Microsoft attempts to delay Caldera case

Microsoft Corporation is seeking a 120-day delay in the antitrust case brought against it by Caldera Corporation, the owners of DR-DOS. Caldera,which bought DR-DOS from Novell (which itself bought the product earlierfrom Digital Research), says that Microsoft unfairly bundled DOS in Windows95, killing the demand for DR-DOS. Also, the earlier Windows 3.1 productwas specifically coded to appear to not function correctly with DR-DOS, thecompany says. Caldera is now best known for distributing a version of theLinux operating system, known as Caldera Linux.

Microsoft wants to delay the case past its anticipated June 1999 startingdate so it has time to supply the witnesses Caldera has deposed, or plansto depose.

"Caldera has 39 witnesses they will call and 33 others they may call," saida Microsoft spokesperson. "Microsoft hasn't been able to get all of the additional witnesses. Twenty-eight haven't been deposed yet and 21 haven'teven been [identified].