Caldera OpenLinux: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 00:22, 23 July 2024

Revision as of 07:30, 15 August 2024

Line 6:

{{SCO Controversy}}

'''Caldera OpenLinux''' ('''COL''') is a defunct [[Linux distribution]]. [[Caldera, Inc.|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, Inc.|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 [[Linux]] community generally.{{citation needed|reason=Sweeping assertion|date=November 2019}}

=={{anchor|Corsair|Ferret|Expose|Internet Desktop}}Novell Corsair==

'''[[Novell Corsair|Corsair]]''', a user interface for [[NetWare]], was a project run by [[Novell]] corporation's [[Advanced Technology Group (Novell)|Advanced Technology Group]] (ATG) between 1993 and 1995. Novell wanted a [[desktop environment]] with [[internet connectivity]] and conducted research on how to better and more easily [[Digital integration|integrate]] and manage network access for [[End-user (computer science)|users]]. [[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 [[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 [[license]] fees.<ref name="LJ_1995"/>

This group became convinced that [[Linux]] offered the best possible answer for the [[Operating system|OS]] [[Software componentry|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 Toolkit, a Microsoft Windows-compatible [[Application programming interface|API]] for Unix systems to allow recompilation of [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] programs for Linux<ref name="willowstoolkit">{{ cite web | url=http://www.willows.com/WTKDataSheet.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000229135341/http://www.willows.com/WTKDataSheet.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=2000-02-29 | title=Willows Toolkit | website=Willows Software | date=6 January 2000 | access-date=7 May 2024 }}</ref><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?}}

* [[Wine (software)|Wine]], a compatibility layer for running Windows and [[DOS]] software

* Ferret, a meeting browser<ref name="Ferret"/>

* [[WordPerfect]], a then cross-platform [[word processing]] [[Application software|application]] bought by Novell in June 1994

On 5 April 1994, the Board of Novell hired [[Robert Frankenberg]], the general manager of [[Hewlett-Packard]] Personal Information Products Group to replace [[Raymond John Noorda]] as [[Chief executive officer|CEO]] of Novell. Novell's [[stock price]] had performed poorly recently due to flagging growth. At Novell, the Network division ([[NetWare Systems Group (Novell)|NSG]]) was growing at a pace of 19% per year, the Unix business division ([[Unix Systems Group (Novell)|USG]]) was flat, and the Desktop Applications division ([[Desktop Systems Group (Novell)|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 [[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 [[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]] 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 Love|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==