Linus Torvalds is one of the most interesting IT-related people to me, not only because he created the Linux kernel in the first place, but as a superior programmer that reached a perfection in his field of interest. I've dug up a bit older TED presentation about him that I'd want you to watch.
2. What is your opinion about Linus? Do you agree with his lifestyle and the way he deals with issues? Or maybe he seems like a complete nerd to you?
3. Do you also find it a bit ridiculous that Linux as a kernel succeeded in almost every field of IT, including the majority of the servers and smartphones (Android), but not on desktop PCs that Linus initially coded it for?
Thank you for reading.
A few questions:
1. Have you ever tried to use the GNU/Linux operating system on your desktop PC? If yes, what do you think about it?2. What is your opinion about Linus? Do you agree with his lifestyle and the way he deals with issues? Or maybe he seems like a complete nerd to you?
3. Do you also find it a bit ridiculous that Linux as a kernel succeeded in almost every field of IT, including the majority of the servers and smartphones (Android), but not on desktop PCs that Linus initially coded it for?
Thank you for reading.
Comments
Linus is a nerd, but I'm not saying that's a bad thing. Every time when you accomplish something, no meter on what field (sports, IT, literature), you must be a freak about what you are doing. All those IT "gods" who pretend to be Iron Man, for example Elon Musk, are fakes created by medias in my opinion. REAL IT stars like Denis Ritchie, Larry Wall, Edsger Dijkstra etc. were all nerds. Do not believe in people like creator of Instagram who promote himself as super cool guy with girlfriend working as Victoria's Secret model. 99% of great computer people were nerds imo.
Linux is a great system for programming and other IT stuff. It's not popular not because it's bad in some aspect. Main reasons why it's not very popular system at the desktop computers are facts that Macintosh is way easier to use ( you just plug it, press turn on and "poof". it magically works :) ). When it comes to Windows, hmmm it's hard to say why it's so popular, because personally I hate it. I'm guessing that main factor that made Windows so popular is it's usage for computer games. Also MS office is way better than OpenOffice, that's why Windows is popular at the workplaces.
I love the story of Linus and Linux because it shows that everyone has something to contribute to life. Regardless of our personalities, quirks, idiosyncrasies we can do something meaningful and help others in many different ways.
Thank you for your post :)
He is a nerd, but it is a good thing. Thanks to that kind approach we are happy to have OpenSource Linux OS, that is great for server machines (and not only).
As I said using Linux can be cumbersome for not technical users. It is easier to buy Macintosh (for those who don't have time to build his own Linux) or buy Windows (for those who do not respect themselves, just kiding).
I had a brief romance with Red Hat and Debian in the 90s. The romance did not last, because we needed a gaming machine at home. I stayed with Windows until Windows 7, which annoyed the hell out of me. I decided to move to Linux. I started with openSUSE, which I quickly disliked due to its condescending user warning messages. I then tried with Ubuntu, which went smooth and I have stayed with it ever since. I do a lot of software development on it but I do not need to connect various devices so it is a good use case for Linux.
I do not have a personal opinion on Linus except maybe that I can't forgive him for creating 'git'. He seems like a humble person who knows who he is. I heard he maybe difficult to work with if you are a sensitive person. He can get very direct and personal in his criticism if he dislikes your submitted patches.
I am not surprised that Linux was not popular on desktops. As Linus mentioned in other interviews; it is very difficult do implement a successful desktop system. You must be prepared to serve a wide range of software and hardware as well as very broad spectrum of users. I think their own decision to promote kernel development team might made it difficult later for desktop environment developers to push things forward. Linus developed the kernel because he could not afford UNIX and MINIX had too limited functionality (and also was not cheap). He needed to utilize features of a certain processor for the things he was working on. It was not meant to be an OS in the same sense as Macintosh on Apple's Lisa was.
Although crazy Richard Stallman claims that the main reason Linux is not popular on desktops (and why it is now popular on mobiles) is that we never actually had a choice. Most users just bought a PC and Windows was already there, why would they even go through a trouble of finding out about the existence of other OS? I tend to agree with Linus more on this one. Mobile OS is a whole new ball game. It has a very limited usage case both when it comes to apps and devices that have to be supported.
Of course I like Linus, he invented an open-source operation system, and I think that it is the biggest open-source project in the world right now.
And yes I find it a bit ridiculous. Ok, Mac OS is easier to use and it has more applications to install, but Windows... I think that the reason Windows is so popular somehow related with the statement that Microsoft is Evil.
I have never seen any interview with Linus Torvalds before to be honest. I would expect someone even less friendly and more introverted and I saw a nice guy in his mid-forties. It is easy to see that he is sharp-minded and smart, but it couldn’t be the other way around when it comes to a man who actually designed and developed two products which have changed IT world completely (Linux and Git). I especially liked the part of the interview when Linus was comparing Edison and Tesla. He said that he is more an engineer and like to solve everyday problems and not a scientist. He also mentioned that “he is more like Edison than Tesla” because Edison actually was the one who changed the people’s life by inventing kind of an ordinary thing - electric light bulb, where Tesla was considered a scientist and crazy idea man.
I have huge respect for Linus. I think he is friendly nerd. Nerd in a positive way.
In my opinion, lack of GNU/Linux systems on desktops is caused by a good marketing of Windows. There is no alternative for MS Office and other business software. And also teaching Windows from first class of primary school to the last class of high school is a huge factor that makes Windows more popular than GNU/Linux. Who knows what the market would look like if they kids were taught how to use for example Ubuntu in schools... ;)
such as games, some programs that I prefer better than similar in Linux. When I firstly installed Linux on my PC it was really hard for me to understand how to use, and benefits does it have comparing to Windows. At the end through one year period at my university course I decided to use both systems.
I respect Linus for creating free open-source OS project that is nowadays one of the most popular and used system all over the world among IT developers.
Well actually for me Linux is the easiest system to use for IT development, so I would to say that it doesn`t surprise me. This system is like specially was created for developers not common users and that`s also why I think sooner or later almost every developer start using Linux as a main OS on his machines. And developers install it not on desktop PC`s but on servers on which they usually work.
It's pretty important to keep that in mind since we can pretty often use the same kernel (depends on the configuration) on multiple distributions or relases.
When it comes to my opinion about Linus Torvalds - I don't really want to judge him and his way of living. He has done some incredible work, which - as most of you already know - is used on billions of devices around us. I can only say that I respect his own ways of perceiving the world around him.
I disagree with the statement that it has not succeeded on desktop PCs. It may be not as popular as Windows, but it is still being used by many people. As it becomes more and more user-friendly, more people are willing to give it a shot.
I hope we can change it eventually :).
For me Linus Torvalds is like a Zlatan Ibrahimović of operating systems. He has lots of personal controversies and professional successes. It is strange that I both like and dislike his directness, he is a kind of person that I don’t have a strong opinion about.
Linux is very interesting project and I love to watch interviews with Linus Torvalds. He can be a role model for other developers. He is a very important person in IT world.
I believe that Linus is a very intelligent and accomplished man that is not afraid to present his opinions. Maybe he is a nerd but I do not see anything wrong with that.
Personally I believe Linus is not anyone special and he feels quite egocentric in many interviews. I mean, he created the kernel but it's only one brick - Linux would be already dead or still niche if not projects like Debian, RedHat or even OpenGL and free money from Google, Oracle, Samsung etc.
It's true that Linux desktop PC situation is quite bad but I believe it's mostly because of market leaders are not willing to pay for it. A lot of them have agreements with Microsoft and even though we've had a "year of Linux" in 4 year in a row, I don't think it's going to change anytime soon.
I think Linus is a nerd. Somewhere back in time I would call him emotionally unstable or partially disabled (kidding). The way he speaks and behaves makes me so calm I want to go to sleep. I like the way he thinks and the work he has done but he is just too different. I would be really surprised if I would get along with him. What surprises me the most though, is the complete lack of social needs. I mean, I know he's got family and so but when he says some strange things about writing being more clear to him than talking I have a feeling he is right where he needs to be, in front of the computer.
I believe the way he is, made it possible to build such a great global supporting geek/professional community around Linux. I recommend reading some of his emails to his employees or supporters. They are available on the internet and they are pretty funny...in a way. He gets really angry when someone writes a bad piece of code. I can understand that.
Your last question is interesting. I think that what we have now is a big success anyway. But it's worth learning the way that Bill Gates managed to sell his product and enforce the use of it. There was time when computers were not sold with operating systems. The idea, to sell them with software pre-installed, was implemented some years after they hit the market. It was obviously our beloved Bill and his half taken half rewritten DOS-like system then. By the way I think he and the guy who invented null pointer shouldn't go to heaven.
I believe that with the right marketing and proper UX Linux could take over easily. But it's open source, which means it doesn't happen, right :) ?
Yes, I tried to use Linux, and I think it is one of the best operation system. It is free and open source, and that is the biggest advantage of it. I recommend it for everybody because is way better than Windows for almost every day use cases.
What is your opinion about Linus? Do you agree with his lifestyle and the way he deals with issues? Or maybe he seems like a complete nerd to you?
I personally respect and admire Linus very much for many reasons like introducing open source to world, for creating Linux and Git, those tools are used in almost every software company in the world. And I like his way to coordinate Linux project over this years, he knows what he wants from code whom has to be part of Linux. He is also known from controversial opinion and hard words to his collaborators, but this is his project and he is the boss of that and I agree with him.
Do you also find it a bit ridiculous that Linux as a kernel succeeded in almost every field of IT, including the majority of the servers and smartphones (Android), but not on desktop PCs that Linus initially coded it for?
I think that blame is in marketing with Microsoft used to get his place in PC.
I don't know a lot about Linus Torvalds but after this TED presenation I think that we have some similarities. I am also a introvert person who really love a programming. It is easy for me to understand his lifestyle and fact that he prefers to work alone in his own space.
I think that a Microsoft was better with promoting their operating system. For many years people was thinking that Linux is reserved only for programmers or nerds. Now we have a GNU/Linxu on servers, in smarthones and in many electronical devices for one simple reason - producers can use such softwere for less money. Microsoft was too greedy and now they are a leader only in PC but I feel that in near future it will change.
2. I knew a lot about Linus Torvalds before this presentation because I was interested in his life a lot in my school years so mot much new information during this TED.
3. Linux is an OS that is made for limited segment of humanity, while Microsoft is a non-perfectly-dome product for a mass market. I am just glad for Linus that his system entered the mas market, even if it is not the way he wanted it to be.