Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Interview with Linus Torvalds from NYT Magazine

Posted by michael on from the geeks-need-dates dept.

aelfric35 writes "David Diamond drills Linus on topics from filesharing (sharing is good) to SCO (trying to claim paternity on his child) to his rivalry with Bill Gates (doesn't care enough to be a nemesis) in next week's New York Times Magazine."

4 of 368 comments (clear)

  1. Funny by KrispyKringle · · Score: 5, Interesting
    He's not stupid, but he really does come across as only interested in the technology. He admits it, of course, and far be it for me to hold that against someone. But it strikes me as funny that someone who really seems to be limited, by choice, to the technology, would be looked to as a ideological leader, as well.

    This isn't criticism. But I think to some degree, there are those who are ideological leaders--Lessig springs to mind; his philosophical and legal insight is incredible--and there are technological visionaries. But the two aren't necessarily the same.

  2. Linus is cool - Linux users aren't by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Linus is really cool. He is just a geek engineer interested in technology. This is _good news_.

    However, I read over here that peolpe don't want to believe that Linus is only interested in the technology! They WANT to see only what they want to see: A HERO who will take down MS.

    Linus is not that. He is an engineer. But people just want their hero... and then they get dissapointed when Linus adds bitkeeper or adds DRM to the kernel. Because these Linux users only see what they want to see.

    1. Re:Linus is cool - Linux users aren't by SaXisT4LiF · · Score: 5, Interesting

      But people just want their hero... and then they get dissapointed when Linus adds bitkeeper or adds DRM to the kernel. Because these Linux users only see what they want to see.

      Possibly flamebait, but whatever...

      I'm sorry, but the only thing linux users want to see is the source. If bitkeeper or DRM gets added to the kernel, it's completely within your right under the GPL to go into the source and remove it. That's the beauty of open source development.

      People use Linux because (A) it works and (B) it gives them the assurance that if they want to change the way their system works they can.

      End of line

      --
      Fight or flight its all the same
      Live to die another day
      --Ryan
  3. Re:Look Man by TheOldFart · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Ha! I guess if nothing else, this is a field I AM an expert on. My name above is what it is for a reason. See... I still have the drive, I still work long hours all night long but I do it because this is what keeps me going. I have no problems working with young engineers. They are mostly enthusiastic and that is mutually contagious. I have a special disdain for the marketing types who come and go like flies over a pile of shit. Those who don't have a clue what we produce but are responsible for selling it, transforming all you do into "numbers Wall Street will like" (completely disregarding the merits or what the people who will ultimately buy it want).

    My love for technology is an alternative to how I see the world. A world no different than any other point in time. People still kill people because of religion and greed. What's the difference between the Taliban and those radicals Christian coalition types? In other words, I see the world as mostly utterly fucked with very few exceptions. When we specialize in certain aspects of science, we focus our attention into a different world away from the ugly reality out there.

    Linus is an ideological leader no matter how you look at it. Even if he doesn't think that way or want it, he has no choice. In a funny way it reminds me of "Life of Brian". I can see him waking up one morning and opening the windows naked to a crowd of crazed followers clamoring for his words.

    The problem with this crowd or any other is that there will always be those who want to use it for their own agendas and end up tainting the whole thing in the process (see "Fucked up world with exceptions" above).

    What is even funnier is that we, more than any other group on the planet, control every aspect of everyone's life. The power we have as a group is greater than anything else. Nonetheless, we have no cohesion or goals. Just happy little shits doing whatever they tell us... A hear a lot of complain about jobs going out to India for instance. A recent interview with Scott McNeally was quite open (and extremely insulting in the process) about it. But what do we, as a group do? Sit with our collective thumbs stuck up our collective asses.

    Blah... I'm mumbling...