“Official details are not available, but sources say Microsoft
and Caldera hammered out a deal on Jan. 7. The two parties are
believed to be waiting for U.S. District Judge Dee Benson’s
approval of the settlement before publicly announcing it. At press
time, neither Caldera nor Microsoft would confirm that a settlement
had been reached….”
“Sources say Microsoft may have settled the case for several
reasons. With the specter of U.S. District Judge Thomas
Penfield Jackson’s forthcoming decision still left hanging, the
possibility of additional anti-Microsoft class action suits and the
imminent launch of Windows 2000, Microsoft may have decided to
simplify its corporate life. It also certainly couldn’t have
helped Microsoft’s outlook for this particular trial as Judge
Benson has repetitively ruled against Microsoft in its attempts to
strike down parts of Caldera’s wide-ranging antitrust case.”