Linus Torvalds is remarkable, not only for being the technical genius who wrote Linux, but for then being able to inspire and lead an enormous team of people to devote their free time to work on the operating system and bring it to maturity. We sent Richard Morris off to interview Linus, and find out more.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
Member since:2005-07-06
He doesn't seem to be that nice of a person. He called the OpenBSD folks a bunch of "Masturbating Monkeys". I watched a talk he gave at Google on GIT (the version control system he created), and be was merciless in his remarks to CVS and SVN. I don't get the feeling he has a proper respect for those that have come before. IMHO
Member since:2006-08-15
He doesn't seem to be that nice of a person. He called the OpenBSD folks a bunch of "Masturbating Monkeys". I watched a talk he gave at Google on GIT (the version control system he created), and be was merciless in his remarks to CVS and SVN. I don't get the feeling he has a proper respect for those that have come before. IMHO
He is just trying to be funny in his own way. Don't take it personal, I find his comments cool and funny.
Member since:2007-02-05
Well, he is a *self-declared* asshole.
I still think he's good though, and people who create good stuff are often assholes. Simply because they care more about what they are creating than human consideration. Steve Jobs doesen't really seem like a very nice guy, but he get's shit done. Same can be said for many others.
Member since:2008-02-17
Member since:2006-01-16
Linus doesn't have PR and Sales departments that he has to parrot. He calls it like he sees it and is quite candid. He does tend to overstate things in order to get his point across, but despite that I would take his opinions and point of view as genuine. Too many other people tend to say nothing at all for public record, and when they do it's pre-baked crap that's politically correct and nobody is offended, but nobody takes it too seriously either.
I think that you have to be willing to risk offending people if you want to be taken seriously.
Member since:2005-08-18
Member since:
2006-08-15
I really admire Linus. He is a modest person, always trying to overcome himself, doing things because it's fun, and not for trying to get other people's attention or money.
.
He is a great person, brilliant, with great talent and passion, a great inspiration for me and for the rest of the world.
Thanks for your work and for making the world a better place Linus, you are a great example to follow
Edited 2008-07-21 20:22 UTC