Quotes by Linus Torvalds

• Non-technical questions sometimes don't have an answer at all.
• When you say "I wrote a program that crashed Windows," people just stare at you blankly and say "Hey, I got those with the system, for free."
• When it comes to software, I much prefer free software, because I have very seldom seen a program that has worked well enough for my needs, and having sources available can be a life-saver.
• Intelligence is the ability to avoid doing work, yet getting the work done.
• What commercialism has brought into Linux has been the incentive to make a good distribution that is easy to use and that has all the packaging issues worked out.
• There are lots of Linux users who don't care how the kernel works, but only want to use it. That is a tribute to how good Linux is.
• The thing with Linux is that the developers themselves are actually customers too: that has always been an important part of Linux.
• Linux has definitely made a lot of sense even in a purely materialistic sense.
• Making Linux GPL'd was definitely the best thing I ever did.
• Microsoft isn't evil, they just make really crappy operating systems.
• The memory management on the PowerPC can be used to frighten small children.
• My name is Linus, and I am your God.
• Software is like sex: it's better when it's free.
• People enjoy the interaction on the Internet, and the feeling of belonging to a group that does something interesting: that's how some software projects are born.
• Programmers are in the enviable position of not only getting to do what they want to, but because the end result is so important they get paid to do it. There are other professions like that, but not that many.
• See, you not only have to be a good coder to create a system like Linux, you have to be a sneaky bastard too.
• You won't get sued for anticompetitive behavior.
• Shareware tends to combine the worst of commercial software with the worst of free software.
• I've never regretted not making Linux shareware: I really don't like the pay for use binary shareware programs.
• The Linux philosophy is 'Laugh in the face of danger'. Oops. Wrong One. 'Do it yourself'. Yes, that's it.
• The fame and reputation part came later, and never was much of a motivator, although it did enable me to work without feeling guilty about neglecting my studies.
• The cyberspace earnings I get from Linux come in the format of having a Network of people that know me and trust me, and that I can depend on in return.
• That's what makes Linux so good: you put in something, and that effort multiplies. It's a positive feedback cycle.
• Most good programmers do programming not because they expect to get paid or get adulation by the public, but because it is fun to program.
• Before the commercial ventures, Linux tended to be rather hard to set up, because most of the developers were motivated mainly by their own interests.
• I've been employed by the University of Helsinki, and they've been perfectly happy to keep me employed and doing Linux.
• I'm generally a very pragmatic person: that which works, works.
• I very seldom worry about other systems. I concentrate pretty fully on just making Linux the best I can.
• I used to be interested in Windows NT, but the more I see it, the more it looks like traditional Windows with a stabler kernel. I don't find anything technically interesting there.
• I try to avoid long-range plans and visions - that way I can more easily deal with anything new that comes up.
• I never felt that the naming issue was all that important, but I was obviously wrong, judging by how many people felt. I tell people to call it just plain Linux and nothing more.
• I like to think that I've been a good manager. That fact has been very instrumental in making Linux a successful product.
• I don't try to be a threat to MicroSoft, mainly because I don't really see MS as competition. Especially not Windows-the goals of Linux and Windows are simply so different.
• I don't expect to go hungry if I decide to leave the University. Resume: Linux looks pretty good in many places.
• I do get my pizzas paid for by Linux indirectly.
• Helsinki may not be as cold as you make it out to be, but California is still a lot nicer. I don't remember the last time I couldn't walk around in shorts all day.
• Finnish companies tend to be very traditional, not taking many risks. Silicon Valley is completely different: people here really live on the edge.
• Artists usually don't make all that much money, and they often keep their artistic hobby despite the money rather than due to it.
• Any program is only as good as it is useful.
• A consumer doesn't take anything away: he doesn't actually consume anything. Giving the same thing to a thousand consumers is not really any more expensive than giving it to just one.
• In many cases, the user interface to a program is the most important part for a commercial company: whether the programs works correctly or not seems to be secondary.
• I've been very happy with the commercial Linux CD-ROM vendors linux Red Hat.
• If Microsoft ever does applications for Linux it means I've won.
• In my opinion MS is a lot better at making money than it is at making good operating systems.
• Helsinki isn't all that bad. It's a very nice city, and it's cold really only in wintertime.
• Creativity is the only marriage where even the chaotic 'couples' feel impressed by every strange project they take on.