Linus Torvalds interview Reader's Digest - 2001
Linus Torvalds interview Reader's Digest - 2001
Shamelessly copied from a post on a Lemmy look alike site :)
the Linux company mascot
They really had trouble wrapping their minds around this, didn't they.
110A mind molded by a lifetime of neoliberal capitalism does this. Same as when they were all looking for the "Bitcoin CEO".
14Exactly, the neoliberal capitalist religion causes collective brain damage. Especially at that time, since there was a frenzy of propaganda around Bill Gates and how he became the worlds richest man by selling software, in particular operating systems. So from that non-logic it follows that if you have a popular operating system you should become the worlds richest man, but if you just give it all away for free, then you gave away a fortune. It makes total sense in the completely warped, schizophrenic world view of the US neoliberal mainstream media.
6
I'm Operations Manager at Linux.
14What?! You are doing something without a profit motive? That's impossible. 🤯🤯🤯🤯
6Not impossible, just The Most Generous Man In The World!
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Yeah, they also kind of wrote that article as if Linus had created a product that people needed at the time, making it something that he could sell, but instead gave it away to the people. And although that is partly true (he could sell Linux once he considered it a fully-fledged product, as it seemed to be customary at the time for people who made useful programs), I don't think it gets the whole picture across. Linus made Linux because he wanted to use features from his shiny new i386 PC, such as multithreading, that Unix-based OSes didn't provide at the time. And IIRC, i386 computers only became really popular some time after Linus had released the kernel with a GPL license, meaning that before that, there weren't many people looking for an OS for i386. But still, it's cool to see the way Linus managed to lead the community that created around Linux. And if we think about it, Linux only became as popular as it did because of its FOSS licensing.
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He didn't give up his fortune directly, because today he is a rich man. He just enriched with a different approach like opting to not lock the source code of his work like another guy we know well...
But I like him anyway
78He would've definitely made more even as a senior employee in early Microsoft, IBM or any of the big Corps. Linux exists solely because he made it a collaborative endeavour from the start.
56Linux exists solely because he made it a collaborative endeavour from the start.
That is the important part. If Linux had tried to compete with Microsoft as a closed-source operating system, no one would have used it -- who would use a tiny, buggy (back then), incomplete, closed-source operating system made by a few guys in their spare time against a very popular, feature-complete, close-source operating system with billions of dollars funding its engineering effort?
What makes Linux popular is that it is collectively owned, that is as much a feature of the operating system as any technology or algorithm written into the source code itself. That feature is what set it apart from Windows or Mac OS.
10
For a guy like that, it was never about money. He knew that would come in comfortable enough amounts. For him, it was about being the smartest person in the room. And 90% of the time, he is. And he lets you know.
37Perhaps I'm confused. I've never seen or heard Torvalds act in the manner you describe. In interviews, and talks, at least, I've seen him be quite self-deprecating, quite deferential, and quite humble. He just doesn't put up with bullshit in the space he knows extremely well, and he's very direct with little regard to being empathetic, or at least that's how he's acted in the past on the Linux mailing lists. Being matter-of-fact can often be misconstrued as acting superior, but I've found it's usually a time-saving personality quirk.
Edit>> Clearly this guy is unable to understand what being matter of fact is and resorts to ad hominem when someone doesn’t share his opinion. Sad, really, but pretty normal for the internet, I suppose. Oh well.
0
I don't think he ever expected fortunes, going off his famous usenet post. He just wanted a Unix-like OS that wasn't Minix and didn't cost exactly one space shuttle. One that he could fuck around and do anything he wanted with without regard for someone else's license and restrictions.
Everyone else wanting one too was a happy accident.
3
This man is my hero.
40personally Richard Stallman is my favorite out of the two but both are amazing people, who's impact on the world of software can not be understated.
6If you want to see what the world would look like without the GPL, just look at how the BSDs are getting shanked by Apple (and many other companies too, but they're the biggest).
If it weren't for him, I have no idea what Linux would be today. No doubt in my mind, RMS is #1 on my list of most important software developers to have ever lived.
6
That so called "company mascot" on page 1 is so cute (-:
EDIT: the penguin, not Linus
26Tux too
14Linus himself is not the mascot?
8Linus too
7I want a big cuddly plush of Tux now.
1
Linus is my superhero, apart from being the creator of Linux he can also give me marital recommendations
25Don't Believe the Headlines
12Clickbait from before it was called clickbait.
3
I hate that I can't get through all the trash that has been the readers digest for the last 2 decades. Maybe my memory is tinted, but it seems like it's not what it used to be. Maybe my perspective has shifted.
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