Linus Torvalds Says Linux Still Surprises and Motivates Him (linux.com)

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Linus Torvalds Says Linux Still Surprises and Motivates Him (linux.com)

Posted by msmash on Friday June 23, 2017 @04:40AM from the Mr.-Torvalds-speaks dept.

Linus Torvalds: What I find interesting is code that I thought was stable continually gets improved. There are things we haven't touched for many years, then someone comes along and improves them or makes bug reports in something I thought no one used. We have new hardware, new features that are developed, but after 25 years, we still have old, very basic things that people care about and still improve. I really like what I'm doing. I like waking up and having a job that is technically interesting and challenging without being too stressful so I can do it for long stretches; something where I feel I am making a real difference and doing something meaningful not just for me. I occasionally have taken breaks from my job. The 2-3 weeks I worked on Git to get that started for example. But every time I take a longer break, I get bored. When I go diving for a week, I look forward to getting back. I never had the feeling that I need to take a longer break.

34 of 78 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Meanwhile by squiggleslash · 2017-06-23 04:43 · Score: 4, Funny

In other news, Larry Ellison says that money still surprises and motivates him.

--
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
1. Re:Meanwhile by unixisc · 2017-06-23 06:06 · Score: 1
  
  He can do that w/ dronny planes instead of cars, where there ain't too many dronny plane owners like there are cars. So his loans for cars programs would actually work pretty well here
2. Re:Meanwhile by Darinbob · 2017-06-23 12:03 · Score: 1
  
  I need some motivation now.
My job is horrible. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-23 04:47 · Score: 1

Every Monday morning, I wake up with a sinking heart as I realize I'm about to endure another week of getting beaten up by management to try to squeeze more productivity out of me. Every time I meet a quota, they raise the quota. Outwardly, they ask for ideas and feedback, but if you ever provide any you are immediately labeled as 'negative' and 'combative' and threatened to be fired. You are made to feel inferior and getting any time off takes an act of god... the whole time you wonder if you will still have a job when you return or whether someone in India will have taken over your duties. I make about what I've made for the past 4 years and they keep raising the cost of our health insurance. I'm happy for Linus but he really doesn't need to rub it in our faces. That shows a complete lack of character and class.
1. Re:My job is horrible. by gfxguy · 2017-06-23 04:59 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  I feel your pain. I love my work, but my job leaves something to be desired. Crap raises for the last ten years don't make up for increases in health insurance and cost of living, so I'm worse off financially now than I was. To add insult to injury, now I'm at the top of my pay grade so I do not even get raises (just lump sum payment of what my raise would be, which does little to help). We just had a "culture survey," and if it wasn't run by an independent third party, I would not have said most of what I said. Even if they figure out it was me and fire me, it would probably be the kick in the pants I need to move on.
  As far as Linus goes, I don't begrudge him loving his work. I do wonder, though, off topic, "When I go diving for a week, I look forward to getting back." Most people feel that way after a week away from their routine. Is it just me, or is diving something you spend a day doing, and then do something else? The best vacations I've had, the ones I didn't want to end, we were doing something different every day, not just sitting on a beach for a week. I suppose I could go hiking for a week, or river rafting, but then the experience is vastly different every day (to me, anyway).
  
  --
  Stupid sexy Flanders.
2. Re:My job is horrible. by fabriciom · 2017-06-23 05:07 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Hey, I've been there. My advice is look for something else. But first get some time off because you will carry all your baggage from your current job.
3. Re:My job is horrible. by war4peace · 2017-06-23 05:13 · Score: 1
  
  I could say the same about your entry. Made me depressed.
  
  --
  ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
4. Re:My job is horrible. by JaredOfEuropa · 2017-06-23 06:14 · Score: 1
  
  Diving is similar to hiking in that respect, you can easily do it for a week or longer and not be bored. Even if you dive the same site twice, the experience is still going to be different. Most people I know who take a week off for diving try and squeeze as many dives in as possible. As for looking forward to going back home, I usually feel that fater a week away, but after 2 weeks I've settled into a new routine and I'll prefer to stick around even longer.
  
  --
  If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
5. Re:My job is horrible. by cerberusss · 2017-06-23 06:27 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Crap raises for the last ten years don't make up for increases in health insurance and cost of living, so I'm worse off financially now than I was
  I find it hard to sympathize with this. Assuming you're in the tech industry like me, the salaries are amazing compared to the rest of the country.
  
  --
  8 of 13 people found this answer helpful. Did you?
6. Re:My job is horrible. by BlytheBowman · 2017-06-23 12:06 · Score: 1
  
  Wow, this reads exactly like a classic abusive domestic abuse situation (even if the 'beatings' are not literal), just replace "HR" with "husband" or "wife" "Every morning, I wake up with a sinking heart as I realize I'm about to endure another day of getting pressured and threatened by my husband to try to squeeze more house work out of me. Every time I do everything he asks, he piles on more chores for me to do. Outwardly, he asks for ideas and feedback, but if I ever provide any, he immediately labels me as 'negative' and 'combative' and threatens to divorce me and find someone else. I am made to feel inferior and getting any time to relax takes an act of god... the whole time I wonder if my husband is now cheating on me and if a new woman will take my place........"
7. Re:My job is horrible. by gfxguy · 2017-06-23 12:09 · Score: 1
  
  That's fine, since I'm not asking for your sympathy, just pointing out some facts. I love my work, but I'm pretty down about my job. I was only pointing out how someone can hate their job but love their work.
  
  --
  Stupid sexy Flanders.
8. Re:My job is horrible. by Darinbob · 2017-06-23 12:18 · Score: 1
  
  Salaries in Silicon Valley are amazing, except that the cost of living in Silicon Valley is ridiculous. Right now, I'm living in a dump in a declining area of town, but with only half of my pay in someplace more miserable to live would leave me being rich. Here, the home owner market is priced to two-income families, in the home town the housing market is oriented to one stay at home parent.
9. Re:My job is horrible. by ChrisMaple · 2017-06-23 17:34 · Score: 1
  
  You obviously don't know how to present your ideas in a positive and supportive manner.
  
  --
  Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
10. Re:My job is horrible. by freax · 2017-06-23 19:32 · Score: 1
  
  Disclamer, I'm a PADI Rescue Diver (1409EW7988). Diving can be exhausting on the mind and body. The sport underwater itself isn't very harsh on the muscles and doesn't require fitness unless you do something wrong or you are into and trained for that kind of dives. But everything surrounding the dive can be. For example lifting equipment into and out of the boat, helping other (less experienced divers) with their equipment, putting the equipment on and off, getting out of the water and back into the boat. Current can also drag you away hard and that might mean that you have to push your legs harder to navigate right. But you can choose not to dive if the current is too hard (it can also be dangerous to dive with too much current).
  Mentally, depending on the site, the difficulty of the site (ie. was visibility low and navigation hard), the amount of stuff you experience (colors, colors, colors all over the place, fish, animal life, etc) and back on the boat talking about the experience and listening to other people's experiences, it can also be "a lot" to digest. This doesn't make it any less fun. But too much fun can also be mentally hard, after a week.
  But of course, it all depends on how hard you squeeze your vacation. As you mention, you can squeeze three or four dives or five in a day. One or two in the morning. One or two in the afternoon. And a night dive. I can assure you you'll sleep well if you did five dives in a day. Repeat that an entire week, and you'll be exhausted.
Thank you Linus! by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-23 05:08 · Score: 5, Insightful

To Linus and any/all contribuitors: if you're reading this, a heartfelt thank you from someone using Linux each and every day on hundreds of systems.
-- HPC sysadmin
1. Re: Thank you Linus! by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-23 09:28 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Hey Linus, can you take 3 more weeks off and unfuck systemd already?
His Lifes' Work by Rick+Schumann · 2017-06-23 05:11 · Score: 4, Insightful

Linux is Linus Torvalds' lifes' work.
How many of you can say you have anything that is your lifes' work, and not just a job? Seems like an eviable thing to me, to have a "lifes' work".
1. Re:His Lifes' Work by Gravis+Zero · 2017-06-23 05:41 · Score: 1
  
  How many of you can say you have anything that is your lifes' work, and not just a job?
  Sure... but I think serial killers and global-recession-causing-bankers fit that description too. ;)
  
  --
  Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
2. Re:His Lifes' Work by Bing+Tsher+E · 2017-06-23 05:49 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Lots of people feel their 'job' or whatever they primarily do is their life's work.
  For some, posting trolls on Slashdot is probably their life's work.
3. Re:His Lifes' Work by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-23 05:50 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Linux is Linus Torvalds' lifes' work.
  How many of you can say you have anything that is your lifes' work, and not just a job? Seems like an eviable thing to me, to have a "lifes' work".
  I sincerely hope that no-one else says that. It would be much better if they said "life's work" instead.
4. Re: His Lifes' Work by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-23 10:33 · Score: 1
  
  So it is his "life IS work"?
  No. Do try to keep up at school.
  "Life's work" == "work of his life". And "lifes' work" == "work of his lifes".
"Improvement" by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-23 05:12 · Score: 2, Funny

There are things we haven't touched for many years, then someone comes along and improves them
The NSA is just glad to help you out, Linus. Just don't stare too long at our code.
Linux: the monolithic kernel. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-23 05:19 · Score: 1

Wants to be motivated? Turn Linux into a microkernel.
1. Re:Linux: the monolithic kernel. by unixisc · 2017-06-23 06:22 · Score: 1
  
  Or create an automatic AI powered device driver generator for every hardware peripheral that a Linux device comes into contact w/. So that the main sore point of Linux is mitigated
He must be using by macxcool · 2017-06-23 05:25 · Score: 1

KDE
1. Re:He must be using by Entropius · 2017-06-23 06:20 · Score: 2
  
  !#$&&%^$*()! looks like a vi command, not KDE or GNOME.
changed everything for many... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-23 06:01 · Score: 1

learned to think stuff through, many laughs, never ends, thanks.. also to mr. stallman... sing along .. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO23WBji_Z0 ..high drama
GFL by jf_moreira · 2017-06-23 06:05 · Score: 1

Good for Linus. Still a boring job, but at least it's way better than trying to "make the world better" through Facebook.
Re: This doesn't surprise me... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-23 06:20 · Score: 3, Informative

Careful, more affiliate spam from Creimer.
Here is the link without his affiliate ID and tracking info:
link
Re:This doesn't surprise me... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-23 06:57 · Score: 1

Oh, your affiliate ID is on there... are you trying to make money off me?
You should be BANNED for this. Mods, ban him!
Re:Surprise! by nyet · 2017-06-23 12:48 · Score: 1

Feel free to write your own kernel. Linus did. Why can't you?
Other than you'd have to find a problem that a microkernel actually solves.
Re:Republican ignorance surprises and motivates me by ChrisMaple · 2017-06-23 17:41 · Score: 1

As opposed to Hillary, whose sellouts (a.k.a. speeches) are well documented. Foreign governments, Goldman Sachs, no problem!

--
Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
Re:Surprise! by OrangeTide · 2017-06-26 14:53 · Score: 1

I've written two and one that is still in commercial use, but they are closed source. So I'm not crazy famous.

--
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Re:Surprise! by OrangeTide · 2017-06-26 14:58 · Score: 1

That's my point exactly. The ideas have been around for decades, but we don't use them. And not because they are technically flawed, but because we don't like to change things around. We've been delaying a paradigm shift for about 50 years now, with the excuse that it's too expensive to change the way things are done.
Even something as old and obsolete as Multics covers some of what I've said, and it is famous for nearly catching on.
For microkernels, there are never generations like L4 that offer process isolation without the huge performance costs that traditional microkernels demand. So I'd recommend you throw out your 1990's textbooks on microkernels because they are full of bad analysis of the technology.

--
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire