We've previously reviewed other PC operating systems that have tried to compete with Microsoft Windows but ultimately failed. They all use a user interface similar to Windows95-98. One is BeOS, developed entirely from scratch, while the other is Linux-based Lindows.
Both BeOS and Lindows were created by newly formed companies. However, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, another competitor to the Windows operating system was Corel, a software company with a long history.
Corel was founded in Canada in 1985. When it was first established, its graphics editor CorelDRAW was a best-selling software product. In January 1996, the company decided to acquire the WordPerfect word processing program from Novell in a deal valued at $180 million.
According to a Deseret News report on the deal, Corel quickly became the world's second-largest software company after acquiring WordPerfect, behind Microsoft. Corel Chairman Michael Cowpland said he hopes the company can compete head-on with Microsoft in the early stages of the consumer Internet.
It is obvious that Corel acquired WordPerfect in order to compete for Microsoft's growing PC software market share. However, Microsoft's own Word software is becoming the dominant product in word processing. Therefore, in 1999, Corel decided to challenge Microsoft in the largest area of software: personal computer operating systems.
According to CNN reports in November 1999, the company released the CorelLinux operating system for the first time at the Comdex show. ZDNet noted at the time that the operating system was based on the Debian 2.2.12 version of Linux, which Corel chose because it believed Debian had higher programming quality.
According to ZDNet, the user interface of the operating system is based on the KDE1.1.2 desktop environment. This will undoubtedly be very familiar to anyone who has used Windows 95 or 98 at the time, but it also offers some additional features, such as themes that can customize the user interface. It also has its own file manager, which is very similar in appearance and operation to the file manager on Windows 95/98.
Another selling point was its relatively short installation time (for the time). ZDNet says it takes about 20 minutes to install the operating system on an Intel-based PC.
The company launched the Corel Linux operating system with three different versions: a free version that anyone can download from Corel's website and a standard boxed version that costs $49 and includes 30 days of free email customer support and a limited version of WordPerfect.
There's also a deluxe boxed version of the operating system, priced at $89. Not only do people get the Corel Linux operating system, a complete printed manual, a full version of WordPerfect, and 30 days of free email and phone support, but they even get a tiny rubber Linux penguin figure in the box.
Sadly, no one seems interested in using their Linux-based operating system. In August 2000, the company released a second major upgrade to the operating system, which also failed. According to "Wired", in August 2001, Corel sold its Linux business to a new startup called Xandros. The company sells a version of Corel Linux under the name XandrosDesktop. Ironically, Xandros' software was eventually acquired by PC/OpenSystems, which also owns Linspire (the predecessor of Lindows).
Corel itself continues to offer versions of CorelDRAW, WordPerfect and other software products. But in September 2022, the parent company was renamed Alludo, which means "everything you do." It is also the parent company of WinZip, Parallels, and many other software products.