Me trying to make a business around Linux would have been a total disaster.
In open source, we feel strongly that to really do something well, you have to get a lot of people involved.
Bad programmers worry about the code. Good programmers worry about data structures and their relationships.
When you say ‘I wrote a program that crashed Windows,’ people just stare at you blankly and say ‘Hey, I got those with the system, for free.’
One of the reasons I like open source is that it allows people to work on the parts they are good at, and I don’t mean just on a technical level; some people are into the whole selling and support, and that’s just not me.
I don’t think commercialization is the answer to anything. It’s just one more facet of Linux, and not the deciding one by any means.
Part of doing Linux was that I had to communicate a lot more instead of just being a geek in front of a computer.
There are lots of Linux users who don’t care how the kernel works, but only want to use it. That is a tribute to how good Linux is.
In my opinion MS is a lot better at making money than it is at making good operating systems.
All operating systems suck, but Linux just sucks less.
I will, in fact, claim that the difference between a bad programmer and a good one is whether he considers his code or his data structures more important. Bad programmers worry about the code. Good programmers worry about data structures and their relationships.
I made very sure that I did not get involved with any of the commercial Linux companies, exactly so that I would be neutral and not ever seen as “working for the competition”.
Excusing bad programming is a shooting offence, no matter what the circumstances.
The correct form factor for a laptop is obviously 12" and 2 lbs, and I don’t understand why everybody gets that wrong.
My name is Linus, and I am your God.
I’m simply too content doing what I want to do to really have a very negative attitude towards MicroSoft. They make bad products – so what? I don’t need to care, because I happily don’t have to use them, and writing my own alternative has been a very gratifying experience in many ways.
Every time I see some piece of medical research saying that caffeine is good for you, I high-five myself. Because I’m going to live forever.
With software, you really can replicate and do a lot of very real and active development in parallel, and actually try it out and see what works.
Shareware tends to combine the worst of commercial software with the worst of free software.
I get the biggest enjoyment from the random and unexpected places. Linux on cellphones or refrigerators, just because it’s so not what I envisioned it. Or on supercomputers.