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Linus Torvalds Now Reviews Gadgets On Google+ (zdnet.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the gadget-inspector dept.

An anonymous reader quotes ZDNet: If you know anything about Linus Torvalds, you know he's the mastermind and overlord of Linux. If you know him at all well, you know he's also an enthusiastic scuba diver and author of SubSurface, a do-it-all dive log program. And, if you know him really well, you'd know, like many other developers, he loves gadgets. Now, he's starting his own gadget review site on Google+: Working Gadgets...

"[W]hile waiting for my current build to finish, I decided to write a note about some of the gadgets I got that turned out to work, rather than all the crazy crap that didn't. Because while 90% of the cool toys I buy aren't all that great, there's still the ones that actually do live up to expectations. So the rule is: no rants. Just good stuff. Because this is about happy gadgets."
So far Linus has reviewed an automatic cat litter box, a scuba diving pressure regulator, and a Ubiquiti UniFi Wi-Fi access point that complements his Google WiFi mesh network.

Linus will be great at this. Just last week I saw him recommending a text editor.

23 of 51 comments (clear)

  1. Google Plus! by kamapuaa · · Score: 4, Funny

    I remember Google Plus! I hope after this, Linus gets a MySpace account!

    --
    Slashdot: providing anti-social weirdos a soapbox, since 1997.
    1. Re:Google Plus! by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      Funny. I saw Google+ get scooped into one of those automatic litter boxes.

    2. Re:Google Plus! by nomadic · · Score: 2

      Maybe he already has one? I better search AltaVista.com to see.

    3. Re: Google Plus! by fubarrr · · Score: 1

      Linus tech tips: Nvidia sux

    4. Re: Google Plus! by epyT-R · · Score: 1

      Someone's jealous.

    5. Re:Google Plus! by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      You look fat & autistic, Creimer

      1) I don't post as AC.
      2) Don't blame me for your own trolls, troll.
      3) Have some Spam with Tocino Seasoning.

    6. Re: Google Plus! by slashrio · · Score: 1

      This might be a job, if he gets paid for his positive reviews...

      --
      "Trump!!", the new Godwin.
  2. "Waiting for his build to finish"? by freeze128 · · Score: 2

    I would have thought that if anyone, Linus would have a fast enough system so he wouldn't HAVE to wait for his builds to finish.

    1. Re:"Waiting for his build to finish"? by Empiric · · Score: 1

      Probably Linus is just following established industry standards.

      --
      ~ Whence do you come, slayer of men, or where are you going, conqueror of space?
  3. Laugh all you want by GeekWithAKnife · · Score: 1


    ...but let me tell you, if your product has stupid bugs or bad code say your prayers because Linus' textual red mist will descend upon you.

    --
    A 'singular oddity' is an event that cannot be explained and only happens when you are alone.
    1. Re:Laugh all you want by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 2

      But that's just it: he's only going to review the good stuff. Which is something of a missed opportunity: Linus going off on an epic rant about the shortcomings of lame gadgets might make for a very fun read, but this? He's not a great reviewer... I own two of the three things he reviewed, and a different brand of the 3rd thing, and his reviews don't really explain why these things are so great other than "works as advertised".

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
  4. Where was his last *recorded* scuba dive? by Provocateur · · Score: 1

    And what have you done to the real Linus Torvaldis?

    I don't buy no rants. It was happy gadgets that tipped me off.

    --
    WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
  5. Re: What about a review of systemd? by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

    ... and while he was at it he could address how Trump is just a brilliant business man with nothing but the best intentions (and words) getting a bad rap from "fake news" ... because that is a similar "reality" to the one you describe.

    --
    Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
  6. Cool! by krray · · Score: 1

    This is actually kind of cool (being a geek myself :).
    And it will probably save ME a lot of TIME and MONEY.
    If Linus gives it a thumbs up, and it is something I'm in the market for ... guess what I'm going to buy / try FIRST.

  7. No rants? by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

    I give him two months.

    --
    #DeleteChrome
    1. Re:No rants? by RuffMasterD · · Score: 1

      To me, the rants ARE the good stuff. It's what he's good at.

      I see he hasn't reviewed the iPhone yet. That can't be a good sign. Maybe he tried to replace a dead battery, or plug in headphones. Does he think the designers were high when they made those decisions? How does Linus resists the urge to rant about some gadgets?

      --
      Human Rights, Article 12: Freedom from Interference with Privacy, Family, Home and Correspondence
  8. Happy Little Gadgets? by AlejandroTejadaC · · Score: 1

    If Linus is going to review only Happy Little Gadgets, he needs a matching style... Where is the Afro? We could name this style as Afro-Linus... That is a good name for a new Happy Linux Distribution: AfroLinux

  9. Re:What about a review of systemd? by phantomfive · · Score: 1

    You would probably find that you are unhappy with his review of systemd.

    In fact, since systemd has turned into a kind of tribal warfare, where facts don't matter and sides are the only thing, someone who comes with a fact-based argument would likely be rejected by both sides.

    If you think you can write a better systemd, then do it. Frankly, it's not that hard, the main thing people want is an easy way to write init scripts. You don't need to include a time-server. The difficulty is gettiing the UI correct (that is, making it easy for system builders to write init scripts).

    Follow the Unix philosophy and it has a good chance of being accepted by the larger community.

    --
    "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  10. Which text editor? by unixisc · · Score: 1

    I followed his text editor recommendation link, and it had a blog post somewhere w/ a link to a Dilbert strip that has Wally face to face w/ a Dennis Ritchie look-alike who's a Unix user

    Which begs the question - which editor does he recommend? vim? evil? Which?

    1. Re:Which text editor? by hmckee · · Score: 1

      MicroEMACS.

  11. And... by antdude · · Score: 1

    Friendster! ;)

    --
    Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
  12. Google Wifi? by Leslie43 · · Score: 1

    They work well (good coverage), but I'm surprised he would use it considering the security/privacy aspect of it.

    1. Re: Google Wifi? by corychristison · · Score: 1

      Considering he's also using Google+, leads me to believe he likes Google's stuff.

      Or... he's getting paid by Google to use/promote it.