DoS

There have been several reports that DR-DOS 5.0 technology was superior to MS-DOS.(91) The fact that DR-DOS is no longer on the market suggests consumer welfare suffered due to barriers to innovation.

IBM ships its PCs with one of its own operating systems: PC-DOS or OS/2.(3) The only independent DOS (i.e., compatible with, but not a clone or derivative of MS-DOS) was Digital Research Incorporated (DRI's) DR-DOS which, with Novell's acquisition of DRI in 1991, is now referred to as Novell DOS and IBM'S PC-DOS.

In 1990, the FTC's Bureau of Competition began an investigation of Microsoft.(23) According to published reports the investigation focused on claims that Microsoft had used predatory practices to hasten the failure of DR-DOS and had used improper means to extend its operating system monopoly into applications.(24) The practices relating to DR-DOS included "vaporware" (false product preannouncements to forestall competition) and deliberate efforts by technical sabotage to make DR-DOS appear to be incompatible with Windows.

Now Caldera Thin Clients/Lineo has filed a lawsuit against Microsoft Corp based on what it says were anti-competitive practices aimed at killing off DR-DOS back in the days of DRI.

In its March 1999 Statement of Facts, Caldera brought a complex case against Microsoft, arguing that for years the Redmond software company engaged in anti-competitive practices aimed at crushing the DR-DOS operating system, which now belongs to Caldera.

On April 28 1999, Caldera published a mammoth Statement of Facts, outlining its claims that Microsoft used fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD), vaporware announcements, exclusionary licenses and technological tying to eliminate DR-DOS as a technical threat to its own MS- DOS.

US District Judge Dee Benson is scheduled to hear arguments over two more of Caldera Inc's allegations that Microsoft engaged in anti-competitive behavior in its relationships with DR-DOS.