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CNN Sits Down With Linus Torvalds
just_another_sean writes "Calling him 'reclusive' and the 'leader of the Open Source Revolution' CNN has an interview with Linus Torvalds. From the article: "I actually only work with a few handfuls so I tend to directly interact with maybe 10 - 20 people and they in turn interact with other people. So depending on how you count, if you count just the core people, 20 -50 people. If you count everybody who's involved; five thousand people -- and you can really put the number anywhere in between... Almost, pretty much all, real work is done over e-mail so it doesn't matter where people are."
Travelling all over the world, I wish I was a hermit!
He is just working on Linux kernel, there are thousands of other open source projects. I wouldn't call him OSS leader :)
Pixel image editor - http://www.kanzelsberger.com
That's kinda odd that it would take them so long to interview Linus. How long after Microsoft made it's day did they interview Bill? or Steve? It is definately due, and kudos to Linus!
Zhrodague.net - I do projects and stuff too.
Seeking or preferring seclusion or isolation.
Does this describe Linus?
Linus looks more and more like a penguin as he gets older?
Stallman: I'm going to f***ing kill CNN. It's GNU/Linux damn it!
*Chair goes flying across room*
All it takes to throw the entire open source revolution into chaos and disarray is one well aimed chair-throw.
try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
The maddening crowd seems to be too intellectually limited to understand that their need for heroes, saints and sinners is about as interesting as reading a popularization of a first year anthropology text book.
Not to mention the hours lost mugging for CNN that could have been spent productively.
just my loose change
"Academicians are more likely to share each other's toothbrush than each other's nomenclature."
Cohen
Seems like he would be a perfect candidate
Mr. Stallman is gonna be pissed. Is this really the only leader they could find?
Bas.
The revolution is called Open Source. And its leader? Linus Torvalds
RMS rolls in his... beard.
I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of killer sig, which this margin is too narrow to contain.
...how many degrees is he from Kevin Bacon?
KLS: I understand, but let's say your mom or my mom, they're surfing the Internet but maybe they're not surfing with Firefox just yet or they don't really know what Linux is just yet.
This went unchallenged... you would have thought that she would be one of the first people to know about linux (even if she never will understand it and proabably still needs him to install a printer - as all mothers do)
*''I can't believe it's not a hyperlink.''
Get on a treadmill, Linus! You're getting seriously fat. As in, unhealthy levels of fat. We all understand the growth of girth in one's thirties (happens to us all). The only solution is daily exercise. Do it! Personal health is more important than Linux.
Linus needs to learn a few marketing lessons from Steve Jobs. Apple seems to be slowly and surely becoming the home base for open source and cutting edge development and is moving out to dominate the "gadgets" market. Linux needs to play catch up and Linus needs to get out and about more often.
it's GNU/reclusive
I believe the proper term would be "icon."
Developers: We can use your help.
Sounds like it to me:
To where science took this whole notion of developing ideas in the open and improving on other peoples' ideas and making it into what science is today, and the incredible advances that we have had. And I compare that to witchcraft and alchemy, where openness was something you didn't do.
Zing!
But... does he run Linux?
(Sorry, someone had to say it.)
Developers: We can use your help.
For example I long ago decided I will never go to meetings again because I think face to face meetings are the biggest waste of time you can ever have.
Amen to that.
"Normally I am not recognized, people don't throw their panties at me."
Nice to know he thinks like the rest of us guys.
Holy s-, it's Jesus!
People who don't know who Linus is don't belong on Slashdot.
Do I sense a bit of disappointment here, a Freudian slip perhaps?
All in all, not a bad interview. Good insight into why he does what he does.
Talking about a t-shirt which showed Linus as a sword-wielding leader:
"It's ironic," says Stallman mournfully. "Picking up that sword is exactly what Linus refuses to do. He gets everybody focusing on him as the symbol of the movement, and then he won't fight. What good is it?"
From Chapter 13 of the biography of Stallman.
Please help publicise swpat.org - the software patents wiki
Imagine a Beowulf Cluster of Linus Torvaldses!
General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
LT: Absolutely. There was a bit of bragging, there was also a bit of, hey, I still, the way I do my work is I sit these days downstairs in my basement alone. And it's nice to just talk to people and a lot of it was probably just social, just saying, hey this is a way to interact with other geeks who are probably also socially inadequate in many ways.
Pretty good insight - it's a way for geeks to socialize other than Star Trek conventions!
(Ducks)
On science and software development:
LT: We shouldn't give credit to Linux per se. There were open source projects and free software before Linux was there. Linux in many ways is one of the more visible and one of the bigger technical projects in this area and it changed how people looked at it because Linux took both the practical and ideological approach. At the same time I don't think this whole "openness" notion is new. In fact I often compare open source to science. To where science took this whole notion of developing ideas in the open and improving on other peoples' ideas and making it into what science is today, and the incredible advances that we have had. And I compare that to witchcraft and alchemy, where openness was something you didn't do. So openness is not something new, it is something that actually has worked for a long time.
Great comparison between open software and science, both of which a lot of people don't get.
On the uselessness of meetings:
KLS: So the face to face thing is a little bit overrated?
LT: I think so. For example I long ago decided I will never go to meetings again because I think face to face meetings are the biggest waste of time you can ever have. I think most people who work at offices must share my opinion on meetings. Nothing ever gets done. When things get done, you usually have someone come into your office to talk about it. But a lot of the time the real work gets done by people sitting, especially in programming, alone in front of their computers doing what they do best.
Dilbert freed from the pointy-haired boss type - Pretty cool. Interesting interview, I may and try and watch it rather than read it.
This is the most pathetic attempt at karma whoring I've ever seen. For those who can't follow the parent post because it contains big words, I offer the following guide (mod me up!):
for
people
who
Ah, screw it.
TFA is not worth reading. Linus - the reclusive leader of open source? Yeah, right. I would think that CNN would do at least some kind of research before interviewing him.
What's your number? If I can't copy/paste it into Ekiga, I won't call you.
reclusive (adj): Not having a publicist lobbying to get onto CNN.
If by "dominate the gadgets market" you mean selling lots of iPods, maybe you are right. But "home base for open source"? The Apple operating system isn't open source, for chrissake! There's no intersection between Linux and Apple, Linux is an open source operating system, Apple is a system which has some open source elements, but the OS isn't one of them. It used to be but, thanks to the BSD license, that detail has been fixed.
As for this "cutting edge development", could you be so kind and point us to any big OSS project whose development began in Apple and was later adopted by others? I mean, like Konqueror was the basis for Safari, only the other way round?
Oh, sorry, I forgot, don't feed the trolls, or maybe that big "whooosh" was the joke going over my head?
It seemed that CNN were trying to ask very pointed questions, trying to make Linus out to be some warrior against Microsoft. I like this part:
KLS: Another reason, because it's an alternative to Microsoft?
LT: Well that is, I think, played up more than it necessarily needs to be. Because there is a very vocal side to this which is the whole anti Microsoft thing. I think it makes a better story than is necessarily true in real life.
For a techie guy who doesn't have reams of PR guys behind him and telling him what he should say, he handled the press pretty well.
I thought CNN were supposed to be respectable, like the US version of the BBC or something? It seemed like they were just looking for some big scoop with regards to people being Anti-Microsoft rather than trying to have an interesting interview with a major contributor to an alternative OS.
"hey, I still, the way I do my work is I sit these days downstairs in my basement alone"
He may be rich and famous, but Linus keeps it real
Trout's epitaph: Life is no way to treat an animal.
Where is the militant wing of the FOSS-movement nowadays? Or in other words: haven't heard from ESR for some time.
...an article here from last year (2005) stated that Linus uses a dual G5 Macintosh ... wich he btw. got for free.
Three Degrees
Linus Torvalds was in The Code (2001) with Miguel de Icaza.
Miguel de Icaza was in Antitrust (2001) with Tim Robbins.
Tim Robbins (I) was in Mystic River (2003) with Kevin Bacon.
mod yourself up.
If you ask me, the biggest contribution of Linux was turning the OSS movement from a "niche" to a "community". Linux got a recognition from the mainstream software world that GNU never came even close to obtaining.
Call me when the text editor can handle new lines consistently.
Well done. If I had mod points, they'd be yours for this magnificent feat of searchitude :)
Hofstadter's Law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law.
The headline: Reclusive Linux founder opens up
The first Torvalds quote in the article: "Well today what I do mostly is actually communication."
And working directly with 10-20 people counts as being part of a farily large team. If you spent an average of an hour a week discussing issues with those individuals, then that amounts to half your work time.
Note that headlines and articles are usually written by different people, and often different viewpoints and motivations are evident.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
If I had to choose between Linux and the Pope, I'd choose Linus.
I always enjoy reading interviews with Linus. They are rare which makes them more enjoyable. Linus is an interesting guy and probably a model for a significant number of geeks in the world. So thanks for granting an interview and making my life better.
S.
PS. someone should tell him that people DO HATE microsoft.
I would say just the opposite. For me, it's all about the community which RMS had a big part in building. Linux is just a kernel; I use Debian, and GNU, and other Free Software, that's well engineered, developed in public, supported in public, etc. As far as the kernel underneath it all goes, I really don't care if it's Linux or HURD or some BeOS clone, or something else, as long as it's under a Free license.
If anyone read this far down the thrad and STILL doesn't know who Linus is, I think this link might help.
You can't take the sky from me...
Stallman: I'm going to f***ing kill CNN. It's GNU/Linux damn it!
*Chair goes flying across room*
Are you sure you don't mean Steve Ballmer?
If you are even remotely aware of baseball history, then you'll understand this analogy perfectly:
Linus is Babe Ruth to Stallman's Ty Cobb.
The reclusive thing has more to do with CNN self-aggrandisement, than any quantifiable reclusivity inherent in Torvalds. Maybe if they had an interview with J.D. Salinger, I'd sit up and take notice. Type Linus Torvalds in Google image and you'll see just how reclusive the guy is. There's one photo of him topless, drinking beer. By the turn of the next century, language will have all the meaning of a dog's bark. Woof. Whatever, Move-on, Get-over-it.
Come the next Linus-attended Linux convention, we need to respond to Linus' between-the-lines appeal for a panty shower one way or another. Will the geekgrrls and the linuxchixs please stand up(, remove panties, aim, let loose) and be counted to preempt the crusty boxer short shower scenario!
(PS. If there really are no females available, would the brave volunteer kindly remember to shower and shave prior to executing the maneuver in order to add a dash of realism... oh, and [ask someone to] wash those boxers too!)
Should invading one's peaceful neighbours be opposed, or rewarded with trade deals?
The headline asks the question if he is the leader, its not a statement but since you brought it up, whom would you declare the OSS leader? Al Gore?
Maybe, but only if he picks Feingold as his running mate.
But seriously, it would have to be RMS. Linus pointedly isn't trying to lead a movement (at a conference he reportedly said "I really don't like the idea of thousands of people following me. (pause) But I'd appreciate it if someone could tell me where the men's room is.").
RMS, on the otherhand, has been pointently "leading" for going on three decades now.
--MarkusQ
P.S. And what Gore actually said was: "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system." Which was true.
As Vincent Cerf, said "The Internet would not be where it is in the United States without the strong support given to it and related research areas by the Vice President [Gore] in his current role and in his earlier role as Senator."
And Dave Ferber said without Gore the Internet "would not be where it is today."
And Marc Andreesen said "Gore made [Mosaic] possible with the High Performance Computing Act."
And Joseph E. Traub said "[Gore] was perhaps the first political leader to grasp the importance of networking the country. Could we perhaps see an end to cheap shots from politicians and pundits about inventing the Internet?"
See Seth's page.
Linus Benedict Torvalds
-vs-
Benedict XVI
If you mod this up, your slashdot background will turn into a beautiful sunset!
Will repost in Lenovo discussion. Sorry about that.
Christ, Linus has porked out... he's approaching blimp size.
LD binds. LDD just shows the binds.
Did Linus insert his 25-cents on a string, and after done playing he pulled out?
I bet she's really one of those $5 machines that you strapon into, like at Disneyland...at-least you can sit inside her and rotate upside, downside, sideways, and wonka-ways. I landed the plane at the end too, but it's a one-level arcade game they don't want to let anyone play longer than 10 minutes/2000watts.
She was called GForce, or some similar title for a Cockpit sit-in fighter, kind of like After-Burner. I always wanted to own one of those After-Burner arcade consoles--she's the one that vibrates my hand when my Jet is hit-on. I played that version in Whiskey Petes in Nevada, or perhaps Pizza Hut.
What did you expect someone who codes Linux & reads Slashdot to be married to? :)
GNU/CNN
you can read between the lines in the article, he's just mad there aren't hordes of geeky chicks throwing their panties at him, so he took his code marbles and went home.
j/k *snort*
It would be nice if geeks at least had some cheerleaders though....
LT: No,
What a dumb fellow!!!! If a leader has no goals, no vision, fantastic right? :) No wonder he doesn't understand the importance of drivers from OEMs to bring Linux to masses.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry... ;)
being vague is almost as cool as doing that other thing...
Alarming and Disgusting, a leader with no dream and goal.
Is not a one man effort for Linux, come on wake up Mr Linux.
Mr Linux is just getting a ride on many others who contribute to this.
The Saga of the Linux patent was a complete disaster.
Mr steve and Mr Bill must be open their jaws now after this interivew article.
Stallman hasn't asked for people to stop crediting Linus - he suggests "GNU/Linux", not just "GNU".
The existence of Linux took away the big need to develop a GNU-compatible kernel. If Linux didn't exist, maybe the kernel of FreeBSD would have been adapted, or maybe Hurd would have remained a core project. But this is just speculation.
Having written GNU, I have confidence that the GNU project would have met the challenge of developing a kernel if the pressure wasn't taken off by Linux.
So Linus wrote Linux, and the GNU project wrote GNU.
Please help publicise swpat.org - the software patents wiki
During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet.
That is the key point.
You've proved the Internet would not be where it is today without Gore's help.
You haven't proved that the Internet was created due to Gore's initiative.
No one is saying Gore invented electrons (though, I wouldn't be surprised if there weren't some wingnuts claiming that he claimed it--after all, there were little pockets of the Japanese army still holed up and fighting on islands in the South Pacific for a long time after WWII was over, and no doubt Election 2000 has its share).
No one is saying that he invented transistors either. In fact, there are a whole slew of steps to creating "the Internet" (ASCII, anyone?), and no one person could possibly have contributed to more than a small fraction of them. And, consequently, no one expects that anyone seriously believes this.
So, expecting you to be intellectually honest, I wrote the sentence which you quote:
"[Gore] started working towards a goal before others joined in, and that is obviously true in this case."
But given how hard you were working to twist Gore's words, I was foolish to expect that you'd leave mine untwisted. Your response:
Gore start working toward what? Creating the internet? Before others joined in? And this is "Obviously true"? Your sources?
I know you'd like Gore to have said that he created the internet. But he didn't say that because it isn't true. I know you'd like me to have said that taking the initiative means "doing something before anyone else" but I didn't say that because it doesn't mean that. You can take the initiative in getting your friends to "go watch the game in person instead of on TV" even if there are thousands of people in the stands already. Taking initiative isn't about being first, it's about moving forward when the people around you aren't.
Re: your reference to Bush & Co -- "oh, look over there!"
Yes, exactly. At least here you claim to have understood my point. Why are you waisting your time beating this horse? Look over there! A bunch of madmen have taken over your country and are bankrupting it, building a monstrous police state, and killing tens of thousands of innocent people, all based on transparent lies. And you're still trying to malign somebody who had the effrontery to try (but fail) to stop them.
hehehe ops. My bad... :-D
[]'s Victor Bogado da Silva Lins
^[:wq
Gore said: "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. "
You say:
Unless you are claiming that no one hopped on the Internet bandwagon in the 1990's this was clearly before [...] the vast majority of others) joined in.
That he preceded the vast majority doesn't matter... what matters is others preceded him. Technologists, researchers, government officials, and the like. Gore provided political support for funding, and worked with officials from the Reagan administration. But you still have to provide the evidence that the _initiative_ in creating the internet was his.
And talking "hey, look over there": you've assumed I'm American: I'm not.
Linus only made one part, one part of an entire operating system, and yet people choose him as the leader of open source ?? Give me a break.. If there were to be a leader that should have been Stallman... Think before you talk... Sorry for my bad english..
Software is like sex. It's best when it's free.