Company:Caldera

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Short description: Defunct American multinational operating system software company

Caldera
IndustrySoftware industry
FoundedOctober 1994; 30 years ago (1994-10)[1]
Founder
  • Bryan Wayne Sparks
  • Ransom H. Love
Defunct2002 (2002)[2]
Products
Subsidiaries
  • Caldera UK Ltd.
  • Caldera Deutschland GmbH
  • Caldera Taiwan
  • Caldera Systems, Inc.
  • Caldera Thin Clients, Inc.

Caldera was a US-based software company founded in 1994 to develop Linux- and DOS-based operating system products.

Caldera

Caldera, Inc. was a Canopy-funded software company founded in October 1994[1] and incorporated on 25 January 1995[2] by former Novell employees Bryan Wayne Sparks, Ransom H. Love and others to develop the Caldera Network Desktop (CND) and later create a Linux distribution named OpenLinux (COL). The company was originally based in Provo and later in Orem, Utah, USA.

Their first product in 1995 was Caldera Network Desktop, which was based on Red Hat Linux[3][4] and Novell's Corsair Internet Desktop. It also included LISA (Linux Installation and System Administration),[4] which had been developed by the German Linux Support Team (LST) for their own Linux distribution.[5]

The newer OpenLinux distribution was based on LST Power Linux, a Slackware-derived distribution that had been maintained by LST since 1993[6] and the first to come with a Linux 2.0 kernel.[5]

Looking for a DOS operating system to bundle with their OpenLinux distribution,[1] Caldera, backed up by The Canopy Group as their largest investor, acquired Novell DOS 7 and other Digital Research assets from Novell on 23 July 1996.[7][8] The deal consisted of a direct payment of US$400000 as well as percentual royalties for any revenues derived from DR-DOS to Novell.[9] Caldera filed the Caldera v. Microsoft antitrust lawsuit the same day.[10] This lawsuit related to Caldera's claims of monopolization, illegal tying, exclusive dealing, and tortious interference by Microsoft. An example was that certain beta versions of Windows 3.1 produced technically groundless "non-fatal" fake error messages when installing and running them on DR DOS 6.0 due to a check known as AARD code in order to create fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) and destroy DR DOS' reputation.[11][12][13][14][15][16] Another example was bundling and artificially tying MS-DOS 7 and Windows 4 into a single product (Windows 95) in order to eliminate competition. Caldera later demonstrated that it would have been beneficial for DOS and Windows users to have a choice between MS-DOS and DR-DOS feature-wise, and that it was technically possible to run Windows 4 on DR-DOS 7 simply by faking some new, unnecessarily complex but functionally non-essential internal interfaces through WinGlue.[10][17][18][19][20][21][22] See Microsoft litigation#Caldera v Microsoft.

Since Digital Research's CP/M and MP/M had no commercial value for Caldera, they offered various binaries and sources for download on their site and allowed the redistribution and modification of more collected CP/M files through Tim Olmstead's independent "The Unofficial CP/M Web site" since 1997, for as long as they did not contain any DOS technology.[23][24][25]

Caldera, Inc. supported the Linux-port of Star Division's StarOffice 3.1 with ca. 800000 DM in order to offer the product with their OpenLinux distribution in 1997.[26][27][28][29]

While active, Caldera, Inc. created a number of subsidiaries:

Caldera UK

Under the direction of Roger Alan Gross as General Manager of Caldera's Digital Research Systems Group (DSG) the UK-based development center Caldera UK Ltd. ( [ ⚑ ] 51°12′19″N 1°28′44″W / 51.20531°N 1.478786°W / 51.20531; -1.478786 (Caldera UK Ltd., Aldwych House, Winchester Street, Andover, Hampshire, SP10 2EA, UK)) was incorporated on 20 September 1996[30] to continue the development of the DR-DOS operating system in a converted barn ( [ ⚑ ] 51°11′18″N 1°29′15″W / 51.188306°N 1.487498°W / 51.188306; -1.487498 (Caldera UK Ltd., Norman Court Barns, Norman Court Lane, Upper Clatford, Andover, Hampshire, UK)) at the periphery of Andover, Hampshire, UK. Caldera UK developed various DOS-based products including OpenDOS 7.01 (COD), DR-DOS 7.02, DR-DOS 7.03 and DR-WebSpyder.[31]

Caldera Thin Clients, Inc. closed the Caldera UK Ltd. development office in February 1999 soon after the release of DR-DOS 7.03, thereby effectively stopping any DOS development.

Caldera Deutschland

Caldera, Inc. incorporated the German Linux Support Team's (LST) configuration manager LISA into Caldera's Network Desktop in 1995.[4]

In 1996 Linux Support Team grew into Stefan Probst's and Ralf Flaxa's company LST Software GmbH (with LST now standing for Linux System Technology[6]) in Erlangen, Germany. This led to a collaboration with Caldera to develop OpenLinux.

LST Software became Caldera's German development center Caldera Deutschland GmbH for Linux-based technologies since May 1997.[5][6]

Caldera Deutschland continued to develop Linux system software for Caldera's Linux-branch until it was closed at the end of 2001 by its US-based mother-house.[6][29]

Caldera Taiwan

On 1 June 1998, Caldera, Inc. opened a sales office for its DOS-based products in Taipei, Taiwan, run by Irrana and Henry Huang.[32]

Caldera, Caldera Systems and Caldera Thin Clients

On 2 September 1998, Caldera, Inc. announced the creation of two Utah-based wholly owned subsidiaries, Caldera Systems, Inc. and Caldera Thin Clients, Inc., in order to split up tasks and directions.[33]

Under Sparks' lead, the shell company Caldera, Inc. remained responsible for the Caldera v. Microsoft lawsuit. Microsoft lawyers tried repeatedly to have the case dismissed but without success. On 7 January 2000, immediately after the completion of the pre-trial deposition stage (where the parties list the evidence they intend to present), Microsoft settled out-of-court for an undisclosed sum,[34][35] which in 2009 was revealed to be US$280000000.[36][37][38][35] Caldera, Inc. ceased to exist soon after.[39]

Caldera Systems, Caldera Holdings, Caldera International, Caldera K.K., and The SCO Group

Main page: Company:Caldera International

Caldera Systems, Inc. (CSI), headed by Love as president and CEO since its incorporation in Orem, Utah, on 21 August 1998,[40] targeted the Linux-based software business including OpenLinux, with Caldera Deutschland as their German Linux development center. The company reincorporated in Delaware on 2 March 2000[41] and completed an IPO of its common stock as CALD. On the first day of trading Caldera's shares doubled in value, briefly touching US$33, and by the end of the first day the company had a market capitalisation of US$1100000000. However, at a time when technology IPOs were attracting extremely high valuations, Caldera Systems's performance was generally perceived as a disappointment.[42][43]

Late Caldera Systems logo

The company reorganized in August 2000 and became Caldera International, Inc. (CII) in March 2001.

In May 2001, Caldera International, with investments of Fujitsu and Hitachi, opened the Caldera K.K. (カルデラ株式会社) subsidiary, directed by Makoto Asoh, in Tokyo, Japan.[44]

In August 2002, Caldera International renamed itself into The SCO Group, Inc. under the lead of Darl McBride.

Caldera UK, Caldera Thin Clients, Lineo, and Embedix

Main page: Company:Lineo

Caldera Thin Clients, Inc. (CTC), incorporated in August 1998 and originally led by Gross as president and CEO,[33] instead developed DOS- and Linux-based thin clients and solutions for embedded systems. Originally located in Orem[33] and later in Lindon, it was meant to become the US-based "parent" company for Caldera UK Ltd. When Gross resigned and Caldera UK Ltd. was disbanded in February 1999, and when the attempt to relocate the DR-DOS development into the US failed,[45][46] Caldera Thin Clients, under the new lead of Sparks, soon refocused on Linux.[47][48][49]

In April 1999, Caldera Thin Clients released the no longer needed sources to GEM and ViewMAX under the GNU General Public License (GPL).[50]

On 20 July 1999, Caldera Thin Clients was renamed into Lineo, Inc.[47][48][49] Lineo licensed a stripped down OpenLinux distribution from Caldera Systems and named it Embedix.[49] They continued to maintain the former Caldera Thin Clients sales office in Taipei in 1999. In January 2000, Lineo reincorporated in Delaware.

In October 2001, Lineo refreshed and expanded the free CP/M redistribution license after Olmstead's death.[51][52][53][54]

By July 2002, the company had reformed as Embedix, Inc.[55] under the lead of Matthew R. Harris, formerly a Summit Law attorney for Caldera, Inc. Embedix ceased to exist later that year. Some DR-DOS assets fell to the Canopy Group and were acquired by DRDOS, Inc. aka DeviceLogics in 2002. Key parts of the Linux-based Embedix assets were acquired by Motorola's Metrowerks on 17 December 2002.[56][57][58]

Caldera Graphics

Totally unrelated to the above-mentioned US-based Caldera companies, there is also a French software company named Caldera, specialized in imaging software for wide format digital printing. In order to better distinguish it from the US-based companies, the French company was also referred to under the name Caldera Graphics SAS for several years. Created in 1991, it has since got back its Caldera trademark from the SCO Group, as well as the caldera.com website since 2010. This French company produces RIP software as well as other solutions dedicated to digital printers and to the Digital Printing industry. The company was taken over by Dover in 2017.[59]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Caldera announces open source code model for DOS - DR DOS + the Internet = Caldera OpenDOS". IDG Communications. https://www.computerworld.co.nz/article/519730/caldera_reopens_settled_suit_buys_dr_dos/. 
  2. ↑ "Now It's Novell v. Canopy". Groklaw. 2004-05-12. http://www.groklaw.net/articlebasic.php?story=20040511144030585. 
  3. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "In the United States District Court - District of Utah, Central Division - Caldera, Inc. vs. Microsoft Corporation - Case No. 2:96CV 0645B - Caldera, Inc.'s Memorandum in opposition to defendant's motion for partial Summary Judgment on plaintiff's "Technological Tying" claim". Caldera, Inc.. May 1999. http://www.maxframe.com/DR/Info/fullstory/tech.html. 
  4. ↑ "Examining the Windows AARD Detection Code - A serious message--and the code that produced it". Dr. Dobb's Journal (Miller Freeman, Inc.) 18 (9): 42, 44–48, 89. September 1993. #204. http://www.ddj.com/documents/s=1030/ddj9309d/9309d.htm. Retrieved 2013-10-05. 
  5. ↑ Undocumented DOS: A programmer's guide to reserved MS-DOS functions and data structures - expanded to include MS-DOS 6, Novell DOS and Windows 3.1 (2 ed.). Addison Wesley. 1994. p. 11. ISBN 0-201-63287-X. https://archive.org/details/undocumenteddosp00andr_0/page/11.  (xviii+856+vi pages, 3.5-inch floppy) Errata: [1][2]
  6. ↑ Ball, Lyle, ed. "Caldera submits evidence to counter Microsoft's motions for partial summary judgment". 
  7. ↑ "In the United States District Court - District of Utah, Central Division - Caldera, Inc. vs. Microsoft Corporation - Consolidated statement of facts in support of its responses to motions for summary judgement by Microsoft Corporation - Case No. 2:96CV 0645B". Caldera, Inc.. April 1999. http://www.maxframe.com/DR/Info/fullstory/factstat.html. 
  8. ↑ "In the United States District Court - District of Utah, Central Division - Caldera, Inc. vs. Microsoft Corporation - Case No. 2:96CV 0645B - First amended complaint and jury demand". Tech Law Journal. http://www.techlawjournal.com/courts/caldera/Default.htm. Retrieved 2016-11-25. 
  9. ↑ "Microsoft: Vorgetäuschter Bug legte DR-DOS lahm" (in de). Heise Online (Verlag Heinz Heise). 1998-08-27. https://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Microsoft-Vorgetaeuschter-Bug-legte-DR-DOS-lahm-14173.html.  [3]
  10. ↑ "Cebit: Caldera shows Windows on DR-DOS, denying MS claims". Hanover, Germany. 1998-03-23. http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/1996865/cebit-caldera-windows-dr-dos-denying-ms-claims. 
  11. ↑ "The mouse that roared. Forget the feds. It's up to an obscure Utah company to prove what we already know: that Microsoft is a monopoly.". Seattle Weekly. 1998-09-16. http://www.seattleweekly.com/1998-09-16/news/the-mouse-that-roared/. Retrieved 2017-06-24. "Furthermore, Caldera claims that Microsoft's flagship product, Windows 95, is nothing more than an "artificial tie" between its MS-DOS operating system and Windows graphic interface with no business justification other than to keep competing underlying operating systems—like Caldera's DR-DOS—off the market. To prove its point, Caldera will soon release a piece of demonstration software called "WinBolt," which, it says, will allow users to install the Windows 95 interface atop DR-DOS. The demo will show, Caldera says, that there is no significant technological advancement, or justified business efficiency, to the combination of MS-DOS with Windows in Windows 95.". 
  12. ↑ "Caldera's DR gets OnSatellite of love - Service to offer voice, email and smartie cards". The Register (Situation Publishing Ltd.). 1998-09-28. https://www.theregister.co.uk/1998/09/28/caldera_s_dr_gets_onsatellite/. 
  13. ↑ "Win95 – is it just Dos 7 plus Windows 4 after all? The judge thinks it could be…". The Register (Situation Publishing Ltd.). 1999-11-05. https://www.theregister.co.uk/1999/11/05/win95_is_it_just_dos/. 
  14. ↑ "[fd-dev HMA access from TSR"]. freedos-dev. 2002-04-10. https://marc.info/?l=freedos-dev&m=101846072627263&w=4. "[…] MS-DOS 7.0+ […] introduced a […] for the most part undocumented RMD data structure usually located in the HMA. The kernel collects and records configuration and Real Mode Driver data during boot (type of driver, interrupts hooked by driver, CONFIG.SYS line of invocation, etc.) and stores this information in a […] complicated […] growing data structure. Presumably […] meant to be used by the Windows core to get a better picture of the loaded Real Mode drivers […] or even attempt to unhook or unload some of them, […] it is only used to a very limited extent ([…] some of the info reflected in the log files created on […] startup, and some parts of the […] configuration manager also make use of it), […] leaving room […] beyond the technical side […] because nothing of the interesting stuff is documented […]" 
  15. ↑ Paul, Matthias R. (2002-07-25). "Will Windows 3.1 work with DR-DOS 7.03?". Newsgroup: alt.os.free-dos. Archived from the original on 2019-11-23. Retrieved 2018-05-09. […] DR-DOS 7.03 is compatible with Windows and Windows for groups up to 3.xx (and internal versions of DR-DOS even with Windows 4.xx aka Windows 95/98/SE […]
  16. ↑ Olmstead, Tim (1997-08-10). "CP/M Web site needs a host". Newsgroup: comp.os.cpm. Archived from the original on 2017-09-01. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  17. ↑ Olmstead, Tim (1997-08-29). "ANNOUNCE: Caldera CP/M site is now up". Newsgroup: comp.os.cpm. Archived from the original on 2017-09-01. Retrieved 2018-09-09. [4]
  18. ↑ "License Agreement". Caldera, Inc.. 1997-08-28. http://www.retroarchive.org/cpm/archive/unofficial/lisence.html.  [5][yes|permanent dead link|dead link}}] [6][yes|permanent dead link|dead link}}]
  19. ↑ "Caldera OpenLinux und StarOffice im Bundle" (in de). Heise Online (Verlag Heinz Heise). 1997-02-20. https://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Caldera-OpenLinux-und-StarOffice-im-Bundle-8904.html. 
  20. ↑ "Produkt-Telegramme: Star Office 3.1 für Linux portiert" (in de). Computerwoche (Computerwoche Verlag GmbH). 1997-05-16. ZDB-ID 519907-4. ISSN 0170-5121. https://www.computerwoche.de/a/produkt-telegramme,1098774. Retrieved 2018-08-08. 
  21. ↑ "Der Gründer über Gestern, Heute und Linux" (in de). Linux Magazin (Linux New MediaDefOrdGenAa2.1zLinux New Media AG (de)) 2003 (1). January 2003. 100. ISSN 1432-640X. http://www.linux-magazin.de/ausgaben/2003/01/lebens-laeufe/. Retrieved 2018-08-08. 
  22. ↑ 29.0 29.1 "Linux-Distributionen und frühe Protagonisten aus Deutschland" (in de). Linux Magazin (Computec Media GmbH) 2017 (10). October 2017. ISSN 1432-640X. http://www.linux-magazin.de/ausgaben/2017/10/linux-in-deutschland/. Retrieved 2018-08-05. 
  23. ↑ "Basic information about company "Caldera (UK) Limited"". Company Data Rex. 2001-07-01. http://www.cdrex.com/caldera-uk-limited-1134037.html. 
  24. ↑ "Caldera DR-WebSpyder Graphical DOS Web Browser - A fully customizable, low system requirement Internet Browser for Information Kiosks, Network Computers, Internet Set-top Boxes, Compact embedded devices with display". Caldera, Inc., Caldera DR-DOS Division. 1998. https://geekhaus-space-prod-shared.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/mirrors/legacy.archive.browsers.evolt.org/dr-webspyder/2.0/drwsbroh.pdf.  [7][8] (4 pages)
  25. ↑ "Caldera establishes Office in Taiwan in response to the embedded market's demand for DR-DOS". Orem, UT, USA; Taipei, Taiwan. 1998-06-01. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Caldera+Establishes+Office+in+Taiwan+in+Response+To+The+Embedded...-a020762893.  [9]
  26. ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 Caldera (1998-09-02). "Caldera Creates Two Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries". Orem, UT, USA. http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=15948. 
  27. ↑ "Caldera vs Microsoft - the settlement". BBC News. 2000-01-13. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/600488.stm. 
  28. ↑ 35.0 35.1 "Microsoft Will Pay $275 Million To Settle Lawsuit From Caldera". The Wall Street Journal (Dow Jones & Company, Inc.). 2000-01-11. ISSN 0099-9660. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB947543007415899052. "Microsoft Corp. agreed to pay an estimated $275 million to settle an antitrust lawsuit by Caldera Inc., heading off a trial that was likely to air nasty allegations from a decade ago. […] Microsoft and Caldera, a small Salt Lake City software company that brought the suit in 1996, didn't disclose terms of the settlement. Microsoft, though, said it would take a charge of three cents a share for the agreement in the fiscal third quarter ending March 31 […] the company has roughly 5.5 billion shares outstanding […]" 
  29. ↑ "Exhibits to Microsoft's Cross Motion for Summary Judgment in Novell WordPerfect Case". Groklaw. 2009-11-23. http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20091120165256836. "[…] exhibits attached to Microsoft's Memorandum of Law in support of Microsoft's cross motion for summary judgment in the Novell v. Microsoft antitrust litigation. We finally find out what Microsoft paid Caldera to settle the DrDOS litigation back in 2000: $280 million. We even get to read the settlement agreement. It's attached as an exhibit. […] The settlement terms were sealed for all these years, but […] now that mystery is solved. […] We also find out what Caldera/Canopy then paid Novell from that $280 million: $35.5 million at first, and then after Novell successfully sued Canopy in 2004, Caldera's successor-in-interest on this matter, an additional $17.7 million, according to page 16 of the Memorandum. Microsoft claims that Novell is not the real party in interest in this antitrust case, and so it can't sue Microsoft for the claims it has lodged against it, because, Microsoft says, Novell sold its antitrust claims to Caldera when it sold it DrDOS. So the exhibits are trying to demonstrate that Novell got paid in full, so to speak, via that earlier litigation. As a result, we get to read a number of documents from the Novell v. Canopy litigation. Novell responds it retained its antitrust claims in the applications market. […]" 
  30. ↑ "Settlement agreement - Microsoft Corporation and Caldera, Inc. reach agreement to settle antitrust lawsuit". 
  31. ↑ "License agreement for the CP/M material presented on this site". CMP Media LLC. pp. 71–73. http://www.drdobbs.com/cpm-and-drm/184405699.  [10]
  32. ↑ "Lineo Is Now Embedix - New company releases SDK, dumps RTXC". SD Times: Software Development News. 2002-07-01. http://www.sdtimes.com/SearchResult/26605. 
  33. ↑ "SPECIAL REPORT: Motorola/Metrowerks acquires embedded Linux pioneer Lineo". Linux Devices. Ziff Davis Enterprise Holdings Inc.. 2002-12-17. http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/News/SPECIAL-REPORT-MotorolaMetrowerks-acquires-embedded-Linux-pioneer-Lineo/. 
  34. ↑ "Metrowerks to Expand Embedded Linux Tools and Solutions Offerings Through Embedix Asset Acquisition - Company to Add Embedix Tools and Technology to Integrated Development Platforms for PDAs, Smart Handheld Devices, Residential Gateways, Digital TVs". Austin, TX & Lindon, UT, USA: Metrowerks. 2002-12-17. http://www.metrowerks.com:80/mw/news/default.asp?PR=430. 
  35. ↑ "Embedix Technology". Metrowerks. 2002-12-23. http://www.metrowerks.com:80/MW/Develop/Embedded/Emb_Linux/Strategy.htm. 
  36. ↑ "Dover acquires Caldera Graphics". Downers Grove, IL, USA: Dover Corporation. 1999-04-06. https://www.caldera.com/dover-acquires-caldera-graphics/. 

Further reading

External links

de:Caldera (Unternehmen)




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