 
      July 1997
| Caldera OpenLinux Base 1.2 | Caldera OpenLinux Standard | Debian | LINUXWARE 2.5 | Red Hat 5.1 | S.u.S.E. 5.2 | Slackware 3.4 | Stampede Linux 1.0 (projected) | TurboLinux 1.0 | |
| Price | $59.00 | $199.00 | $0.00 | $9.95 | $49.95 | $49.95 | $39.95 | $19.95 | $29.95 | 
| Target Consumers | CDEHOV | CDEOV | CDEHOV | DEH | CDEHOV | CDEHOV | CDEHO | DEHOC | CDEHOV | 
| Kernel | 2.0.33 | 2.0.33 | 2.1.0 | 2.0.32 | 2.0.34 | 2.0.33 | 2.0.33 | 2.0.33 | 0.0.0 | 
| Binary Format | |||||||||
| Primary/Other | ELF | ELF | i386,68k,Alpha,Sparc | X | ELF | ELF | ELF/a.out | x86 | i386/ppc | 
| Hardware Required | |||||||||
| Minimum Install | 386,8,40 | 386,8,40 | 386,4,40 | 586,64,4 | 8 | 386,4 (8),50 | 386,8,40 | 386,6,60 | 386, 8, 250 | 
| Minimum Use | 386,8,40 | 386,8,40 | disk20 | 486,8,100 | 8 | 486,8(16),100 | 386,8,40 | 386,4,80 | 386, 8, 300 | 
| Recommended Use | 486,16,300 | 486,16,300 | 486,8,850 | 586,16,1GB | 16 | Pentium,16(32),300 | 486,16,200 | Pentium,16,250 | Pentuim, 16+, 600+ | 
| Packaging | |||||||||
| yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | yes | yes | |
| Interdependencies | no | no | yes | no | yes | yes | no | yes | yes | 
| Package Format | RPM | RPM | deb,RPM,.tgz | RPM and .tgz | RPM | RPM,.tgz | .tgz | SLP (Stampede Linux Packages) | RPM plus auto-upgrade | 
| Source Code Packages | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | 
| Management Interface | X Windows or command line | X Windows or command line | character terminal | yes | tty, web, X | YaST utility | curses menus and command line | Console adn X (gtk+) | custom-made X interfaces—mgmt | 
| Group/Subgroup Packages | no | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | 
| Boot Media | |||||||||
| Boot Floppy included | yes | yes | no | no | yes | yes | no, but CD-ROM is bootable | no | no | 
| Boot images to select from | module-based no limit | module-based, no limit | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 with module support | 51 | 5 | One (modular) | 
| Floppies required | none | none | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 boot floppy | 2 | 2 | 0,1,2 depends on inst type | 
| Run from | |||||||||
| CD-ROM only | no | no | no | no | no | yes | yes | yes | no | 
| CD-ROM mostly | yes | yes | no | yes | no | yes | yes | yes | no | 
| Configuration | |||||||||
| Custom X | yes | yes | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | 
| Network | yes | yes | TCP/IP,SMB,NFS,Appletalk,AX.25 | yes | X Windows, tty, web | YaST | text | yes | yes, X-based | 
| SLIP/PPP | yes | yes | yes | yes | X Windows, tty, web | YaST | text | yes | Yes, X or console-based | 
| User/Group | yes | yes | group-per-user | yes | X Windows, tty, web | YaST | command line | yes | Yes, X-based | 
| Filesystem | yes | yes | e2fs standard | yes | X Windows, tty, web | YaST | text | yes | Yes, X-based | 
| Printer | yes | yes | yes | yes | X Windows, tty, web | YaST | text (apsfilter) | no | Yes, X-based or Console-based | 
| Runlevel/init | yes | yes | sysVinit | yes | X Windows, tty, web | Yast, editing 1 conf file | no | yes | Yes, X-based | 
| Install | |||||||||
| PCMCIA Ethernet | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | 
| PCMCIA CD-ROM | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | 
| from CD-ROM | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | 
| from Floppy | no | no | yes | yes | no | no | yes | no | no | 
| from FTP | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no | yes | yes | 
| from local filesystem | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | 
| from NFS | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | 
| from Tape | yes | no | no | no | no | no | yes | no | no | 
| UMSDOS from Linux | no | no | no | yes | no | yes | yes | no | no | 
| UMSDOS from DOS | no | no | no | yes | no | yes | yes | no | no | 
| Media available | yes | CD-ROM | yes | CD-ROM | yes | yes | Available via FTP, CD-ROM | yes | yes | 
| Documentation | |||||||||
| Custom manual included | yes | yes | yes (on CD) | yes | yes | yes | 36 page install guide | yes | yes | 
| 3rd party books/manuals | no | yes | yes http://www.linuxpress.com | yes | yes | no | yes | no | yes | 
| Extras | |||||||||
| Non-GPLed extras included | BRU Backup, StarOffice, Netscape Communicator, Novell Netware client, LISA | BRU Backup, StarOffice 4.0, Communicator, NetWare client, FastTrack Server, AG Adabas | none | FreeBSD, NetBSD | Real Audio, Bru-PE, full bonusCD of demo/lite Linux apps | acroread.adabas, bartels, ixware, leda, mapledmo, mars_e, Netscape, sniff, vse | Netscape, QT | Netscape Communicator | Corel WordPerfect 7 demmo Japanese version: commercial fonts, commercial word proc. | 
| Support | |||||||||
| Included | 5 incident e-mail support | 5 incident phone and email | lifetime free e-mail support | 90 days installation support | 60 days e-mail, phone,fax | E-mail and telephone | free e-mail tech support | ||
| Optional | support contracts | Support contracts available | paid commercial support | yes | commercial support | consluting and professional | Phone | ||
| Special certifications | forthcoming Caldera training | Forthcoming Caldera training | POSIX-compliant | no | Red Hat Certified Engineer | ||||
| Sales method used | DFX | DFX | DF | X | DFX | DFX | DFX | DFX | D F X |