“And what about the seemingly abrupt Caldera-Microsoft
settlement announced on Monday? The two sides have signed a
nondisclosure agreement covering all aspects of the deal. Publicly,
the two sides are claiming they ironed all their differences
(dating back to Caldera’s original filing of its case in 1996) in a
single meeting last Friday. Microsoft paid Caldera $165-plus
million or so. And now everything’s hunky-dory.”
“Come on, guys. Rumors are flying that Caldera got more money
than that. At the very least, Caldera better have gotten its
legal costs covered, after all, it was using three high-profile law
firms to construct its case….“
“What led to settlement just two weeks before the Caldera vs.
Microsoft trial finally was to go to court? Caldera officials are
saying publicly that they felt Caldera had accomplished its goal of
exposing Microsoft’s shady business practices, and that it has
handed the DOJ the reigns to advocate for appropriate remedies.
Caldera execs also acknowledge they were a little leery of the
outcome of a jury trial in a very technically complex case–a point
Microsoft officials steadfastly refuse to concede.”