Microsoft and Caldera bury the hatchet over four year lawsuit

Microsoft and Caldera have settled the private antitrust lawsuit brought against the software giant regarding Caldera's allegations that it intended to prevent its operating system, DR-Dos, from challenging MS-Dos.

Terms of the settlement are confidential, but Microsoft will take a one-time charge of three cents a share for its third quarter ending 31 March, widely believed to cost Microsoft about $150 million. Caldera was originally seeking over $1 billion in damages.

The suit filed in July 1996 accused Microsoft of engaging in a series of illegal tactics to ensure its operating system held sway. These included building incompatibilities into Microsoft Dos with rival operating systems and excluding DR-Dos developers from beta test versions of Microsoft products.

Bryan Sparks, chief executive of Caldera, said in a statement: "We now look forward to vigorous competition in the marketplace with our Linux products and strategies."

A Microsoft spokeswoman said: "We took the mediation process seriously to find a mutually agreeable settlement that's in the best interests of Microsoft's customers and the hi-tech industry."