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It's Not the 15th Birthday of Linux

Glyn Moody writes "There's been a spate of celebrations of Linux's 15th birthday recently. What they're really marking is the 15th anniversary of version 1.0. But do version numbers matter for free software? The 'release early, release often' approach means there's generally little difference between version 0.99.14z, say, and version 1.0. In fact, drawing attention to such anniversaries is misguided, because it gives the impression that free software is created in the same way as traditional proprietary code, working towards a predetermined end-point according to a top-down plan. So how should we be choosing and celebrating free software's past achievements?"

14 of 261 comments (clear)

  1. Who cares? by Probie · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's an excuse for a party! I celebrate Christmas to but I don't believe in santa.

    --
    Who? Who is but the form following the function of what and what I am is a man in a mask.
    1. Re:Who cares? by Yvan256 · · Score: 5, Funny

      You better believe in Santa or the Coca-Cola guys are gonna come to your house and make you believe.

    2. Re:Who cares? by digitig · · Score: 4, Funny

      For, celebration involves tasty alcoholic beverages and comfy women (well, woman really; my wife).

      Wow, so good of you to offer to share her around! Are you sure she'll be up for it?

      --
      Quidnam Latine loqui modo coepi?
  2. Linux' Birthday is ... by Samschnooks · · Score: 5, Funny

    when Linus says it is. He has final approval on any birth date.

  3. Here's one that will last forever... by Quarters · · Score: 3, Funny

    Start celebrating the years when someone says, "This will be the year that Linux will take over the desktop."

  4. Re:"Release early, release often" by Jimmy+King · · Score: 5, Funny

    I've always thought "release early, release often" is a terrible idea.

    My wife tells me the same thing.

  5. 2000 all over again by elrous0 · · Score: 5, Funny

    After about the 100th anal-retentive jackass to smugly point out "2001 is the ACTUAL start of the millennium, you know!" I just started punching them.

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
  6. How? That's easy. Why? Because we can. by Em+Emalb · · Score: 4, Funny

    So how should we be choosing and celebrating free software's past achievements?"

    Booze. Lots and lots of Booze. And strippers. Lots of strippers. And pie. Gotta have some pie.

    --
    Sent from your iPad.
  7. Re:Usenet post? by physicsphairy · · Score: 3, Funny

    I believe the most logical choice for the Linux birthday is to take whatever date is median to Linus Torvald's birthday and UNIX's birthday.

  8. Much older then 15 years. by jellomizer · · Score: 3, Funny

    We all know that Linux was made in 1979.

    [yes this is a joke post]

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
  9. Thanks for pointing this out by joeyblades · · Score: 3, Funny

    I, for one, do not plan to attend the parade, now that I know it's all a misguided sham...

  10. Re:"Release early, release often" by rohan972 · · Score: 5, Funny

    well, the point is to get people to test it so you can know if it's carp or not

    Damn straight. I always want to know if there's anything fishy about the software I use.

  11. Re:Usenet post? by ObsessiveMathsFreak · · Score: 3, Funny

    That post is more akin to Linus announcing he was pregnant. I would regard the 1.0 release as the birth, with initial coding of the 0.x releases akin to baby showers and painting nurseries.

    The conception, like most, was the result of a drunken night in front of a computer terminal, filled with unwise and hasty decisions. When Linus woke the next morning, with the most schocking hangover, he saw before him the beginnings of an x86 OS kernel, with drunken documentation and to do lists, and no memory of how any of it came to be on his hard drive. He took it from there.

    I mean, no one honestly decides to write a kernel when they're sober, do they?

    --
    May the Maths Be with you!
  12. Re:"Release early, release often" by idontgno · · Score: 4, Funny

    It can be carp as long as it scales well.

    --
    Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.