Caldera Deutschland
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software |
| Founded | October 1994 |
| Founder | Bryan Wayne Sparks, Ransom H. Love, et al. |
| Defunct | 2002 |
| Fate | Discontinued operations after settlement of lawsuit; assets transitioned to subsidiaries and successors |
| Headquarters | Provo, later Orem , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Bryan Wayne Sparks, Ransom H. Love, Roger Alan Gross |
| Products | Caldera Network Desktop, OpenLinux, DR-DOS versions 7.x, DR-WebSpyder |
| Parent | The Canopy Group (investor) |
Caldera, Inc. was a software enterprise financed by the Canopy, established in October 1994 and formally incorporated on January 25, 1995, by former Novell staff members Bryan Wayne Sparks, Ransom H. Love, among others. The company concentrated on creating the Caldera Network Desktop (CND) and subsequently introduced a Linux distribution named OpenLinux (COL). Originally headquartered in Provo, Caldera later moved its operations to Orem, Utah, USA.
History
In 1995, Caldera released its initial product, the Caldera Network Desktop, which was built upon Red Hat Linux and Novell's Corsair Internet Desktop. This product incorporated LISA (Linux Installation and System Administration), a tool developed by the German Linux Support Team (LST) for their own Linux distribution.
The OpenLinux distribution followed, announced in 1996 and launched in 1997. It was derived from LST Power Linux, a Slackware-based distribution maintained by LST since 1993, and was notable for being the first to feature a Linux 2.0 kernel.
In pursuit of a DOS operating system to bundle with OpenLinux, Caldera—supported by The Canopy Group as its primary investor—purchased Novell DOS 7 along with other Digital Research assets from Novell on July 23, 1996. The transaction involved a $400,000 payment plus royalty obligations on DR-DOS sales to Novell. On that same day, Caldera initiated the Caldera v. Microsoft antitrust lawsuit, accusing Microsoft of monopolistic practices, illegal tying arrangements, exclusive dealing contracts, and tortious interference. One example cited was certain beta releases of Windows 3.1 generating false error messages when running on DR DOS 6.0 due to the AARD code, which aimed to sow fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) to undermine DR-DOS's market position. Another concern was Microsoft's bundling of MS-DOS 7 with Windows 4 into Windows 95, effectively eliminating competition. Caldera demonstrated that Windows 4 could operate on DR-DOS 7 by simulating complex but non-critical internal interfaces via WinGlue, highlighting the advantages of allowing users to choose between MS-DOS and DR-DOS.
Since Digital Research's legacy products like CP/M and MP/M held no commercial interest for Caldera, they made various binaries and source codes available for download and permitted redistribution and modification of CP/M files through Tim Olmstead's independent "The Unofficial CP/M Web site" starting in 1997, provided no DOS-related technology was included.
In 1997, Caldera invested approximately to support the Linux port of Star Division's StarOffice 3.1, enabling them to bundle this application with their OpenLinux distribution.
Subsidiaries
During its existence, Caldera, Inc. created multiple subsidiary companies.
Caldera UK
Under the leadership of Roger Alan Gross as General Manager of the Digital Research Systems Group (DSG), the UK-based development branch Caldera UK Ltd. was incorporated on September 20, 1996, to continue advancing the DR-DOS operating system. Situated near Andover in Hampshire, UK, Caldera UK developed DOS-focused products such as OpenDOS 7.01 (COD), DR-DOS 7.02, DR-DOS 7.03, and DR-WebSpyder. The development office in the UK ceased operations in February 1999 shortly after releasing DR-DOS 7.03, marking the end of DOS development efforts there.
Caldera Deutschland
In 1995, Caldera incorporated the LISA configuration manager, developed by the German Linux Support Team (LST), into its Network Desktop offering. The following year, LST transformed into LST Software GmbH, based in Erlangen, Germany, partnering with Caldera to advance OpenLinux development. By May 1997, LST Software had become Caldera's official German development branch, known as Caldera Deutschland GmbH, dedicated to Linux-related technologies. This facility remained operational until the US parent company shut it down at the conclusion of 2001.
Caldera Taiwan
Caldera established a sales branch for its DOS product line in Taipei, Taiwan on 1 June 1998. This office was managed by Irrana alongside Henry Huang.
Caldera, Caldera Systems and Caldera Thin Clients
On 2 September 1998, Caldera announced the creation of two fully owned subsidiaries located in Utah: Caldera Systems, Inc. and Caldera Thin Clients, Inc., each designed to target distinct operational areas.
Under CEO Ransom H. "Ron" Sparks, Caldera, Inc. maintained control over the pivotal Caldera v. Microsoft lawsuit. Despite Microsoft's efforts to have the case dismissed, it was resolved through an out-of-court settlement on 7 January 2000 for a confidential amount later disclosed as $280 million USD. Shortly after this agreement, Caldera, Inc. discontinued its operations.
Caldera Systems, Caldera Holdings, Caldera International, Caldera K.K., and The SCO Group
Caldera Systems, Inc. (CSI), with Love serving as president and CEO since its establishment in 1998 in Orem, Utah, concentrated on Linux software markets with products such as OpenLinux and operated the German development center known as Caldera Deutschland. The firm reincorporated in Delaware on 2 March 2000 and completed an IPO under the ticker symbol CALD. On its first trading day, the stock price doubled briefly to , placing the company's valuation near . Despite this surge, the IPO was viewed as modest compared to soaring valuations in the technology sector.
In August 2000, the company underwent restructuring and was renamed Caldera International, Inc. (CII) in March 2001. In May of that year, with financial backing from Fujitsu and Hitachi, Caldera International launched its Japanese branch, Caldera K.K. (カルデラ株式会社), headquartered in Tokyo under Makoto Asoh's leadership. By August 2002, it rebranded once more as The SCO Group, Inc., led by CEO Darl McBride.
Caldera UK, Caldera Thin Clients, Lineo, and Embedix
Caldera Thin Clients, Inc. (CTC), formed in August 1998 with Gross initially at the helm, specialized in developing thin clients and embedded systems based on DOS and Linux platforms. Originally headquartered in Orem before relocating to Lindon, Utah, CTC was intended to manage Caldera UK Ltd., which was dissolved in February 1999 after failed attempts to transfer DR-DOS development operations to the United States. Under new CEO Sparks’ guidance, CTC shifted its focus exclusively toward Linux technologies.
In April 1999, CTC made the source code for both GEM and ViewMAX available under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL). On 20 July 1999, CTC changed its name to Lineo, Inc., licensing a minimalistic version of OpenLinux from Caldera Systems branded as Embedix. Lineo maintained a sales presence in Taipei throughout 1999 and re-registered as a Delaware corporation in January 2000.
Following founder Olmstead’s passing, Lineo broadened its free redistribution licenses for CP/M software in October 2001. By July 2002, the company transitioned its identity to Embedix, Inc., with Matthew R. Harris assuming leadership. Later that year Embedix ceased business activities; certain DR-DOS assets were transferred to the Canopy Group and subsequently acquired by DRDOS, Inc. (DeviceLogics) toward late 2002. Meanwhile, significant Linux-based Embedix assets were purchased by Motorola’s Metrowerks division on 17 December 2002.
See also
Further reading
- Stock Options at Caldera – A case study from the Product Management by Case (PMBY) series, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 2016–2018. Additional information available at: [1]
- Caldera Systems, Inc. 1998 Stock Option Plan documentation, 1998.
- Stock Purchase and Sale Agreement between Lineo Inc. and Caldera Systems Inc., 2000.
- Public legal filings related to Caldera from 1998 to 2000.
- Public court documents involving Microsoft and Caldera, Inc., dated 1999–2000.
External links
- Archived versions of the Caldera, Inc. website (caldera.com) covering 1996 through 1999.
- Archived site of Caldera UK Ltd. (caldera.co.uk) spanning 1997 to 1999.
- Archived websites for Caldera Thin Clients, Inc. and Lineo, Inc. (calderathin.com, lineo.com, embedix.com) from 1999 to 2003.
- Archived sites for Caldera Systems, Inc. (calderasystems.com, caldera.com), Caldera Holdings, Caldera International, Inc., and The SCO Group from 1999 to 2004.
- Archived pages for LST Software GmbH and Caldera Deutschland GmbH (lst.de, caldera.de) from 1997 into the early 2000s.
- Archived Caldera Graphics websites (caldera.fr, caldera.eu, caldera.com) with records from 1996 through 2012.
- Articles with short description
- Caldera (company)
- 1994 establishments in Utah
- 2002 disestablishments in Utah
- Defunct software companies of the United States
- American companies established in 1994
- American companies disestablished in 2002
- Defunct companies based in Utah
- Linux companies
- Software companies established in 1994
- Software companies disestablished in 2002