Now this is one to ponder. This year, the Nobel Peace Prize went to Barack Obama, president of the United States. The prize has been given to both politicians and non-politicians alike, and Keith Lofstrom thinks its time to hand over the Peace Prize to a non-politician once more: Linus Torvalds.
Lofstrom’s argues that Linux has done – and is doing – a lot of good for the world, and as such, Linus deserves the credit. “Linux is one of the largest cooperative international efforts ever undertaken,” he argues, “It inspired Ubuntu, One Laptop Per Child, and many other global projects. Linux conquered the supercomputer space, the server space, the embedded computer space – by peaceful means! Linux helped sequence the human genome, helps protect the world computer infrastructure from viral attack, and is now the pathway for millions to learn computer programming and participate in new international efforts.”
As odd as it may sound, I do believe he has a point. Linux is indeed bringing people together – not in the mushy kind of way, but in a real way: people from all over the world collaborate on the kernel. On top of that, the success of the Linux kernel is partially responsible for the popularisation of open source software.
Thanks, in part, to Linus Torvalds, we have quality free and Free software, making it possible for even the poorest of people to gain access to computers and the advantages that brings. I do think, however, that the Free Software Foundation should share in such a prize.
That is, if I were to agree he indeed deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. I believe that Barack Obama shouldn’t have received the prize; neither did Al Gore. When I think of the Nobel Peace Prize, I think of people like Aung San Suu Kyi or Mother Theresa – and certainly not of a programmer or a guy who made a film.
What are your thoughts?
.. but he did it though the FOSS software development model.
So if they want to give the FOSS idea the prize and Linus as a worthy representative then OK.
If just Linus because he happened to code a popular kernel, then NO.
hey why not give it to Richard Stallman
Edited 2009-11-20 17:19 UTC
They should.
Would at least make more sense then Linus Torvalds.
Edited 2009-11-20 17:49 UTC
Yeah, why not give it to a guy who eats foot cheese and bashes anyone not agreeing to his dogma. Go Stallman!
So eating foot cheese is a reason to not win a peace prize?
Sad.
There is very little “peace” in Stallman’s message, unless, of course, you agree with him completely.
Shouldn’t that be RMS/Linus?
You got a +1 from me.
I can’t count the times I’m looking for something esoteric, hit mailing lists archives of projects (including the kernel, GTK, mplayer, etc.), and out of nowhere, as someone mentioned the word Linux, or their distro’s name, Stallman swoops in (like he had an automated search set up for this stuff), and does his several-sentence spiel about GNU being first, and the basis of the system, and so it should be referred to as GNU/Linux.
Ugh!
The funny part is that, if it weren’t for Linux, no one would know or give a damn about the GNU (or Richard Stallman).
Maybe Torvalds should start demanding that all GNU software be referred to as Linux/GNU.
Yeah that’s rational. GNU Foundation has GCC and much more that was there before Linux.
They tried to, but he’s boycotting the Prize because they sent him the details in a Word document and refused to change the name to the “GNU/Nobel Prize.”
At least, that’s the way he tells it. My suspicion is that the organizers saw this video and were afraid of what Stallman might do during his acceptance speech:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I25UeVXrEHQ
Oh HELL no, I can see it now:
I’d like to just like to interject for a moment. What you’re referring to as the Nobel Peace Prize, is in fact, GNU/Peace Prize, or as I’ve recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Peace prize.
Let’s leave the nutjob OUT of this one. Hell, I’m still waiting to find out that Stallman is actually Alan Abel in disguise.
Edited 2009-11-22 02:43 UTC
the only thing i would give him is a hard way to go. all he does is act like the dictator of open source and i would rather deal with the MS Vatican rulership than the GNU SS Hitler.
Let’s have Christ for President.
Let us have him for our King.
Cast your vote for the Carpenter
that you call the Nazarene.
— Woody Guthrie
As opposed to… what? Conquering the supercomputer and server space by violent means?
Maybe that’s what the BSDs should do…
Considering how many flamewars have started as the result of various aspects of linux I don’t think a peace price is appropriate. 🙂
– Linus Torvalds, 1992
I’m surprised nobody has mentioned before that Richard Stallman is the sole representative of the FLOSS community worthy of an award of that nature. RMS may not be liked by many people, but nobody can dispute that it was he who almost single-handedly started the free software movement, based on ethical principles, not practical ones as in the case of Linus Torvalds. Since 1984, RMS has devoted his life to follow these principles.
Excerpted from one of his articles:
“Every decision a person makes stems from the person’s values and goals. People can have many different goals and values; fame, profit, love, survival, fun, and freedom, are just some of the goals that a good person might have. When the goal is a matter of principle, we call that idealism.
My work on free software is motivated by an idealistic goal: spreading freedom and cooperation. I want to encourage free software to spread, replacing proprietary software that forbids cooperation, and thus make our society better.”
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/pragmatic.html
I specifically mentioned the FSF in the article. If they were indeed crazy enough to do this, then I suggest giving it to the FSF and Linus Torvalds, as a split.
Pardon my ignorance, but can the Nobel Prize be awarded to organizations as well as to people?
It’s been awarded to politicians.. isn’t that an org already?
(
Couldn’t resist)
err… I think it’s more of a Mob actually…?
Yes, it can. It happened 16 times alreadyl
It can, both the UN and a anti-landmine org has gotten it, as I remember off the top of my head ..
If you want them to give the Nobel prize to a guy who created a Unix-like operating system kernel, you should give your vote to Linus (or perhaps to some of the *BSD developers). But if you want them to give the Nobel prize to a guy who has initiated the idea that all software should be free for everyone to use, to share, and to modify, then RMS is the man you should give your vote to.
He’s also the man you should give your vote if you want the Nobel Prize given to someone who picks and eats stuff from his feet during public lectures:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I25UeVXrEHQ
Children tend to do stuff like that, because they don’t care what other people might think about them. I’ve seen children pick up candies from the floor and eat them, that’s nothing strange. Most of us adults would never consider eating candies that have dropped to the floor, because we think that’s unhygienic. We tend to think that when something is even slightly unhygienic, it has practically become poisonous. Well, believe it or not, we adults are wrong. Dropped candies don’t just magically become poisonous as soon as they touch the floor.
I guess in some ways RMS is pretty much like a child, because he doesn’t seem to believe that as soon as a candy touches the floor, it instantly becomes poisonous. And it also seems that RMS is actually correct, because he didn’t suddenly drop dead after eating that candy that he found from the floor.
I’ve read that many rich people, like Michael Jackson, and also many other multi-millionaires, have been overly sensitive about bacteria. They wear gloves and masks all the time, and they spread disinfectant spray on everything they plan to touch. But, as a matter of fact, we cannot really avoid bacteria, because bacteria is a natural phenomenon that is all around us (and also inside us) all the time, whether you like it or not. In fact, children who are allowed to get dirty every once in a while are much less likely to become allergic than children who are artificially protected from everything that we adults consider “unhygienic”. The fact of the matter is that an overly sterile environment tends to harm children by weakening their immune system.
Of course, if RMS cared too much about what other people think of him, he probably would have never declared in public that sharing software is a recommendable act. Most people seem to agree with the commercial software sellers that sharing software with your friends is always a form of criminal activity, comparable to raiding ships, and that it is right and proper to call sharing software “piracy”.
I guess one must be able to think things from a fresh perspective and without any prejudice, like perhaps a child might, in order to come to such an unusual conclusion that all software should be free for everyone to use, to share, and to modify. Most people seem to find these ideas ridiculous, but that’s probably just because people have been taught to think that proprietary software is the only possible way to go. Still, some of us find RMS’s ideas about Free Software unique and ingenious — the kind of ideas that make their originator well worth the Nobel Prize.
Candy? Not unless he has a habit of hiding candy between his toes.
And even worse, he might bathe or shave once in a while!
What unique ideas? All he did was take something that was a common, voluntary practice and he wrote a license to make it a requirement.
For god’s sake. Everyone knows he picked something off his feet and ate it during that lecture. Everyone heard about it a year or two ago. Please, stop banging on and on about it.
Having a disgusting habit does not invalidate the man’s ideas, efforts or passion.
Translation: you find it embarrassing, so you wish people would just stop mentioning it.
Maybe, but it sure is funny! And his fanboys clearly get upset when anyone mentions it.
Yeah, it is kind of funny. It’s also funny that people find RMS’s behaviour so embarrassing and disgusting. It appears that he has managed to transgress a strong psychological and social taboo. When we are kids we are conditioned to avoid certain kinds of behaviour, and we learn these taboos so well that later on they become abomination, although it’s very difficult to logically explain why we feel that way.
Sometimes these taboos can suddenly vanish by simply changing perspective. I mean, most people would find licking someone else’s snot and saliva quite disgusting. But exchanging French kisses with your loved one can be great fun, and young people who are in love and kiss passionately in public can appear cute instead of disgusting.
Only, now that I really start thinking about it, putting one’s tongue into someone else’s mouth *is* pretty disgusting. And unhygienic, too. Oh crap, I don’t think I’ll be able to kiss anyone ever again without feeling a strong urge to vomit… 😛
Believe it or not, there actually are valid reasons not to eat things found between your toes (basic hygiene for one), even if there wasn’t a social taboo against it.
That would be great as they are two figures who together embody the positive aspects and character of open source software.
Personally, I approve of someone connected with FOSS being nominated. Apart from the good that GNU/Linux has done the world, FOSS development communities have been an intriguing and admirable example of international cooperation.
Freedom ang GPL are just a development model and a lincense to Linus. On the other hand, to rms, they bring freedom. freedom not for good development and business model, but for the sake of freedom.
rms deserves that, not linus.
Clearly the people nominating Linus for this have not seen the flames that ensue whenever there is “collaboration” on certain aspects of Linux development
You’ve got to F*$^ing be kidding me! This has go to be a joke? right?
I’ve heard some real lame freak’n ideas in my day and this one is close to the top!
The NPP would have zero, nil, zilch credibility if it ever went with Torvalds. I may not always agree with their selections but at least I agree the persons selected should have at least been considered… so far!
KRR
It already has no credibility. Obama won for no reason other than not being Bush.
That’s infinity better then being Torvalds!
KRR
I was decades from being born when the Nobel Peace Prize lost due credibility (1947 or 1948, IIRC). Since the prize has a history of awarding people for supporting human rights, international cooperation on things, wider education, beneficial social institutions, etc., while he may not be a world leader or anything, Linus Torvalds would fit in the scope of the prize.
Linus gave to the world much more good, than Obama did. So if Obama has Nobel prize…
After the prize got finally totally devaluated and became totally meaningless, it is only just and right if each and every one of us can have it at random.
Other people got it for a lifetime achievement — Obama got it after six months, i.e for nothing at all whatsoever, and the noble committee said so themselves, so don’t you dare calling me a troll.
Now, the thing is this: First you get into office, where you do all the shit you have to do as you get into office anew – that will take a few months. So Obama hasn’t done anything AT ALL, and even less so in a manner that would deserve the noble price.
In parallel, the assignment of the price takes consideration. It is not like they sat together, figured Obama did a great job during, if only during the past few months and then chose him. No, they had to set this out kinda when he got into office so they could agree on him 6 months later.
The decisions of the noble committee have been questionable for a long time, and now it is clear they need medical aid (actually this has been clear for 1-2 decades, but courtesy demands one does not say so without pressing need in public, so that they may retire with dignity).
So yeah, if Linus can have it, go for it. I’d sure take it – after all, it is a known fact that I did more for world peace then Linus and Obama did together.
What BS – “time to hand it to a non-politician” Dude, the price has never been for politicians only, check the record. They say, that in a saner world, Chomsky would have gotten it decades ago – whoever is this Linus-dude in terms of peace achievements?! He has abso-f–king-lutely, zero, zilch, nada to do with politics or peace for that matter. And Linux is not a peace-factor at ALLLL.
Rather make Linus Miss Universe, that would be more befitting still. Have everybody lost their minds?
This comment is somewhat off-topic, but I believe that the real reason that Obama received the Peace Prize is that the committee wants to steer American foreign policy. He didn’t receive it for anything that he’s done because, let’s face it, he hasn’t really achieved anything of significance in foreign policy. Certainly, other people did more in the past year to bring about peace. Hell, I’d vote for Bono, for all of the work that he does in raising money on behalf of Third World countries, the poor, etc. That’s at least tangible and measurable.
The reason I find the prize for Obama specifically ridiculous is that he is someone who actually has the means to make a difference – and specifically THIS man gets the prize as an encouragement? It makes no sense to me.
Presidents of the US should be evaluated for the peace prize AFTER their term(s) is/are over. For all we know, Obama starts a crippling war somewhere down the line, and who’ll look silly then?
In the end, Obama hasn’t achieved a darn thing yet that earns him that prize. I mean, go him, but let’s wait until we can actually evaluate what he has done with all this power he has now.
Disclaimer: this is not a political statement in any way. I’m not from the US, so I have no particular affiliation. Although, I do think Palin is totally hot.
The prize is for improving the outlook for peace in the world. Obama, just by replacing Bush improved the outlook and possibility for peace in the world by a large margin. By those standards, maybe he deserved it, maybe not.
Agreed that it would have been better to wait, but then again to insure any winner does not go out and start a war after getting the prize, you would only be able to give the prize posthumously.
KRR
I understand (at least on an intellectual level) that Obama’s administration has improved the prospects for world peace and the standing of the United States in the eyes of the world, but there are still more people who are taking an active role in the betterment of society. I mean, did they give Chilean President Aylwin Azócar awards for not being Pinochet?*
As for this award, if they wanted to give it to anyone in the software world, I’d go with the FSF over Torvalds. But then again, I’m sure a cursory search of the Internet would reveal more deserving candidates.
* Actually, depending on how you want to interpret his Wikipedia article, they did. But he also had a lot to do with getting rid of the dictatorship.
spot on dude. If you watch Chomsky’s excellent “Manufacturing Consent”, he evidences how EVERY SINGLE US president since world war II is guilty of war crimes by the standards of the Nuremberg Nazi trails – every single one of them (they are all listed with there crimes, no worries). Now, that was a mid-90s documentary, but of course Bush has been doing his deeds since then, and we all know he is a war criminal. Now, I even think Obama is a good, upright guy, and a lawyer by profession – which I don’t mean in a negative, but rather positive way in that I believe he will not just sign off everything in light of the constitutional teachings he received, and also as a matter of profesional integrity. But still, I think the “system” is going to force him into a position like his predecessors – so no, he does not deserve the prize, not even as an encouragement.
On a side not, yes, I am all for a non-politician. But if we are talking non-politicians, there are about 6 billion floating around – which brings us back to the Miss Universe point. If you asked Linus him very self what he did for peace, his honest reply would be: NOTHING! He’s a busy guy, you know…
omg-omg
I committed the there/their crime- hahahah 
Edited 2009-11-20 22:05 UTC
How can you put the words “lawyer” and “integrity” in the same sentence and keep a straight face??
Required viewing, very powerful film
Agree with you, Thom about all things other than Palin being “totally hot”. I like that she’s a populist figure, but I do think that she needs to educate herself a bit more before she jumps onto the world stage. Let’s face it: Very few people in this world are actually qualified to assume the office of POTUS, but Palin, especially, wasn’t prepared for the kind of rough and tumble politics played in Washington, where every nuance of your domestic & foreign policy is put under a microscope. Her problem was that she only had a cursory understanding of a lot of important subjects, didn’t know the history, and therefore would have required a steep learning curve. That said, if simple guys like Reagan and Bush could get up to speed, I think that Palin would be okay.
I vote her hot.
I remember when she was being put through her paces on foreign policy. I couldn’t believe that her advisers hadn’t coached her on the basics. I mean, even if she’d spent the night before reading up the Wikipedia page on US foreign policy, she’d have been able to answer some of the questions.
That said, obviously I don’t approve of her taking a short cut. Someone on the world stage of politics should be appropriately experienced in the first place.
If “Palin” is president I will know for sure that we are fully down into the rabbithole of insanity.
“Whoooaaa – the colours !” Only in a completely insane world could Sarah Palin be president of anything but the local PTA. What?? You say BUSH jr was president for EIGHT YEARS in the USA ???
***BINNGGGGG*** My lightbulb just went out ..
Bush and Putin had embarked on a course to restart the Cold War. Obama changed policy and averted that. Averting a Cold War 2.0 is more than enough to deserve the prize, as far as I’m concerned.
In this interview, Geir Lundestad, Secretary of the Nobel Committee, explains why Obama was selected for the Peace Prize, the summation of which is “changing the international climate”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooqkvd8JPfU
Incidentally, it’s common for people to win the Peace Prize for effort rather than concrete accomplshment (Desmond Tutu won yet apartheid didn’t end until 10 years later).
Finally, the scenario where Obama starts a war or whatever, and makes the Nobel committee look foolish, the committee already said they don’t care. “Obama need not be worried that he’ll do something and the Nobel committee denounces him. We always stand by our laureates.”
As for “tech guys”, I’d argue that Bill Gates has accomplished more in humanitarian activities than any other tech person, but I digress…
How can it possibly be off topic, where I specifically say I am all for Linus getting it – which is the topic, including qualified explanation?
Oh, and your comment repeats mine, in essence…
Actually, Obama had not been in office 6 months when he was selected, only when it was awarded. When he was selected as the winner it had been 11 days.
I think they awarded in the hope that he would do something worthy of the prize, but he had not yet, and has not yet. He still may, but that remains to be seen. It is, unfortunately, a very politically driven prize, and has little actual basis in really helping people any more.
There are other Nobel prizes in specific fields (science, medicine, etc) that would be more appropriate. Not the Peace prize.
They SHOULD make a category in the Swedish prizes for significant achievements in Information Technology..
If not I still think the opensource movement and Stallman could deserve a Peace Prize as much as Gore or a few others ..
Why not return the correct prize to the Nobel group. I’d give them the booby prize.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irena_Sendler
There are many many people who are so much more deserving…
Irena Sendler was robbed her Nobel Prize in 2007 when it was awarded to Al Gore. She passed away in 2008 and is no longer eligible for the award because they are not awarded posthumously. Yes, I’m still bitter about that one.
Come on, I am a Linux user and I like this OS and I appreciate the effort performed by Linus Torvalds, Richard Stallman and all the community to bring us such beauty pieces of technology, but, honestly, how can we talk about giving a Nobel Prize to people that get some “technological” achievements?…. ok, the technology can bring peace and goodness and all such things but, Torvals was driven by the technology and not by the peace and Stallman was driven by his dogma and politics… no peace in their minds.
<Sarcasm>
So, I propose Madonna because her “Little Star” song brings me peace and elevates my soul…. it makes no sense, right? the same thing there!
</Sarcasm>
I think Linus or Stallman would be happier if they are prized with some technological prize than with the Nobel Prize for peace. A lot of people, foundations, organizations that fight against poverty, hunger, war and illness deserve such honorable prize; not any of us, coders… including Torvalds.
Edited 2009-11-20 23:31 UTC
If we give the Nobel Peace Prize to Richard Stallman, he’s going to insist that it be renamed the GNU/Nobel Peace Prize.
Edited 2009-11-20 23:17 UTC
The NP has been questionable for quite some time. Even though controversy is to be expected, there have been many occations were credibility has been exceedingly low. It’s unfortunate for us all, that people in general, which is to say, the stupid people, have a tendency to focus on prestige alone and not the actual accomplishment and whether it merits an award or not.
By giving Obama a Nobel prize, the ridiculous Nobel Commitee has reduced the meaning of accomplishment to a joke and made it abundantly apparent to EVERYONE ON THE PLANET.
Who’s next? Kim Jong-il for outstanding achievements in the field of totalitarian Stalinist dictatorship?
hey just watch it! Since Kim’s brilliant performance in Team America as a side-kick I have nothing but the highest regards for him. Kim rules !!
Kim Jung-Il for his continued non-nuking of Japan and South Korea.
Not detonating nuclear devices is peaceful! Right?
Leave the picking of winners to the swedes. (except the peace price, that is decided by the norwegians.) It has worked out great so far. (except for the peace prizes)
As a complete nerd i think only a few really deserved the prize. They should have saved the money in a pot for the next years winner if the best that year sucked.
And without a doubt the most deserving in my oppinion is Heisenberg (ofcourse) and Curie. I dont want to offend, but even Einstein was a halfwit compared to ol Heisy.. Wonder how high he would have scored on an IQ chart?
PS: You dont have a say anyways, virtually noone does, its up to the two nobel groups to decide. And no you cant vote or submit suggestions.
You know, its easy for all of you to knock Obama, except that none of you are black men that have been elected President of the United States. So show a *little* respect. As for Linus, well, its a bit early. While he hasn’t done much to deserve it yet, who knows where Linux will go.
As for intent and identity go, give Linus a break. Edison did science to get rich. Not save the world. Franklin was a man slut banging anything he could get. People are rarely as saintly as we might expect for someone who changed the world.
I wonder how being a black man who reached the President office says anything about the guy. If anything, it says about the society in U.S.A. in general, that it can be, possibly, becoming less driven by prejudice and the importance of the images of those they elect.
Who should care if the guy is black, gay, adulterous or whatever? All that matter is that he should (And I’m not saying Obama is, I don’t have much of a saying in it… I don’t follow US politics that closely.) be competent for the job and treat his authority and power with ethics and integrity for the sake of the population.
All the rest is a society’s stupid hypocrisy.
I said nothing about Obama in my text at all… I was more around the lines, that they gave the prize to people like Yassir Arafat, henry kissinger and alot of others that has done very little in the long term to produce peace or stabillity.
Henry Kissinger is pretty much in the class of Kim Jong Il for those who follow his manipulative record ….
So the fsck what? The US finally got a president that isnt a member of the white old dudes club? Welcome to the rest of the world, we even have women as presidents here.
I like the man but giving him the peace price was a goddamn joke and giving it to Linus would be an even bigger one.
Obama may be black, but there are plenty of white / old men behind him .. And , Obama isnt even an Afro-American ! Hes from KENYA ! Id rather see an Afro-American president with multiple generations of Afro-Americans in his background. Its a deception that Obama is “black”.
Edited 2009-11-22 03:31 UTC
He was born in Hawaii. His parents were from Kenya. Now, Kenya is part of Africa according to geographic studies, so why would that not make him Afro-American?
I did feel that real Afro-Americans have multiple generations of residency in the states ! And descend from the people who were unfortunately taken as slaves long long ago.
But – upon studying the below link, I think I’m half way to change my mind :
http://genealogy.about.com/od/aframertrees/p/barack_obama.htm
After reading that I guess I can agree he might be called of African-American descent. But his mother was “White” / Caucasian ! So, he is really as much white as “black”, but now this is way offtopic …… 😛 Sorry. And Afro-Americans have Afros !!! 😛
I’m pretty sure people in Kenya are black. In fact, they’re probably more black than “afro-americans”.
Award title:
For major contributions fundamental to computer operating system architecture and philosophy.
Andrew Stuart Tanenbaum and Linus Benedict Torvalds.
Just to be fair. Minix and Linux.
Edited 2009-11-21 02:13 UTC
Yes, Richard Stallman has his oddities. He does take a more purist, extreme point of view than most people.
But he was the person who most actively opposed the restriction of software. When developers stopped sharing their source code, RMS was there opposing it (and doing something about it by writing GNU). When Tivo started abusing the GPL’s spirit, RMS made everyone aware of the issue and did what he could. When Microsoft started talking about what they wanted to achieve with TPMs, Richard Stallman warned us of what could be done with this stuff. When DRM rears its ugly head, RMS is willing to don the hazmat suit to raise awareness of the issue.
RMS has a genuine passion for freedom and the use of technology to improve the opportunities given to us. He’s totally uncompromising on his views – he never sells out and I don’t believe he would compromise his position for love or money. Even though it makes him unpopular in some circles.
And it *is* a GNU/Linux system that we use. He could be less vocal in insisting that it be called that… but he’s right.
I often see people posting to various forums saying “Richard Stallman spoke at my school/university today, and it really made me realise how important it is to have Free Software and freedom in computing”.
RMS deserves the Nobel Peace Prize because he has raised awareness of the restrictions we face in our modern lives, that other people tell us to think nothing of. And he will keep raising awareness of computing freedom until the day he dies. He’s raised a small generation of people who ask themselves “What would RMS do?” and act at least partly on that.
Linus? Linus just programs for and maintains the kernel. There’s nothing wrong with that (it’s better than what I do), but it’s not Nobel Peace Prize material.
Honestly, though I think people like stallman are necessary, there’s a very big difference between him and people who, imo, really deserve a peace prize. Pushin for freedom and risking controversy, is just not the same as facing real, tangible torture and death for these claims.
This just demands eons of courage more, sorry, and this is what the NPP should be about.
Stallman would definitively be a better candidate for a peace prize than many others recent laureates..
I think Steve Ballmer deserves the Nobel price more than Linus.
RMS deservers a cold prisson in Guantanamo bay.
Edited 2009-11-21 19:48 UTC
As a casual reader looking for interesting computer news, I find this a waste of time.
This is an OS we are talking about, in the scheme of things in this world, an OS is a millisecond in the life of the planet.
On the other hand, if we were to be objective and think seriously about this, Bill Gates because of his money has done and has had a greater impact in the world than Linus. The other one, RMS, really, it’s a buffoon!
By the way, using the Nobel committee guidelines for giving Obama the Peace Prize(in short they said that he had not done anything worthy yet, but due to his policies and polularity, he might.), nominate me for the chemistry Nobel price because I have the chance of making a great chemistry discovery some time in the future!
You underestimate the importance of an OS in the world today, its important for a free society not to rely on a proprietary software controlled by a special interest group. (Or two , both some might call IT mafiosi). Free software means freedom from economic slavery, and that in combination with widespread knowledge-transmisson, immaterially, and ecofriendly over the networks = peace. Most war is over resources.
Looking at the last years laureates, the Free Software Foundation is as good as any.. I mean , giving a peace prize to the Gore fraud, or someone who has done ZERO for peace, like Obama , has made that prize totally irrelevant to its original purpose. And this comes from a Norwegian who used who be proud of his country..
Since it became a habit to give this Nobel Peace Price to war criminals, criminals against humanity, terrorists, and state-backed terrorists and lastly to a clown that delivered absolutely nothing but words, I don’t have the slightest respect neither for the price committee nor for the price itself.
The Nobel Peace Price has become an insult to the dignity of human kind.
Stallman had planned for GNU operating system for decades. And everything was finished, except for the kernel. Then a teenager from Finland comes and writes a bad kernel, which grows and grows. And the teenager gives the name Linux. With no reference to all previous work from all earlier contributors to GNU. And Linus claims that “someone else named it Linux”. Who believes that? If I had created a piece of software, it is I who decide on the name. If someone else changed the name on MY software I would be mad.
And who gets all credit? Linus. Linux even says that Linux should NOT be called GNU/Linux. Linux suffices, he claims. No cred at all, Linus want all cred himself.
Me, I would be ashame if I were Linus, I would have said “I could not have done it without the GNU people, I have done only a small piece in Stallmans grand plan”. But no such words at all from Linus. NO SUCH WORDS ANYWHERE. “All your creds are belong to Linus T”
As Stallman says: “I am not the one who calls it Stallmanix” refering to Linus hybris to name Linux after himself.
Edited 2009-11-22 12:18 UTC
Linus has stated many times that he has made very little, and that Linux would be nowhere without the help from the FOSS community.
Stop spreading FUD and lies.
Unlike BHO…
i’m sorry, but just because he is pragmatic doesn’t mean he should get a nobel peace prize.
if anything bill gates would get one before linus. bill gates has donated billions of dollars to humanitarian aid, education, cancer and aids research and more. Through the bill and melinda gates foundation.
bill gates hasn’t won the award. and i would vote for him way way way before linus.
Shortly NO. Linus has caused more freetard wars than almost anyone else in freetard community.
It is always nice when people are more peaceful, when they avoid inflammatory language, when they don’t lump groups of people into categories. We need more of that.
Is the Nobel Peace Prize even relevant anymore? It’s been given to Yassir Arafat (a terrorist) and Barak Obama (who’s only accomplishment so far has been not being George Bush), among others. Does it have enough credibility left that we should care who gets it?
-mS