Linus Torvalds Quotes

A computer is like air conditioning - it becomes useless when you open Windows

Most of the good programmers do programming not because they expect to get paid or get adulation by the public, but because it is fun to program.

Talk is cheap. Show me the code.

Microsoft isn't evil, they just make really crappy operating systems.

Finnish companies tend to be very traditional, not taking many risks. Silicon Valley is completely different: people here really live on the edge.

Bad programmers worry about the code. Good programmers worry about data structures and their relationships.

Backups are for wimps. Real men upload their data to an FTP site and have everyone else mirror it.

Intelligence is the ability to avoid doing work, yet getting the work done.

Only wimps use tape backup. Real men just upload their important stuff on ftp and let the rest of the world mirror it.

What commercialism has brought to Linux has been the incentive to make a good distribution that is easy to use and that has all the packaging issues worked out.

All operating systems sucks, but Linux just sucks less

C++ is a horrible language. It's made more horrible by the fact that a lot of substandard programmers use it, to the point where it's much much easier to generate total and utter crap with it.

That's what makes Linux so good: you put in something, and that effort multiplies. It's a positive feedback cycle.

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 like offending people, because I think people who get offended should be offended.

In short: just say NO TO DRUGS, and maybe you won't end up like the Hurd people.

In real open source, you have the right to control your own destiny.

If Microsoft ever does applications for Linux it means I've won.

Those that can, do. Those that can't, complain.

People who are doing things for fun do things the right way by themselves.

Avoiding complexity reduces bugs.

Nobody actually creates perfect code the first time around, except me. But there's only one of me.

I may make jokes about Microsoft at times, but at the same time, I think the Microsoft hatred is a disease.

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 want my office to be quiet. The loudest thing in the room - by far - should be the occasional purring of the cat.

Don't hurry your code. Make sure it works well and is well designed. Don't worry about timing.

Theory and practice sometimes clash. And when that happens, theory loses. Every single time.

In my opinion MS is a lot better at making money than it is at making good operating systems.

In open source, we feel strongly that to really do something well, you have to get a lot of people involved.

I started Linux as a desktop operating system. And it's the only area where Linux hasn't completely taken over. That just annoys the hell out of me.

I'm basically a very lazy person who likes to get credit for things other people actually do.

The fact that ACPI was designed by a group of monkeys high on LSD, and is some of the worst designs in the industry obviously makes running it at any point pretty damn ugly.

To be a nemesis, you have to actively try to destroy something, don't you? Really, I'm not out to destroy Microsoft. That will just be a completely unintentional side effect.

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.'

Hey, I'm a good software engineer, but I'm not exactly known for my fashion sense. White socks and sandals don't translate to 'good design sense'.

I think Leopard is a much better system [than Windows Vista] but OS X in some ways is actually worse than Windows to program for. Their file system is complete and utter crap, which is scary.

We all know Linux is great...it does infinite loops in 5 seconds.

I am pragmatic. That which works, works, and theory can go screw itself. However, my pragmatism also extends to maintainability, which is why I also want it done well.

I get the biggest enjoyment from the random and unexpected places. Linux on cellphones or refrigerators, just because it's so not what I envisioned it. Or on supercomputers.

And what's the Internet without the rick-roll?

An infinite number of monkeys typing into GNU emacs would never make a good program.

Helsinki isn't all that bad. It's a very nice city, and it's cold really only in wintertime.

I am not out to destroy Microsoft, that would be a completely unintended side effect.

Every time I see some piece of medical research saying that caffeine is good for you, I high-five myself. Because I'm going to live forever.

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.

If you think your users are idiots, only idiots will use it.

No problem is too big it can't be run away from

I do get my pizzas paid for by Linux indirectly.

The Linux philosophy is "laugh in the face of danger". Oops. Wrong one. "Do it yourself". That's it.

Part of doing Linux was that I had to communicate a lot more instead of just being a geek in front of a computer.