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Linus Moves To OSDL, Will Work On Kernel Full-Time

worldwideweber writes "With the announcement of the release of the 2.5.72 version of the Linux kernel came the news that Linus Torvalds will be leaving Transmeta for OSDL to work on the linux kernel full-time. The email calls this a leave of absence for about one year." Update: 06/17 17:19 GMT by T : As many readers have pointed out, the length of Linus' leave is not actually specified in this email.

49 of 400 comments (clear)

  1. Go, Linus, go... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Will this mean we get kernel releases daily? Like in the old times? Will we have 3.0.0 this xmas? I'm soo exited!!!!

    1. Re:Go, Linus, go... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      What is a kernel? And who is this Linus guy? WINDOWS XP Rocks!

  2. Re:Early post! by Jellybob · · Score: 5, Funny

    My god.

    You actually *paid* for the privelidge of being the idiot who FPs an article?

    You really need to get out more (says the person who's been visiting every five minutes to see this story come out of the future).

  3. Yes, but... by jkrise · · Score: 5, Funny

    Has he got his clearance certificate from SCO?
    Have the Chinese agreed to 'release' him from Transmeta?
    (this last one hurts a bit)...
    while extolling the Linux kernel, we used to say:
    Hey, MS spends $5bn in R&D for a lousy OS. A single chappie named Linus maintains the entire Linux kernel in his spare time! Can't say that any more...

    Anyways, all the best!

    --
    If you keep throwing chairs, one day you'll break windows....
    1. Re:Yes, but... by KingDaveRa · · Score: 4, Funny

      Hey, MS spends $5bn in R&D for a lousy OS. A single chappie named Linus maintains the entire Linux kernel in his spare time! Can't say that any more... Well, now he has all the spare time in the world. Maybe we should get him a part time job, cleaning or something, then he's still not working on the kernel fulltime?

    2. Re:Yes, but... by rampant+mac · · Score: 4, Funny
      "Maybe we should get him a part time job"

      McDonald's is always hiring.

      I mean, if this kid can get a job there, Linus might have a shot...

      --
      I like big butts and I cannot lie.
    3. Re:Yes, but... by JahToasted · · Score: 4, Funny
      Well I happen to use Windows 2000 (to play games mostly) and I can tell you fo a fact that when you install ANY device driver it requires a reboot. I hooked up an external modem and I had to reboot. I hooked up a USB game pad... had to reboot.

      So please explain to me what you mean by hotloading a device driver. Do you mean that you don't have to completely turn the machine off, only reboot? Or maybe you mean it has the capability but it just isn't used? Either way it just doesn't compare with linux where you only need to reboot when you change kernels.

  4. Re:Kernel Mailing List Email by SpaceLifeForm · · Score: 4, Funny

    He's gonna really need a good spam filter now.

    --
    You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.
  5. Again!!! by Spackler · · Score: 5, Funny

    OSDN, The parent of Slashdot, has filed a lawsuit against Linus today for cut-and-pasting the first three letters of OSDN.

    CmdrTaco was quoted and saying "Linus and this Shift-Insert stuff is getting WAY out of control".

    Linus was unavailable to paste in a reply.

    1. Re:Again!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      In the latest development in the OSDN and OSDL. SCO (a leading supplier of litigation to businesses) has threatened to sue both OSDN and OSDL for using the letters 'S' and 'O'.

      Dunce Mcbribe was quoted as saying "The letters 'S' and 'O' are our intellectual property and we believe that they occur in the names of many businesses".

      The world was to busy laughing to reply.

    2. Re:Again!!! by pe1rxq · · Score: 4, Funny

      Just came in:

      Novell has sent a public reaction to SCO that they have used the letter 'O' for years in their name and are certain they didn't sell it to SCO.

      Later today IBM is expected to state that they have a irevokable en perpetual license to use the 'I', 'B' and 'M' letters.

      Further Linus has stated that he holds his parents responsible for cut&pasting the letter 'S' into his name shortly after birth: 'You can't blame me I was like a baby at that time!'

      Jeroen

      --
      Secure messaging: http://quickmsg.vreeken.net/
    3. Re:Again!!! by mickwd · · Score: 4, Funny

      I think you'll find that Linus called his new OS Linux specifically to avoid SCO's letter "S".

      Isn't this man's foresight just incredible ? ;)

    4. Re:Again!!! by jot445 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Also just in, The makers of Sesame Street have been served legal notice to stop using the letters "S" and "O" as sponsors for the show. Film at 11.

      --
      The preceding comment has been reviewed and declared to be compliant with HIPPA Phase II regulations.
  6. Linus career path by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    1. Work on open source projects
    2. No profit
    3. Get jealous; go to .com startup; startup tanks
    4. No profit
    5. Return to open source projects
    6. No profit

  7. Predicted itinerary... by AlphaSys · · Score: 5, Funny

    His itinerary includes a brief stop-over in Utah, during which time he will hunt down Darl McBride and maul his body beyond recognition. His court defense will be temporary sanity and David Boies will merrily defend him to acquittal.

    --
    Can I bum a sig? I left mine at the office.
    1. Re:Predicted itinerary... by kurosawdust · · Score: 3, Funny

      Did anyone else read this and think "eh, that wouldn't be too bad - Linus can probably still work on the kernel in prison"?

  8. "I'm actually all teary-eyed." by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    There's a leak in the Linus kernel, someone please post a patch.

    1. Re:"I'm actually all teary-eyed." by DeadVulcan · · Score: 4, Funny

      There's a leak in the Linus kernel, someone please post a patch.

      Here ya go, mayteee! Arrrr!!

      --
      Accountability on the heads of the powerful.
      Power in the hands of the accountable.
    2. Re:"I'm actually all teary-eyed." by rampant+mac · · Score: 2, Funny
      " There's a leak in the Linus kernel, someone please post a patch."

      Wouldn't that be the Linus Kornea?

      --
      I like big butts and I cannot lie.
  9. Breaking news ... by Surak · · Score: 5, Funny

    Linus Torvalds has very recently stated that spam filtering -- right in the kernel -- is now a slated feature for Linux 2.6.

    1. Re:Breaking news ... by RealityMogul · · Score: 3, Funny

      Why not? MS put IIS in the kernel of 2003. They know what they're doing, right? I mean, they said they really, really made sure it was secure.

  10. Slashdot effect by stephanruby · · Score: 4, Funny

    Now, let's not all sell our Transmetta stock at the same time...

    1. Re:Slashdot effect by Libor+Vanek · · Score: 2, Funny

      That's why /. subscription pays out ;-)

  11. AC career path by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny
    1. Read about open source celebs at /.
    2. No karma.
    3. Get jealous, post flames.
    4. No karma.
    5. Read replies flaming you, start trolling.
    6. No karma.
    7. Try to be funny.
    8. No karma.
  12. Changes by slashd'oh · · Score: 5, Funny

    There's something about these two changes I find amusing. I admit I have no idea what they mean, which is probably why:

    Daniel Ritz:
    o [PCMCIA] fix yenta unload oops

    David S. Miller:
    o [TCP]: Use proper time_*() comparisons on jiffies

    1. Re:Changes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      yenta unload: now with 20% more chutzpah there, goyim

  13. Re:Interesting timing. by capt.Hij · · Score: 5, Funny

    Too true, especially when you look down at the bottom of his email:

    Trond Myklebust:
    o Fix rpc dentry list usage
    o Copy comments from System V file system routines to make it more "unix like."

  14. Shift-Insert - surely "middle click" by DrSkwid · · Score: 1, Funny

    mind you, he might be using an transmeta XP laptop

    --
    There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
  15. OSDL money by lovebyte · · Score: 5, Funny

    From the nytimes article, about OSDL:
    The organization was created with an investment of $20 million from I.B.M., Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Computer Associates, NEC and Fujitsu.

    What no SCO?

    --

    I'll do it for cheesy poofs.

  16. Re:Transmeta, Linus and Marketing... by geesus · · Score: 5, Funny

    Have you SEEN linus? If hes a posterboy then I have a shoe in at beauty contests ;)

    --
    Gnome wasnt built in a day.
  17. The rats are abandoning the sinking ship! by Gnulix · · Score: 5, Funny

    Finally the SCO suit is showing some effect! Linux's leader is abdicating and fleeing the scene. Exactly as the nazis left Germany and took up hiding in South America.

    I guess that this means we can all get back to conducting serious business based on SCO Unix - the bread and butter of many a development company.

    (In 20 years time we'll probably see Torvalds daughter marrying the Swedish king!)

  18. Re:Guy is crazy! by warpSpeed · · Score: 4, Funny
    I'm sure he treats SPAM and patches the same, 90% get dropped.

  19. Changing jobs... by TheShadow · · Score: 5, Funny

    While we are posting stories about people changing jobs...

    Just last week I started a new job after a long and tedious four and a half year tenure at my former job. In this new job I'll finally get to work on things other than fighting fires. I'm very excited. Just thought everyone would like to know.

    --

    --
    "What do you want me to do? Whack a guy? Off a guy? Whack off a guy? Cause I'm married."
    1. Re:Changing jobs... by d3kk · · Score: 2, Funny

      Or a professional Slashdot moderator?

  20. Sue SCO by gspr · · Score: 2, Funny

    He should just sue SCO and live off the money... relaxing in a fabulous villa, doing a bit of kernel coding every now and then ;-)

    1. Re:Sue SCO by bindaaas · · Score: 2, Funny

      Recently a new word was added in English Dictionary... and that is 'SCO' which replaces the old word "SCREW".
      Usage: SCO you (read "Screw you")

      --
      bin
      look siG is kool
  21. When your job changes are... by doppleganger871 · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...posted on Slashdot, you ARE the alpha geek.

    That is all.

  22. Re:Guy is crazy! by 4of12 · · Score: 2, Funny

    notice that his "old" address is properly obscured, but the "new" one is not.

    What?

    You mean I'm not supposed to "remove the animal" from Linus' email address?

    Damn.

    No wonder my patches weren't getting through to him.

    --
    "Provided by the management for your protection."
  23. Wired article by OS390 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I was reading wired and they were talking about how after people leave their jobs after being interviewed in Wired. Barry Diller left Vivendi right after he was interviewed, and some other that I can remember because I left the issue at home. This was in the letters to the editor section for anyone that has a copy. One of the editors guessed that since Linus was getting interviewed in this months article, he was going to leave. He said something to the point of " anyone looking for a decent Unix programmer" in reference to Linus. Somebody should have the damn article.

  24. Re:Linus: so thoughtful, human, and down to earth. by wsapplegate · · Score: 2, Funny

    Â You're just like a friend of mine who [...] has this bullish tactic of telling everyone "Linux is never going mainstream, deal with it. The money is in Windows." Â

    And he's still your friend ? :-)

    --
    Xenu brings order!
  25. Cmdr Taco to take leave of absence by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Newswire:
    Cmdr Taco is taking an extended four-year leave of absence from Slashdot and will be going to the University of Michigan to learn Journalism. He'll also be taking courses in reality, spelling, housekeeping, grammar, shopping, ethics, marital skills and parenting, just in case he ever grows up, in which case he'll need minimal competency in all of these areas of human interaction.

  26. Re:This comes at a surprising time... by kin_korn_karn · · Score: 3, Funny

    A major rewrite is rumored to be in store for linux to give us some features that other OS's only dream of.

    YES!! Finally!! BASIC at the command prompt!

  27. Re:Transmeta, Linus and Marketing... by kurosawdust · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hey it could be worse - ESR looks like he was born when God was going through his "cubist" phase.

  28. Things I imagine "OSDL" might stand for by robson · · Score: 4, Funny

    Since I'm ignorant enough not to know what OSDL stands for, and lazy enough that I don't feel like searching for it, I'm just going to make something up. Here are my top 5 so far:

    1. Open Source Developer Land
    2. Oprah's Singular Dance Legends
    3. Oops, Stallman Dissed Linus
    4. O'Reilly Still Dignifies Linux
    5. Official Simpsons Disco Library

    (I suspect I'm on to something with #2...)

    1. Re:Things I imagine "OSDL" might stand for by mcd7756 · · Score: 2, Funny

      #6. Only SCO Disses Linux.

      --
      Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them? --Abraham Lincoln
  29. Re:Transmeta sued by SCO? Why? by hesiod · · Score: 5, Funny

    > There's not a single chance for SCO to sue them.

    Not having a good case hasn't stopped them before...

  30. Re:Linus: so thoughtful, human, and down to earth. by Anthony+Boyd · · Score: 3, Funny
    HURD is really an amazing system, and actually seems to work decently well these days (actually, I haven't used it in 3 years, but it was starting to stabilize then).

    Wow. Even the HURD fanboys haven't run it in 3 years.

  31. Re:Linus: so thoughtful, human, and down to earth. by scrytch · · Score: 2, Funny

    Time to brush up on your Ayn Rand and your ESR. Most open-source developers (including me) couldn't care less about "the benefit of everyone on earth", "the common good", or any of those other throwaway commie bromides.

    I love it. You even used the word bromide. Let's see if we can't work the phrase "angular planes of his face" into there too...

    --
    I've finally had it: until slashdot gets article moderation, I am not coming back.
  32. Re:Linus: so thoughtful, human, and down to earth. by nathanh · · Score: 3, Funny
    This is a troll, but I'll bite. You're just like a friend of mine who does IT knows nothing but Microsoft Windows as a platform. He just has this bullish tactic of telling everyone "Linux is never going mainstream, deal with it. The money is in Windows." It's not about making money, it's about making things better.

    The *real* money is in selling drugs. Tell your friend that if he's going to pimp himself out for money then he should at least do it properly.