Linus Interviewed

a9db0 writes "There is a somewhat low-content interview with Linus here in the Seattle Times about his move to Portland. It does have a couple of Linus classic one-liners."

But, how do you really feel?

[erick99]

He doesn't beat around the bush about Microsoft.

I don't think the lawsuits have necessarily made a huge direct difference, but I do think that it has made a lot more people realize that maybe Microsoft wasn't the "American Dream" after all, but just another greedy company that might be better off with some competition. And that probably has opened a few doors.

I think Microsoft has a PR problem. Largely deservedly, I would say.

Re:Proneenciation?

[Anonymous Coward]

It's just based on how you pronouce the name "Linus" by default.

I doubt it.

I think most Americans (incuding myself) pronounce Linus the "Peanuts" way. "L[eye]nus"

But most Americans tend to pronounce Linux with the soft english "i" as in "in".

Though discussion about proper Linux pronounciation is rendered moot by his own stance that he doesn't give a shit how anyone pronounces it.

Re:Highlights

[GoofyBoy]

The American Dream is for me and my childern to have a better life.

I wouldn't go as far as to say that it includes other people. Do you dream of what some guy across the city childern future is?

To say that everyone should have a better future isn't the American Dream, its more, IMHO, of the Communist Dream.

Minnesota

[SuperQ]

Being from Finland, Linus would be very at home in Minnesota, the land and trees (yes.. wood, finland's major national resouce) are very much alike. There are a lot of fins here as well, many who still speak Finnish (although Linus is a sweed-fin)

Having visited Finland for a couple weeks in January, (including a trip up to lapland), their winters are somewhat more mild than Minnesota. The temperature in Pello was about 2C higher than MN at the time.. Pello is about 30km north of the arctic circle if I remember correctly. Minneapolis is about as far north as Paris is.

Re:Sounds like a great guy!

[Fallen Andy]

Yep. But, you see, he never realised what a hurricane he'd unleashed on the world. It was just
a guy (like any one of us) trying to solve a problem. Just that he was at exactly the right point
in history and spatially to start that hurricane.

Linus as a butterfly. I sort of like that.

Re:But, how do you really feel?

[Anonymous Coward]

Econ101 only teaches you about the old world. It doesnt take into account goods that can be reproduced with no cost.

Re:Highlights

[gnuman99]

I wouldn't go as far as to say that it includes other people. Do you dream of what some guy across the city childern future is? To say that everyone should have a better future isn't the American Dream, its more, IMHO, of the Communist Dream.

I see. So when someone will outsource your job, maybe it is not a bad thing after all. It is just someone else's "American Dream".

I guess this sheds some light why US is swimming in debt while Bush shrugs it off as "unimportant". He seems to be living the same "American Dream". Too bad US is literaly going bankrupt. I hope parent is out of debt when the interest rates go sky-high and inflation is more than 20%. On second thought, maybe I'll take parent's advice and don't!

Of course, American's are perplexed why US is generally the most hated country in the world. With this type of "American Dream"... LOL.

Re:But, how do you really feel?

[bitwiseNomad]

Econ101 only teaches you about the old world. It doesnt take into account goods that can be reproduced with no cost.

Actually, the theories taught in economics are fairly timeless. If an assumption is made about a certain good or set of goods (i.e. scarcity is automatically enforced by the sheer physical number of said product), that does not mean the entire theory falls apart if you take away that assumption. All it means is that you have to figure out the rammifications of said assumption and change your model accordingly.

I might also add that what is happening with software and music piracy right now does not contradict long-standing economic models. Any economist worth their salt would be able to think critically about such markets without being tied to certain assumptions about the scarcity of goods that the "old world" may still cling to.

That sort of thinking is one of the goals of a scientist's education.

Re:Highlights

[thepoch]

I rather like the little chorus of a song I've heard that goes:

"Life should be fun for everyone"

In that short phrase, it displays the freedom and enjoyment of life that everyone deserves. I believe that is what humanity must strive for.

Some will say "life shouldn't be fun for everyone", but I ask "why not?". Some will say "what about the rapists that enjoy raping women", I say "well then if women were raped, they wouldn't be enjoying life now, would they?".

It's kinda hard to explain. Some believe that freedom means you can do anything. Most knowledgable people will say freedom is about doing things to the limit that you won't harm the freedom of others. That's similar to saying everyone should have a better future. Everyone having a better future is in the interest of everyone. Imagine a criminal who no longer has to commit crimes because his life is already better. Wouldn't that make your children's life better as well, not having to worry about crime anymore?

Saying you only want a better life for your children, family, is a Selfish Dream. Saying you want a better future for everyone in the world is, in my honest opinion, the Human Dream.

I'm a part of the Human Race, what are you a part of?

At previewing, I seem to have rambled and have become Off Topic to the original article. Oh well...

Peace.

Me and My, is to You and Yours

[tentimestwenty]

The American dream might not explicitly be about people other than you and your children having a better future but it doesn't take much to see that to have a better future yourself, you have to make sure that everyone has the same chance as you. Otherwise, the dream would just lead to class war, and destruction of society and the environment... oh wait... Well, something to think about.

some time between 95-97 I got the best bitch slap

[adaminnj]

I can't remember exactly but some time between 95 and 97 I was installing Linux and I was a true newbie to *nix back then. I had some major prob with the install and I wrought Linus a rather scathing Email. A few weeks later I got the best bitch slap of my life.

I wish I saved that Email is was so elegant and worded so perfectly that I became a Linux / Linus Zealot (it was not a nice responce from Linus).

This interview just reminds me that I need to be more Linus like in my day to day life (I'm a bit hot tempered) and really think when I talk, or act Email, or post to /..

Re:Election 2004

[XpirateX]

A funny thing to note on the "Get The Facts" website: The alt-tag on the top right image reads "Get a free Windows vs Linus evaluation kit".
I'm wondering if Linus (maybe with an abacus?) can outperform a Windows Server 2003 with flux capaciter with multifluxing.

Re:Highlights

[node 3]

The American Dream is for me and my childern to have a better life.

That's part of it, sure.

I wouldn't go as far as to say that it includes other people. Do you dream of what some guy across the city childern future is?

Absolutely. Anyone who doesn't is a psychopathic asshole.

To say that everyone should have a better future isn't the American Dream, its more, IMHO, of the Communist Dream.

The Communist Dream is to tell the people that they are working for a better tomorrow for everyone, but instead are working to give more and more power to the party leaders. The corollary is to want to be a Party leader.

In fact, that's not so terribly different from the current scheme in America except that the corporation is the "Party".

What if...

[ed1park]

Linus died? What would happen to kernel development? Who would take over? Has this ever been considered?

Re:What if...

[Soko]

The success of Linux has a lot to do with Linus Torvalds absolute lack of pride, except when it came to the code in his kernel tree. No pride, except where others have - by thier own opinions and devices - granted him authority.

Linus has never attempted to exert authority over anything related to Linux except the code tree that he maintains. Dammit, he is even willing to listen to others when it comes to that.

IOW, he has lead by example, never by coersion or force. He has made tough choices (the VM wars is an example) and recanted when necessary. He has settled flame wars, turned his back on very powerful alies (namely, IB-fucking-M, in the aforementioned VM wars), and still had the humilty to change his mind - when presented compelling evidence why he should change his mind - and continue on like he was right all along to listen to others.

That suspiciously smakcs of democracy. That, IMVHO, is someone to look up to.

I pray that God continues to be with him.

Soko

The Karma of it all...

[syylk]

Linux has been named after Linus Torvalds.

Linus Torvalds has been named after Linus Carl Pauling.

Now, besides pronunciation issues (you should ask Pauling's family how they called their late wonderboy!), it's enlightening to observe:

Linus Carl Pauling (LCP) is the only man who won two Nobel prizes in two totally unrelated fields: chemistry (1954 - discoveries on chemical bond's nature) and peace (1962 - battle to ban nuclear experiments). He also won the Lenin prize and the Gandhi prize.

LCP died in San Francisco in 1994. The same year Linus released Linux 1.0.

LCP directed (since 1936) the "Gates and Crellin" labs, in Pasadena, CA. Not too distant from where Linus first went working in US (Transmeta). And the name of the labs... Ah, the irony.

LCP was born in... yep, you got that... Portland, OR, 1901. Where our kernel benevolent dictator lives right now.

Isn't Karma doing wonders? :)

Re:Wow, good job for american propoganda machine

[johansalk]

"Communism", the way you define it, where everyone has equal right of access to essential resources that meet their basic needs, such as food, shelter, healthcare, and so on, is working extremely well in Scandanavia. Look at the Scandanavians, for the most part they're healthy, happy, very prosperous and peaceful nations. The quality of living there is probably the highest in the world. Linus comes from Finland, the first nation whose economy was declared relatively more internationally competitive than the USA after very many years of the US topping the list. If you're an american you probably only know of communism as stalinism, where you assasinate all your opposition and a few notable economists too. Your view of communism was probably formulated by the public speeches of Nixon, Kessinger and Reagan. Linus knows better; he lived under propserous socialims.

Re:Highlights

[dalutong]

I didn't say that everyone gets paid the same. But at whatever socio-economic level you are you get to work as hard as you want and get paid for that effort.

In many parts of the world you can't do that. Either you can't (as in aren't allowed to) get a second job or you get paid just as much as the next guy who doesn't work nearly as hard.

I'm not saying it's a perfect system. All I'm saying is that I've found many people who are envious of and appreciative of the opportunity to have a fairly direct relationship between how hard you work and what you get paid.

Re:Wow, good job for american propoganda machine

[ThJ]

I'm from Norway. He probably left because he wanted to see America. I mean, we get pumped with americanisms all the time over here, so after hearing about America all your life, you kind of want to see it sometime. Include the fact that none of the Scandinavian countries have a population of more than about 8 million (i.e. Sweden). Norway has 5 million. Iceland has a few hundred thousand citizens. There isn't much big industry going on, and there aren't too many software houses either. Everything works on a smaller scale. The biggest city in Norway is Oslo, our capitol, with 800 000 citizens. I think maybe Linus likes to be where he's needed the most, and with Americas rather large IT industry, many probably want him nearby there. I envy Finland because of Nokia and Sweden because of Ericsson. Norway barely has an electronics industry. We're kind of dull. We invented the GSM system and then sold it. I wish people in Norway would be more interested in innovation.

Re:Highlights

[Narchie Troll]

"This, with God's help, and legal protection of my interests, and government management and upkeep of the commercial infrastructure, and skilled laborers educated in public schools, and protection from disease through public sanitation, I have done."

Fixed Dean Alfange's typo.