]] corporation's Advanced Technology Group (ATG) between 1993 and 1995. Novell wanted a [[Software:Desktop environment|desktop environment]] with internet connectivity and conducted research on how to better and more easily [[Engineering:Digital integration|integrate]] and manage network access for users. [[Software:Windows 3.0|Windows]]' own support for connecting to Novell networks would not be improved until later releases<ref name="WDPH"/> and the Internet was dominated by [[Software:Unix|Unix]]-based operating systems. Relative to their needs, Novell deemed the Unixes of the day were too hardware intensive, too large, and charged too much in [[Finance:License|license]] fees.<ref name="LJ_1995"/>

This group became convinced that [[Software:Linux|Linux]] offered the best possible answer for the [[Operating system|OS]] component.{{when|date=May 2014}} There were many other components as well, and these were of particular interest:{{citation needed|date=May 2014|reason=Components already inside the company or still independent projects?}}
* Willows, a Microsoft Windows-compatible [[Application programming interface|API]] for Unix systems to allow recompilation of [[Software:Microsoft Windows|Windows]] programs for Linux.<ref name="Willows TWIN 2 at FSF"/>{{citation needed|date=May 2014|reason=This sounds as if Willows was a Novell-internal project before Willows Software was founded in 1993 by Canopy. Names, dates and dependencies need to be sorted out. Did Caldera license Willows from Novell or Willows Software?}}
* [[Software:Wine|Wine]], a compatibility layer for running Windows and [[Engineering:DOS|DOS]] software
* Ferret, a meeting browser<ref name="Ferret"/>
* [[Software:WordPerfect|WordPerfect]], a then cross-platform [[Word processing|word processing]] application bought by Novell in June 1994

On 5 April 1994, the Board of Novell hired Robert Frankenberg, the general manager of [[Company:Hewlett-Packard|Hewlett-Packard]] Personal Information Products Group to replace Raymond John Noorda as [[Social:Chief executive officer|CEO]] of Novell. Novell's stock price had performed poorly recently due to flagging growth. At Novell, the Network division (NSG) was growing at a pace of 19% per year, the Unix business division (USG) was flat, and the Desktop Applications division (DSG) was shrinking at a rate of $400 million per year.{{citation needed|reason=Specific figures like this need a source|date=November 2019}}

Frankenberg's initiative was to refocus the company on networking and networking services. In terms of Corsair, that meant shedding most of the pieces. The Advanced Technology Group was disbanded, which shut down Willows and the OS project. Negotiations started which would eventually lead to WordPerfect being sold off to [[Company:Corel|Corel]] in January 1996. Ferret was in line with the new direction and this component was kept within Novell.

Through his Noorda Family Trust (NFT), Ray Noorda had founded a [[Finance:Venture capital|venture capital]] investment group called the Canopy Group two years earlier in 1992. He thought there was substantial promise in both the OS project and the Willows project. He created two companies, to continue the work started at Novell. The "API company" was called Willows Software, Inc. (founded 1993{{citation needed|reason=Company origins and founding year unclear. Any connection with Multiport, Inc.?|date=May 2014}}) and the "OS company" became Caldera, Inc. (founded in October 1994 and incorporated in January 1995).

Noorda's early vision for Caldera was to create an IPX-based version of Linux which would license the key components, and resell this technology back to Novell to continue the '''Internet Desktop'''. In effect, in 1994 Caldera started life as kind of an [[Outsourcing|outsourcing]] project for Novell,{{citation needed|date=May 2014|reason=But apparently not driven by Novell after Noorda left the company and without Novell being interested in it? Clarification needed.}} based on a technology demo named '''Exposé'''.<ref name="Novell_1994_Exposé"/><ref name="CBR_1994_Corsair"/> Caldera started with ten employees and most were from Novell: Bryan Wayne Sparks, founder/president (Novell); Bryce J. Burns, chief operations officer (Novell); Ransom H. Love, VP marketing (Novell); Greg Page, VP engineering (Bell Labs, AT&T); and Craig Bradley, VP Sales (Lotus, Word Perfect).{{citation needed|reason=Specific names like this need a source|date=November 2019}}

=={{anchor|OS|CND|CND1.0PI|CND1.0PII|CND1.0|CNDB}}Caldera Network Desktop==
{{Infobox OS
|  name = Caldera Network Desktop
|  screenshot = 
|  caption = 
|  developer = [[Company:Caldera|Caldera]]
|  family = [[Software:Linux|Linux]]
|  released = 1995 (Previews)
|  discontinued = yes
  source_model = Mixed
|  working_state = Defunct
|  latest_release_version = 1.0
|  latest_release_date = {{Release date and age|1996}} 
|  kernel_type = [[Monolithic kernel]]
|  license = Mixed
|  website = 
|  successor = OpenLinux 
}}
[[Image:ND1.jpg|Back of Caldera Network Desktop 1.0 box|thumb|200px|right]]

At this point in 1995 Ransom Love and Ray Noorda took note of the technologies that Caldera put together, specifically:
* Caldera built on the Linux kernel which ran on [[X86|x86]], [[PowerPC]] and [[DEC Alpha|Alpha]] architectures. Caldera Network Desktop was based on Red Hat Commercial Linux.<ref name="Petreley_1996_Caldera"/><ref name="Hughes_1996_CND"/>
* Its [[Wide area network|wide area network]]ing was far more advanced than the Microsoft networked OSes at the time (Windows for Workgroups 3.11 and [[Software:Windows NT 3.51|Windows NT 3.51]]), due to its being [[Unix-like]].
* Caldera included a version of Novell's IPX network protocol and a [[Client (computing)|client]] for [[Software:NetWare|NetWare]].
* The Willows Application Programming Interface for Windows (APIW){{citation needed|date=May 2014|reason=Wasn't Willows still developed by an independent company?}} code written for Caldera's operating system would run on Unix, Microsoft Windows, and Apple [[Engineering:Macintosh|Macintosh]], as well as Caldera's system itself.
* Caldera also incorporated LISA (Linux Installation and System Administration),<ref name="Hughes_1996_CND"/> which had been developed by the German [[Company:Linux Support Team|Linux Support Team]] (LST) for their own Linux distribution.<ref name="LST_1997"/>

More than just a component for Novell, Caldera had assembled the components needed to create a [[Finance:Value-added reseller|VAR]] platform. However, Caldera faced a bootstrapping problem. OEM VAR applications often depended crucially on other companies' [[Business software|commercial]] applications. Since these other applications hadn't been ported to [[Software:Linux|Linux]] yet, they couldn't meaningfully port their own applications. Caldera responded by creating a [[Object file|binary applications package]], which allowed Linux to run UnixWare and OpenServer applications, the Linux Application Binary Interface (ABI) project,{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} and by assisting [[Company:Santa Cruz Operation|Santa Cruz Operation]] (SCO) in creating the Linux Kernel Personalities.<ref name="SCO_UW7"/>{{disputed inline|for=LKP did not arrive until years later|date=November 2019}} Linux Kernel Personalities was worked on to bring Linux application compatibility to SCO Unix (formerly UnixWare) and OpenServer. "''The idea was to enable [[Software developer|developers]] to write for both, Unix and Linux, with a common Application Programming Interface (API) and common Application Binary Interface (ABI). That way, developers didn't have to work so hard, and Unix users, the client base we inherited from SCO, could run Linux applications.''"<ref name="Vaughan-Nichols_2003"/>{{disputed inline|for=Cited source is talking about post-SCO acquisition Caldera International, not Caldera Network Desktop era|date=November 2019}}

Caldera also supported Alan Cox in his work on [[Symmetric multiprocessing|SMP]].{{when|date=May 2014}}<ref name="Cox_BKL"/> If Linux displaced Unix on the Intel x86 platform, then [[Company:Sun Microsystems|Sun Microsystems]] wouldn't have a low-end Unix path. This point becomes more interesting in light of SCO's litigation eight years later against IBM in 2003.{{Relevance inline|paragraph|date=November 2019}} That is, [[Company:IBM|IBM]] was not the company involved in the SMP work, and moreover, the company most directly involved is the company that later became the SCO Group, essentially SCO suing IBM for work it itself did.{{citation needed|date=May 2014|reason=When did they support Alan Cox? Caldera, Inc. was not the same company as Caldera Systems, Inc. (and its successors). Caldera Systems, Inc. was not the successor of Caldera, Inc., but a spin-out. Therefore it is important to sort out the dates and names.}}

In 1995, when [[Software:XFree86|XFree86]] was still very hard to configure and unreliable on most chipsets, Caldera had shipped with MetroLink's Motif and XI Graphic's Accelerated-X.<ref name="Leibovitch_1997"/>

Known releases:
* ''Caldera Network Desktop 1.0 Preview I'' (1995-05)<ref name="Linuxmisc"/>
* ''Caldera Network Desktop 1.0 Preview II'' (1995-09<!-- release date based on printed manual -->) with Linux kernel 1.2.13<ref name="Leibovitch_1997"/>
* ''Caldera Network Desktop 1.0'' (scheduled for 1995-11<!-- according to dates mentioned in Preview II -->, released 1996-02-05<ref name="CND"/>)
* ''Caldera Network Desktop Bundle'' (scheduled for 1995-12<!-- according to dates mentioned in Preview II -->, released 1996-02-05)

Caldera Network Desktop was produced and sold until March 1997.<ref name="Leibovitch_1997"/>

=={{anchor|OpenLinux|1.0|1.1|1.2|1.3|1.4|2.0|2.1|2.2|2.3|2.4|3.0|3.1|3.1.1|Lite|Base|Standard|Deluxe|eDesktop|eServer|eBuilder|Workstation|Server|NetWare for Linux}}Caldera OpenLinux==
{{Infobox OS
|  name = Caldera OpenLinux
|  screenshot = 
|  caption = 
|  developer = [[Company:Caldera|Caldera]], [[Company:Caldera Systems|Caldera Systems]], [[Company:Caldera International|Caldera International]]
|  family = [[Software:Linux|Linux]]
|  released = 1997
|  source_model = Mixed
|  working_state = Defunct
|  latest_release_version = 3.1.1
|  latest_release_date = {{Release date and age|2002}} 
|  kernel_type = [[Monolithic kernel]]
|  license = Mixed
|  website = 
}}
During 1996, Caldera continued to be a valuable player, for example, on 23 May 1996, at the Linux Kongress in [[Place:Berlin|Berlin]], Germany, Caldera announced its plans to obtain [[POSIX]] and FIPS certifications and the X/Open brand for UNIX 95 and XPG4 BASE 95 for the [[Software:Linux kernel|Linux operating system kernel]] and "Open Linux".<ref name="Fisk_1996"/>

In contrast to CND OpenLinux was based on LST Power Linux, a [[Software:Slackware|Slackware]]-derived distribution that had been maintained by Linux Support Team since 1993<ref name="LST_2003"/> and the first to come with a Linux 2.0 kernel.<ref name="LST_1997"/> In 1996 Linux Support Team grew into Stefan Probst's and Ralf Flaxa's company [[Company:LST Software GmbH|LST Software GmbH]] (with LST now standing for ''Linux System Technology''<!-- or ''Linux System Technologies'' according to other sources --><ref name="LST_2003"/>) in Erlangen, Germany. The OpenLinux development led them to become Caldera's German development center Caldera Deutschland GmbH since May 1997.<ref name="LST_1997"/><ref name="LST_2003"/><!-- first source states May 1997, second source states "end of 1997" -->

On 23 July 1996, Caldera purchased [[Software:Novell DOS|Novell DOS]] and the remaining [[Company:Digital Research|Digital Research]] assets from Novell in order to bundle a [[Engineering:DOS|DOS]] with their version of Linux, which led to creating the [[Software:OpenDOS|OpenDOS]] distribution to help port DOS applications.<ref name="Caldera_1996_Suit"/><ref group="nb" name="NB_DOSinUnix"/>

<!-- In 1996 or early 1997-->Caldera supported the Linux-port of StarOffice 3.1 with ca. 800.000&nbsp;DM in order to offer the product with their forthcoming OpenLinux distribution in 1997.<ref name="Brors_1997"/><ref name="CW_1997"/><ref name="Strobl_2003"/><ref name="Bantle_2017"/>

By 1997, when the OpenLinux distribution was first released, Caldera had taken on the form that it would be most remembered for. Caldera had switched over to the high end Linux product. The "business" [[Software:Linux distribution|Linux distribution]] became more rich with features with bundled [[Proprietary software|proprietary software]]. However, it became less community oriented and was released less frequently than other Linuxes did.{{citation needed|reason=Looked but didn't see a source for either of these assertions|date=November 2019}} Other differences included automated configuration for [[System administrator|administration]] tools, paid [[Technical support|technical support]] staff, built-in consistent default [[Graphical user interface|GUI]], and a range of supported applications.

Over the next{{when|date=May 2014}} five years, <!-- Caldera and then -->Caldera Systems offered additional commercial extensions to Linux. They licensed [[Company:Sun Microsystems|Sun]]'s Wabi to allow people to run Windows applications under Linux. Additionally, they shipped with Linux versions of [[Software:WordPerfect|WordPerfect]] (from [[Company:Novell|Novell]] and later [[Company:Corel|Corel]]) and [[Software:CorelDRAW|CorelDRAW]]. Since many of their customers used a dual boot setup and [[Software:FIPS (computer program)|FIPS]] was unreliable, they shipped with PowerQuest's [[Software:PartitionMagic|PartitionMagic]] to allow their customers to non-destructively repartition their hard disks.

In partnership with [[Company:IBM|IBM]] they produced the first Linux distribution which was [[Software:IBM DB2|DB2]] compatible. With the [[Company:Oracle Corporation|Oracle Corporation]] they became the target platform for the Linux port of the [[Software:Oracle database|Oracle database]].

Other ventures included starting the Blackdown Java project,{{citation needed|reason=Caldera definitely supported Blackdown Java, but haven't seen a source that they started it|date=November 2019}} and creating [[Social:Professional certification|professional certification]].

They also formed strong partnerships with SCO's [[Finance:Value-added reseller|value-added reseller]] market{{when|reason=timeline here is unclear|date=November 2019}} and started laying the groundwork for [[Finance:Original equipment manufacturer|OEM]] sales of [[Software:Unix|Unix]]-based vertical applications.

Caldera Systems offered three versions of OpenLinux:
* ''OpenLinux Lite'' was a freely downloadable version.
* ''OpenLinux Base'' was a USD 99 version with a few extensions.
* ''OpenLinux Standard'' was USD 299 and was their fully featured product.

In addition to other people's applications, they created many Linux extensions to fill voids where no other commercial company was. {{close paraphrasing|paragraph|source=https://www.linuxjournal.com/article/5663|date=November 2019}} Caldera Systems began working{{when|date=May 2014}} on a Linux equivalent of replacing the [[Software:Microsoft Exchange Server|Microsoft Exchange Server]] and [[Software:Microsoft Outlook|Microsoft Outlook]] that would eventually become Volution Messaging Server, which offered calendaring/[[Calendaring software|scheduling]] options with shared busy/free information, [[Transport Layer Security|SSL]] support for e-mail and easy configuration.<ref name="Kirch_2002"/> Additionally, [[Company:Caldera Deutschland|Caldera Deutschland]] created the first fully graphical installer for Linux, called Lizard, starting in November 1998.<ref name="Lizard"/> They invented browser-based Unix system administration, created{{citation needed|date=May 2014|reason=webmin was started in 1997. Some info is missing either here or in the webmin article.}} the [[Software:Webmin|webmin]] project, and employed its developer Jamie Cameron between 1999 and 2001.

[[Image:caldera-logo.png|Late Caldera Systems logo|thumb|325px|right]]<!-- This is either a third variant of a Caldera Systems logo (the first was green, like the Caldera logo, but with "systems" added, the second was like this one, but with "systems" added), or a first variant of a Caldera International logo (in the second variant the "C" has a vertical line), already. -->

Caldera Systems created a full featured GUI system administration tool called Caldera Open Administration System (COAS).{{when|date=May 2014}} The tool was a unified, easy to use administration tool with a [[Modular design|modular design]]. With its [[Scalability|scalability]] and broad scope abilities, it featured:<ref name="Flaxa_1998"/><ref name="COAS_1999"/>
* [[Porting|Portability]] (specifics encapsulated in a platform repository)
* [[Open system (computing)|Open]] development model
* Flexible module licensing
* Multiple user interfaces ([[Software:Batch processing|batch processing]], [[Software:Ncurses|ncurses]], QT, [[Java (programming language)|Java]])
* Scripting interface ([[Python (programming language)|Python]]) for rapid prototyping
* Backward compatibility (works on native files, "[[Software:Vi (text editor)|vi]] admin" friendly)

{{POV section|date=August 2013}}
OpenLinux showed the Linux community what would be required to create a mainstream [[Software:Desktop environment|desktop OS]] out of the Linux kernel. In many ways the last ten years{{when|date=May 2014}} of desktop progress has been to successfully implement what Caldera was attempting to do with the tools they had available using open source software in place of the closed applications. Their technique for this was to utilize commercial software to fill in the largest gaps making their product a "value add" and thus they could charge for it. It made them the most commercial and at the same time it made them the most advanced distribution available.

The [[Engineering:Desktop computer|desktop]] company became [[Company:Caldera International|Caldera International]] under the direction of Ransom Love.{{dubious|for=they were already shifting from desktop to business server as Caldera Systems|date=November 2019}}

The focus for the desktop company became mainly [[Finance:Marketing|marketing]] and business relationships. There were several reasons for this. The first was that Caldera had won a $280 million<ref name="Groklaw_2009_NovellWP"/> [[Social:Lawsuit|lawsuit]] against [[Company:Microsoft|Microsoft]] for [[Software:DR-DOS|DR-DOS]] and was flush with cash.{{citation needed|reason=Caldera, Inc. received the $280M; did any of it go to Caldera Systems, and if so, how much, when, and for what purposes?|date=November 2019}} Secondly, while the Caldera distribution was good, its primary advantages were the use of technologies not owned by Caldera and thus if Caldera were successful its success could (from a technical standpoint) be imitated, by [[Company:Red Hat|Red Hat]], [[Software:SUSE Linux|SUSE]], TurboLinux, etc. Third, for years Caldera had been competing directly with SCO Unix, but by 1997 Linux outperformed SCO in almost every respect.{{citation needed|reason=broad claim, especially when high-end systems are considered|date=November 2019}} {{close paraphrase|sentence|source=https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=364517|date=November 2019}} Making the choice to switch from SCO to Caldera was not a "no-brainer" for companies because that also meant a switch of vendors and support organizations. Caldera's SCO acquisition was aimed at eliminating this problem. That is Caldera International's corporate direction became to combine SCO's distribution, marketing and VAR arm with [[Software:LAMP (software bundle)|LAMP]], and use [[Project Monterey]] to develop a 64-bit strategy. What SCO offered was:<ref name="LWN_2000"/>
* A strong list of business clients.
* Higher compatibility between SCO and Linux than any other Unix/Linux combination, mainly as a result of Caldera's long standing SCO focus that created products like ABI and thus resulted in ports of SCO code to Linux
* A good back-office and database solution while Linux specialized in networking ([[Software:LAMP (software bundle)|LAMP]]) and [[Client (computing)|client]] desktop, a very appealing combination in challenging Sun and Microsoft
* A global infrastructure (presence in about 80 countries), Caldera was domestic
* Thousands of business applications targeted to [[Finance:Vertical market|vertical market]]s
* Some of the 3rd party components needed to get [[Software:HP-UX|HP-UX]], AIX, [[Software:Solaris (operating system)|Solaris]] 3rd party [[Java (programming language)|Java]] applications ported to Linux

{{POV section|date=November 2019}}
From a technical standpoint however Caldera OpenLinux really shone during the Ransom Love years. Their [[Commercial software|commercial]] [[Product bundling|bundling]] solution continued to work. They had a powerful low [[Software bug|bug]] (by Linux standards) [[Software:Linux distribution|distribution]] that worked well on a wide range of hardware. They charged a great deal relative to other distributions and were able to generate a very strong profit. Red Hat pulled way ahead of them in terms of US sales and on the global sales front they trailed SUSE and TurboLinux as well, but financially due to the DR-DOS settlement they were the strongest of all the Linux distributions.{{disputed inline|for=refuted by events – Red Hat survived in the Linux business, Caldera did not|date=November 2019}}

Known releases (incomplete):

* ''Caldera OpenLinux Lite/Base/Standard(/Deluxe) 1.0'' (1997) with Linux kernel 2.0.25
* ''Caldera OpenLinux Lite/Base/Standard 1.1'' (1997)
* ''Caldera OpenLinux Lite/Base/Standard 1.2'' (1998-04-17)
* ''Caldera Systems OpenLinux Lite/Base 1.3'' (1998-09-28) with Linux kernel 2.0.35<ref name="CalderaSystems_OL13"/>
* ''Caldera Systems OpenLinux 1.4''{{citation needed|date=May 2014|reason=There are some mentionings in the net, but in such a low number, that it is unclear, if this version was actually released.}}
<!-- not sure if 2.0 and 2.1 existed at all -->
* ''Caldera Systems OpenLinux 2.2'' (1999-04-19) with Linux kernel 2.2.xx
* ''Caldera Systems OpenLinux eDesktop/eServer 2.3'' (1999) with Linux kernel 2.2.10
* ''Caldera Systems OpenLinux eServer 2.3.1''
* ''Caldera Systems OpenLinux eDesktop/eBuilder 2.4''
* ''Caldera Systems OpenLinux eBuilder 3.0''
* ''Caldera International OpenLinux Workstation/Server 3.1'' (2001) with Linux kernel 2.4.2
* ''Caldera International OpenLinux Workstation/Server 3.1.1'' (2002) with Linux kernel 2.4.xx

Other products:
* ''Caldera NetWare for Linux 1.0'' (1998)<ref name="Linux_1998"/>

==United Linux==
{{main article|Software:United Linux}}
[[Image:Penguin-Outline.png|right|frame|United Linux mascot]]

Caldera Systems quickly found itself in a classic business problem where the interests of the existing business conflicted with their growth model. [[Company:Santa Cruz Operation|Santa Cruz Operation]] (SCO) was a much larger company than Caldera Systems had been<!-- (the [[Software:DR-DOS|DR-DOS]] settlement had been what made the buyout possible) -->, and in fact of the $71 million of revenue 90% was from the SCO side of the business. Moreover, Caldera Systems costs $4 in marketing to generate a $1 in sales,<ref name="Wired"/> SCO was mature and sold itself (mainly to repeat customers). The [[Finance:Value-added reseller|VAR]] relationship was even more problematic. Caldera Systems had always sold the "[[Software:Linux|Linux]] is SCO but better" model and had done everything possible to make the transition from SCO to Caldera Systems relatively seamless. Each of the 14,000 SCO resellers made much more from each SCO sale than from sales of Caldera Systems, so they were not anxious to move existing customers from SCO to Linux; and even those, that were supportive of Linux, saw no strong value add for Caldera Systems and often sold [[Software:Red Hat Enterprise Linux|Red Hat Enterprise Linux]]. Caldera Systems had two businesses in direct competition, one, which was a shrinking, but still profitable Unix business, the other a rapidly growing business, that was still hemorrhaging money.

The most logical solution was to establish Caldera Systems as the premier [[Software:Linux distribution|Linux brand]]. Without the threat from [[Company:Red Hat|Red Hat]], transitioning resellers from SCO to Caldera Systems would be much easier. With this in mind Ransom Love formed an alliance of large business oriented Linux distributions which utilized the [[Organization:KDE|KDE]] desktop, called [[Software:United Linux|United Linux]]. The alliance comprised [[Company:Caldera International|Caldera International]], [[Software:SUSE Linux|SUSE Linux]], [[Software:Turbolinux|Turbolinux]], and Conectiva. Filings from [[Company:Novell|Novell]] in the SCO Group SCO v. Novell lawsuit showed that this was more than simply a marketing gimmick, and was a real alliance.<ref name="NovellStay"/>

{{POV section|date=November 2019}}
Business responded favorably to the movement as [[Company:IBM|IBM]] and [[Company:Advanced Micro Devices|AMD]] quickly formed partnerships. The [[Organization:Linux Professional Institute|Linux Professional Institute]] adopted United Linux as their standard distribution for training. For the first time there was a Linux distribution with:
* Global scope
* Global support at the VAR, OEM and distribution level
* A full training organization
* Some governmental buy-in
* Support from major corporations
* Enterprise applications like [[Software:Oracle database|Oracle]] supported [[Out of the box (feature)|out of the box]]
* An actual production [[Graphical user interface|GUI]] that ran well on a variety of hardware

SUSE Linux had the engineering, as it had continued to maintain a large technical staff, Caldera International had the global support organization, and Turbo Linux as well as Conectiva brought with growth potential into less flooded markets. This merger was so successful,{{disputed inline|for=in actuality, UnitedLinux was regarded with skepticism by industry observers when it was first announced, and it collapsed less than two years later|date=November 2019}} that Love and Sparks could claim vindication that year when Novell reversed the Frankenberg decision and brought United Linux engineering talent back into the fold with the acquisition of SUSE.

United Linux was rejected by the broader Linux community;<ref name="Mueller_2001"/> the use of [[Per-seat license|per-seat licensing]] was their most highly controversial decision.<ref name="Butler"/> More importantly, by the time United Linux was released, Darl McBride had become CEO of Caldera International and the focus had shifted away from Linux.

Caldera International at this point released a Caldera "Linux distribution"{{citation needed|date=May 2014|reason=Elaborate on the name}}{{clarify|reason=is this something other than LKP>|date=November 2019}} with the OpenUNIX 8 kernel instead of the [[Software:Linux kernel|Linux kernel]]. [[Software:Unix|Unix]] has [[Transport Layer Interface|TLI]] and [[STREAMS]] support, which made writing drivers easier. Caldera International proved this by replacing the kernel and yet not having to change much else on a full featured desktop and server "Linux".<ref name="FAQ"/><ref name="U8"/>

==Copyright infringement allegations==
{{relevance inline|Caldera OpenLinux played no role in the SCO-Linux controversies; this material does not belong here|date=November 2019}}
In 2002, the Caldera International [[Organization:Board of directors|board of directors]], including Ralph Yarro, named Darl McBride, formerly with Franklin-Covey, as [[Company:CEO|CEO]]. The company was renamed The SCO Group. Ransom Love was reassigned to work exclusively on United Linux. After he completed this, he left the company to join [[Company:Progeny Linux Systems|Progeny Linux Systems]] which was aiming to create a professional [[Software:Debian|Debian]]. He remained there in the capacity of a [[Organization:Board of directors|board]] member and advisor<ref name="Progeny"/> until 30 April 2007 when Progeny ceased operations.

McBride began to focus on SCO's copyrights. One of McBride's first acts as CEO was to collect $600,000 in back licensing fees that were owed to Caldera International. He cleaned up various Linux-related licensing issues allowing for a new round of financing.<ref name="Shankland_2002"/> Soon thereafter he made strong accusations that Linux had infringed copyrights SCO held on Unix; they claimed to have purchased these copyrights from [[Company:Novell|Novell]]. Novell denied selling them the Unix copyright, prompting them to sue for slander of title. SCO also initiated lawsuits against [[Company:IBM|IBM]] and [[Company:AutoZone|AutoZone]], alleging copyright infringements through the use or distribution of Linux; none of these lawsuits have been resolved. SCO has created a division, SCOsource, that owns and licenses their intellectual property; a desktop license is $699.

==See also==
* Caldera Systems Smallfoot
* Lineo Embedix
* Novell SUSE Linux
* Novell UnixWare
* Star Trek project
* Caldera DR-WebSpyder

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group="nb"|refs=
<ref group="nb" name="NB_DOSinUnix">This has not been the first time a member of the [[Software:DR-DOS|DR-DOS]] family of operating systems was chosen to support [[Engineering:DOS|DOS]] programs under a Unix-style system: Novell DOS&nbsp;7's predecessor DR&nbsp;DOS 6.0 had been bundled into Univel's UnixWare 1.0 Personal Edition with DOS Merge 3.0 in 1992 already.</ref>
}}

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="WDPH">{{cite web |url=http://www.microsoft.com/windows/WinHistoryDesktop.mspx |title=Windows Desktop Products History - 1993: Windows for Workgroups 3.11 |publisher=[[Company:Microsoft|Microsoft]] |access-date=2008-09-24}}</ref>
<ref name="LJ_1995">{{cite journal |url=http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/1094 |title=Caldera and Corsair - Who is Caldera, and what is Corsair, really? |date=1995-06-01 |journal=Linux Journal |access-date=2008-09-24}}</ref>
<ref name="Willows TWIN 2 at FSF">{{cite web |url=http://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Willows_TWIN_2 |title=willows TWIN |publisher=Free Software Directory |access-date=2014-05-07}}</ref>
<ref name="Ferret">{{cite web |url=http://mmm.idiap.ch/documentation/Ferret_User_Guide/help.html |title=Ferret Meeting Browser - User Guide |publisher=Idiap research institute |access-date=2008-09-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080917053251/http://mmm.idiap.ch/documentation/Ferret_User_Guide/help.html |archive-date=2008-09-17}}</ref>
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<ref name="Strobl_2003">{{cite journal |title=Der Gründer über Gestern, Heute und Linux |language=de |author-first=Rudolf |author-last=Strobl |date=January 2003 |volume=2003 |issue=1 |id=<!-- |number= -->100 |journal=Linux Magazin |url=http://www.linux-magazin.de/ausgaben/2003/01/lebens-laeufe/ |access-date=2018-08-08 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://archive.today/20180808172515/http://www.linux-magazin.de/ausgaben/2003/01/lebens-laeufe/2/ |archive-date=2018-08-08  }}</ref>
<ref name="CND">{{cite web |url=http://marc.info/?l=caldera-announce&m=90994295417291&w=2 |title=Caldera Network Desktop 1.0 now shipping [long] |website=marc.info |access-date=2017-09-21}}</ref>
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<ref name="Caldera_1996_Suit">{{cite web |title=Software Developer Caldera sues Microsoft for Antitrust practices alleges monopolistic acts shut its DR DOS operating system out of market |publisher=Caldera News |date=1996-07-24 |location=Salt Lake City, UT, USA |url=http://www.maxframe.com/DR/Info/fullstory/ca_sues_ms.html |access-date=2017-06-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170624232924/http://www.maxframe.com/DR/Info/fullstory/ca_sues_ms.html |archive-date=24 June 2017 }}</ref>
<ref name="Novell_1994_Exposé">{{cite journal |title=Novell Brewing a New 32-Bit GUI Environment |journal=PC Week |date=1994-04-25 |author=Staff}} [<!-- https://www.pcorner.com/list/LINUX/EXPOSE.ZIP/INFO/ -->https://archive.today/20190428184344/https://www.pcorner.com/list/LINUX/EXPOSE.ZIP/INFO/]</ref>
<ref name="CBR_1994_Corsair">{{cite journal |title=Novell "Has Linux-based Unix+Novell DOS 7 Corsair" |date=1994-05-27 |author=CBR Staff Writer |journal=Computer Business Review <!-- |url=https://www.cbronline.com/news/novell_has_linux_based_unix_novell_dos_7_corsair/ |access-date=2019-04-28 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20190428184626/https://www.cbronline.com/news/novell_has_linux_based_unix_novell_dos_7_corsair/ |archive-date=2019-04-28 -->}}</ref>
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<ref name="LST_2003">{{cite web |title=Historie |language=de |date=2018 |orig-year=2001 |publisher=LST - Verein zur Förderung freier Software e.V. |url=http://www.lst.de/de/main.php?id=02 |access-date=2018-08-04 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804152549/http://www.lst.de/de/main.php?id=02 |archive-date=2018-08-04}}</ref>
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<ref name="Groklaw_2009_NovellWP">{{cite web |title=Exhibits to Microsoft's Cross Motion for Summary Judgment in Novell WordPerfect Case |url=http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20091120165256836 |publisher=[[Software:Groklaw|Groklaw]] |date=2009-11-23 |access-date=2011-10-22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130821080038/http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20091120165256836 |archive-date=2013-08-21}}</ref>
<ref name="LWN_2000">{{cite web |url=https://lwn.net/2000/features/Comdex/RansomLove.php3 |title=Ransom Love Interview and Caldera Systems, Inc at Comdex Fall 2000 |publisher=LWN.net |access-date=2008-09-24}}</ref>
<ref name="CalderaSystems_OL13">{{cite web |url=http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/caldera-systems-inc-releases-openlinux-13-with-kde-and-sybase-ase-156356425.html |title=CALDERA SYSTEMS INC. RELEASES OPENLINUX 1.3 WITH KDE AND SYBASE ASE |website=www.prnewswire.co.uk |access-date=2017-09-21}}</ref>
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<ref name="Wired">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.07/linux.html |title=The Linux Killer |magazine=Wired |date=July 2004 |author-first=Brad |author-last=Stone |access-date=2006-11-13}}</ref>
<ref name="NovellStay">{{cite web |url=http://www.groklaw.net/pdf/NovellMotStay.pdf |title=Novell's, Inc.'s Motion to Stay |date=2006-04-10 |publisher=[[Software:Groklaw|Groklaw]] |access-date=2008-09-24}}</ref>
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<ref name="Butler">{{cite web |url=http://www.ofb.biz/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=125 |title=Timothy R. Butler Interview |publisher=OfB.biz |access-date=2008-09-24}}</ref>
<ref name="FAQ">''One of the main features of Caldera Open Unix 8 is the LKP, which stands for Linux Kernel Personality. It's a Linux kernel running at the same time as the Unix kernel. It's a full install of Caldera OpenLinux 3.1 on top of Open Unix 8.1.49'' from [http://www.faqs.org/faqs/unix-faq/openunix/qt-faq/ OpenUNIX 8 FAQ]</ref>
<ref name="U8">''The result is transparent execution of Open UNIX 8 (or UnixWare 7) applications and most Linux applications, which will run without modification or recompilation.'' from [https://web.archive.org/web/20190325045850/https://usinglinux1173.blogspot.com/2019/03/linux-distribution-caldera-openlinux.html Caldera, SCO Unveil Open UNIX 8 Press Release 2001-03-26]</ref>
<ref name="Progeny">{{cite web |url=http://www.progeny.com/about/board.htm |title=Board of Directors |publisher=Progeny.com |access-date=2008-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060509072721/http://www.progeny.com/about/board.htm |archive-date=2006-05-09 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="Shankland_2002">{{cite web |url=http://news.cnet.com/2100-1001-939881.html |title=Struggling Linux company swaps CEOs |author-last=Shankland |author-first=Stephen |date=2002-07-27 |publisher=CNET |access-date=2008-09-24}}</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
* [https://lwn.net/2000/features/Comdex/RansomLove.php3 Ransom Love on the SCO merger]
* [http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/6292 More on finances of the SCO merger]
* [http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/6293 Darl McBride's early successes in the IP battles]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927231921/http://freshmeat.net/articles/view/110 Ransom Love editorial on the value of the Linux Standard Base]
* In addition to the litigation SCO initiated Red Hat has sued SCO
* [http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/1151 December 1995 review of Caldera Desktop Linux]
* [http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/139 A comparative review from seven months later]

==External links==
* Groklaw has an extended [http://www.groklaw.net/articlebasic.php?story=20040130235310123 discussion] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060926014226/http://www.groklaw.net/articlebasic.php?story=20040130235310123 |date=2006-09-26  }} of the Linux ABI
* An advertisement white-paper from March 2001 [http://linux.ittoolbox.com/pub/MM022702i.pdfcomparing Red Hat to Caldera] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713070303/http://linux.ittoolbox.com/pub/MM022702i.pdfcomparing |date=2011-07-13  }}. This pushes the "product not a distribution" philosophy.
* [http://www.lst.de/ Ralf Flaxa's LST] was a major contributor for the original [http://www.groklaw.net/pdf/IBM-774EX598.pdf Caldera Desktop]

{{Linux-distro}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caldera Openlinux}}
[[Category:Linux distributions]]

{{Sourceattribution|Caldera OpenLinux}}