Linus

Torvalds: Linux and OpenSolaris a tough mix

It should be obvious, but the more I talk to people about open source, and where and how it's useful, the more I'm surprised by how overinflated (or underinflated) expectations often are for open source.

One case in point is with the utility of source code as a way to save time and money, rather than reinventing the wheel. For example, Alfresco, my employer, was able to get its initial content management product to a 1.0 state in less than six months because it heavily borrowed from successful open-source projects such as Hibernate, Spring, PDFbox, and others.… Read more

Torvalds to kernel hopefuls: Think 'trivial'

Linux project lead Linus Torvalds says it's not easy to become a major contributor to the Linux kernel.

In an e-mail interview with ZDNet.co.uk on Friday, Torvalds said that, while it is relatively easy for coders and organizations to contribute small patches, the contribution of large patches, developed in isolation, could lead to both new and established contributors becoming frustrated.

"It's definitely not easy to become a 'big contributor'," wrote Torvalds. "For one thing, the kernel is quite complex and big, and it inevitably simply takes time to learn all the rules--not just … Read more

Torvalds: Linux not becoming obsolete would be 'sad'

I admire Linus Torvalds' candor (this is the guy who freely admits his own family doesn't use the Linux desktop, after all), as well as his foresight.

In an excellent interview posted on Simple-Talk, Torvalds covers a range of topics, including the Linux operating system's place in history:

I can certainly imagine the Linux kernel becoming obsolete--anything else would just be sad, really, in the big picture.

He is absolutely right. Much as we may pine for this or that project to achieve market dominance, it is one of the cardinal virtues of open source that there are no legal or business policies that would entrench it as a monopoly. People may choose to use it for a long period of time and to the exclusion of other products/projects, but there are no nefarious designs in the code to make it so.

Hence, Linux may fade away. At some point, we should certainly hope so, in order to make way for the next phase of operating system, one that is preferably open source.

Other interesting tidbits from the interview are Linus' comment on patents:… Read more

Linus Torvalds: Don't glorify the security "monkeys"

Leave it to Linus Torvalds, founder of the Linux kernel, to speak his mind. While many point to Linux as superior to Windows as offering superior security, Torvalds doesn't want anyone to make a fetish of security, including the OpenBSD people to whom he addresses this classic missive:

...[O]ne reason I refuse to bother with the whole security circus is that I think it glorifies - and thus encourages - the wrong behavior.

It makes "heroes" out of security people, as if the people who don't just fix normal bugs aren't as important.… Read more

Linus Torvalds' most memorable quotes

I really like this list of the top-ten Linus Torvalds' quotes, as compiled by Computer Business Review. Linux is Linux in large part because Linus is Linus: A strong personality but disarming and approachable.

That latter attribute plays out in my top-two favorite quotes:

Some people have told me they don't think a fat penguin really embodies the grace of Linux, which just tells me they have never seen a angry penguin charging at them in excess of 100 mph.

And...

When you say, "I wrote a program that crashed Windows," people just stare at you blankly … Read more

Google could pick Git to manage Android code

Releasing 8.6 million lines of source code and expecting open-source programmers to join Google in its development is a technological challenge.

But when Google does make its Android mobile phone software an open-source project later this year, it looks likely it will take a page from the Linux playbook and use a tool called Git to manage that part of the work.

Linux leader Linus Torvalds originally developed the Git source-code management software in 2005. He didn't like available open-source tools for the chore, but encountered resistance in using a proprietary tool, BitMover's BitKeeper.

Torvalds liked the … Read more

Open source: world domination or world liberation?

Linus Torvalds used to talk about "world domination" as his goal for Linux. These days, though, while we seem to be making progress toward this end, we also appear to be increasingly complacent. We downplay the ideology that underlies open source in favor of "safe" rhetoric about lower sales and marketing costs and such.

I wonder, however, if in so doing we emasculate open source's power to truly change our industry. Does it make it that much harder for us to find a new way to serve customers?

It reminds me of Alice's interaction with the Cheshire Cat in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

"Cheshire Puss," [Alice] began,..."Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"

"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.… Read more

Torvalds gives props to Microsoft for sharing

Linus Torvalds, leader of the Linux kernel project that's among the best-known open-source threats to Windows, has words of praise for Microsoft's announcement last week that it would share some previously hard-to-get technology with open-source programmers.

"I may make fun of Microsoft occasionally, and yeah, I think they do stupid things at times, but I think this one was a step in the right direction," Torvalds said in an e-mail.

"Could it have been even more? Sure. But give them credit for at least seeming to open up a little, even if it probably was … Read more

Is Linus Torvalds even speaking for Linux anymore?

Even though Linus Torvalds has always been known as a deity-like figure in the world of Linux, lately he has been quite outspoken about where he thinks his operating system is going and what its competitors are doing wrong.

Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Torvalds had quite a few complaints to bring against both Mac OS X Leopard and Windows Vista.

"I don't think they're equally [updated to fix word] flawed - I think Leopard is a much better system," Torvalds said. But then he added: "OS X is in some ways actually worse than Windows to program for. Their file system is complete and utter crap, which is scary."

"I think [Mac] OS X is nicer than Windows in many ways," he continued. "But neither can hold a candle to my own [Linux]. It's a race for second."

And while you would expect this kind of propaganda from the operating system's founder, does he even speak to (or for) the Linux community anymore? If you ask me, he's just another wolf howling in the night hoping someone will agree.… Read more

Linus Torvalds: Mac OS X and Windows can't hold a candle to Linux

Linus Torvalds woke up on Mars today (or maybe it was Oz), and had this to say about Windows Vista and Apple's OS X:

I don't think they're equally flawed. I think Leopard is a much better system. On the other hand, (I've found) OS X in some ways is actually worse than Windows to program for. Their file system is complete and utter crap, which is scary. I think OS X is nicer than Windows in many ways, but neither can hold a candle to my own (Linux). It's a race to second place.

I guess when you're famous you can say inane things and get away with it. Yes, Linux does some things better than Mac OS X and Microsoft's Windows Vista on the desktop (security, maybe), but let's be honest: the Linux desktop is "utter crap" compared to either OS X or Windows when it comes to the thing that matters most: usability.

If normal people can't use it, it just doesn't matter how beautifully architected it is. Sorry, Linus. Everyone has to be wrong sometimes. This is your turn to shine.

That said, I found his comments on whether Google is a good open-source citizen much more illuminating:… Read more