Caldera OpenLinux

Caldera OpenLinux (COL) is a defunct Linux distribution. Caldera originally introduced it in 1997 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 Linux community generally. Corsair, a user interface for NetWare, was a project run by Novell corporation's 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 integrate and manage network access for users. Windows' own support for connecting to Novell networks would not be improved until later releases 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. This group became convinced that Linux offered the best possible answer for the OS component. There were many other components as well, and these were of particular interest: Willows, a Microsoft Windows-compatible API for Unix systems to allow recompilation of Windows programs for Linux. Wine, a compatibility layer for running Windows and DOS software Ferret, a meeting browser WordPerfect, a then cross-platform word processing 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 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.