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Torvalds Switches to a Mac

renai42 writes "Linux creator Linus Torvalds said this afternoon that he's now running an Apple Macintosh as his main desktop, mainly for work reasons, although partly simply because he's a self-described "technology whore" and got the machine for free." And yes, he is running Linux on it ;)

38 of 1,024 comments (clear)

  1. Big Deal by tsmithnj · · Score: 5, Funny

    My carpenter switched from a 15" hammer to a 16" hammer. It's just a tool fer Chrissakes....

    1. Re:Big Deal by Stevyn · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yeah, but to people here, it's like Jesus was that carpenter switching from a 15" hammer to a 16" hammer. I don't think this is particularly newsworthy. If I got a free Mac one day, I'd sure as hell use it.

  2. Hey by Lostie · · Score: 5, Funny

    It should be pointed out that he is certainly not using Mac OSX - but Linux's PPC port (of course). Don't worry - *BSD is still dying. ;-)

  3. Have you ever heard about... by kunwon1 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Rats who jump from sinking ships, because somehow, they just instinctively KNOW that it's sinking?









    Just kidding. For GODS SAKE I was just kidding. I swear.

    --
    Specialization is for insects. -Heinlein
    1. Re:Have you ever heard about... by Phisbut · · Score: 2, Funny
      Have you ever heard about rats who jump from sinking ships, because somehow, they just instinctively KNOW that it's sinking?

      Yeah... the kind of rats that say "Damn, the ship is sinking and we're all gonna die if we stay here. Let's jump ship and drown before it sinks!"

      --
      After 3 days without programming, life becomes meaningless
      - The Tao of Programming
  4. TRAITOR by Yonkeltron · · Score: 2, Funny

    First Bitkeeper and now this.....

    That's it...I'm switching to HURD!

    --
    Keep the faith, share the code
  5. Re:So what. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yes, but does the spell checker work?

  6. Re:He has been posting from torvalds@ppc970.osdl.o by mirko · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yes, this might reduce the G5 costs :)

    --
    Trolling using another account since 2005.
  7. Re:What's the date? by tehshen · · Score: 3, Funny

    If you submit it again, we will ;)

    --
    Guy asked me for a quarter for a cup of coffee. So I bit him.
  8. Yea but... by mp3phish · · Score: 3, Funny

    You aren't LINUX TORVALDS!!!!! So it doesn't matter :)

    --
    Your ignorance is infinitely greater than you realize.
    1. Re:Yea but... by Tony+Hoyle · · Score: 5, Funny

      Who is this 'Linux Torvalds'?

      Is he any relation to Linus?

    2. Re:Yea but... by pentalive · · Score: 2, Funny

      Linus's Son.

  9. Linus, what kind of bagel did you have today? by gelfling · · Score: 4, Funny

    Concerned geeks need to know.

  10. He says its because by gov_coder · · Score: 2, Funny

    he wants to test linux on PPC.

    But I have it on good authority that he was convinced by this.

    I just hope he doesn't move to Iceland.

    --
    Rob Enderle's excellent new book: Everything I needed to know about Computer Science I learned in Marketing School
  11. oblig Torvalds quote by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    "The memory management on the PowerPC can be used to frighten small children."

  12. Re:He already stated this by NoData · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yeah right. You know that, late at night, when all the other coders have gone home, after the custodian has come by his office...he peeks out of his office to make sure the coast is clear...draws the blinds, locks the door...and he's dual booting, man, he's dual booting so hard. And it's wrong, but it feels so right.

  13. In other news... by Rude+Turnip · · Score: 2, Funny

    Bill Gates just bought a PS2. MSFT shares have plummetted!

  14. Re:Heretic! by DenDave · · Score: 2, Funny

    I would help you but I am in line for a MiniMac...

    --
    -if at first you don't succeed, stay the heck away from paragliding.
  15. Tragic little story by Panaflex · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm writing to share a tragic little story.

    I have a PC that my sister and I used to use for our operating system development. One night, I was writing a new memory manager on it, when all of a sudden it went berserk, the screen started flashing, and the whole VI session just disappeared. All of it. And it was a good memory manager! I had to cram and rewrite it really quickly. Needless to say, my rushed memory manager wasn't nearly as good, and I blame that PC for the crap I got.

    I'm happy to report that my sister and I now share an Apple Dual G5 that we got for free! It's a lot nicer to work on than my old PC was, it hasn't let me down once, and my memory managers have all been really good.

    Thanks, Apple.

    Linux Thorvalds

    --
    I said no... but I missed and it came out yes.
    1. Re:Tragic little story by DLWormwood · · Score: 2, Funny
      One night, I was writing a new memory manager on it, when all of a sudden it went berserk, the screen started flashing, and the whole VI session just disappeared. All of it.

      You forgot the "beep beep beep beep" noises...

      (For the record, I'm a OS X user, but even I though that one ad really hurt Apple's campaign.)

      --
      Those who complain about affect & effect on /. should be disemvoweled
  16. Technology whore, eh? by Brento · · Score: 3, Funny

    Somebody ship this man a free Windows PocketPC phone and see whether he's a high-class technology escort, or a low-down crack technology whore.

    --
    What's your damage, Heather?
  17. Jumped the gun! by Cyn · · Score: 2, Funny

    He could have just started using CherryOS for his testing! I hear it's really great - and the main developer is brilliant, he churned it all out himself in just four months!

    --
    cyn, free software and *nix operating systems enthusiast.
  18. Re:OK, cut to the chase by aventius · · Score: 2, Funny

    he's using a 36 button, 12 sided mouse for all those extra necessary functions like cd, rm, ls, etc... on the command line.

    --
    [insert lame joke here]
  19. Re:Just hardware, no apple OS. by dannywalk · · Score: 2, Funny

    In fact, the Linux desktop has a lot of advantages over WinXP and OS X, although they do have a polish advantage.
    Ah yes, the Polish Advantage. Developed in Warsaw I guess...

    --
    Man Needs God Like Birds Need Helicopters
  20. Re:I agree with Linus by DenDave · · Score: 2, Funny

    It's not a mac? Oh.. okay its a "computer formerly known as a mac".. anyone got one of those Prince -like logos for the casing sticker?

    --
    -if at first you don't succeed, stay the heck away from paragliding.
  21. Re:OK, cut to the chase by easter1916 · · Score: 4, Funny

    A Beowulf cluster of four Logitech MX900 Bluetooth mice, one for each limb.

  22. Re:Just hardware, no apple OS. by Cerv · · Score: 2, Funny

    You must be new here.

    --
    sig
  23. Re:Just hardware, no apple OS. by buysse · · Score: 2, Funny

    See? You forgot Poland.

    --
    -30-
  24. all these comments and by advocate_one · · Score: 2, Funny

    no-ones asked the obvious yet... Gnome or KDE...


    runs for cover...

    --
    Donald 'Duck' Dunn: We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline.
  25. OS Upgrades by Vince · · Score: 2, Funny

    Apple would sure miss the $100+ you pay every year and a half to upgrade OS X.

  26. Re:He already stated this by Space+Coyote · · Score: 3, Funny

    There's no way I can believe that Linus hasn't sat and repeatedly pressed the Exposé key while drooling like the rest of us when we first get our Macs.

    --
    ___
    Cogito cogito, ergo cogito sum.
  27. Re:Just hardware, no apple OS. by Leo+McGarry · · Score: 2, Funny

    If you buy a Mac and ditch OSX in favor of Linux, they have still made a sale of exactly the same value.

    That's not right.

    If you buy a Mac, Apple has made a hardware sale, yes, but that's not all. They've also created a customer for other Apple and third-party products. If you buy a Mac, you're instantly in the market for Final Cut Express, for instance. You may or may not buy it, but you're in the market. Same with all other Mac applications.

    Not to mention the fact that you also become a customer for future releases of Mac OS X. The vast majority of Mac users choose to upgrade their computers every year or two with a new release of Mac OS X. (The reason, of course, is because every release of Mac OS X to date, up to and including Tiger, has been light-years ahead of the previous release.)

    But if you buy a Mac and then strip off the operating system, leaving the computer as just a bare piece of metal on which you can run home-brewed hobby kernels or whatever, then you're not an Apple customer any more. You're just another PC user who happens to have written Apple a check for $X,000.

    If a bunch of Mac buyers started running Linux on their computers, Apple would be apoplectic, and would respond by kicking their software group into gear and releasing an operating system that puts Linux to shame in every respect.

    Come to think of it, this seems already to have happened.

  28. Re:Who gave it to him? by geoffspear · · Score: 2, Funny

    How does Linus using Apple hardware create publicity for MAC addresses? Even PC users with Ethernet use them.

    --
    Don't blame me; I'm never given mod points.
  29. "Switch - Share Your Story" :D by dduck · · Score: 4, Funny
    Can't wait to see his story posted at the Apple "Switch - Share Your Story" page :D

    Tell us your story
    "Well, I found the need for a dual CPU big-endian computer with 64 bit addressing on which to test patches for the Linux kernel, so I got this Power Mac G5, wiped OS-X..."

  30. A free Mac? by zerojoker · · Score: 2, Funny

    I bet he signed up to those "Get your free Mac Mini" and "Get your free ipod" campaign. I always thought that this was a scam, but now...

  31. Re:Just hardware, no apple OS. by throughthewire · · Score: 4, Funny
    What a truly ignorant statement.

    After someone tells you a punchline, do you usually ask, "And then what happened?"

    Microkernels are more stable than macro's (theoretically) but come at the cost of speed.

    Yeah, yeah - micro, macro, CISC, RISC, this here achitecture is the best evar for everything.

    Also the speed difference is less and less of an issue today.

    Mmmm. You like bloatware, too, don't you?

  32. What a ringing endorsement! by Pinback · · Score: 2, Funny

    The Apple Powermac Dual G5: worth running Linux on if the hardware is free.

    Q:Why do smart people buy powermacs?
    A:To install Linux on.

    Q:What version of OS X are you running?
    A: 2.6.11.

    First it was MOL, now its LOA.

  33. It's like if he bought a Mercedes by melted · · Score: 4, Funny

    Then ripped out all the leather, wood trimmings, chrome plated parts, etc. and replaced it all with treadplate stainless steel. Seats would be covered with sandpaper, and there would be no steering wheel. Real men don't need steering wheels anyway, they can drive from the console.