Linus Torvalds Quotes

If you start doing things because you hate others and want to screw them over, the end result is bad.

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

If you think penguins are fat and waddle, you have never been attacked by one running at you in excess of 100 miles per hour.

Artists usually don't make all that much money, and they often keep their artistic hobby despite the money rather than due to it.

Bill Gates really seems to be much more of a business man than a technologist, while I prefer to think of Linux in technical terms rather than as a means to money.

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.

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.

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.

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 don't think commercialization is the answer to anything. It's just one more facet of Linux, and not the deciding one by any means.

I've never regretted not making Linux shareware: I really don't like the "pay for use" binary shareware programs.

I've been employed by the University of Helsinki, and they've been perfectly happy to keep me employed and doing Linux.

Shareware tends to combine the worst of commercial software with the worst of free software.

I'm generally a very pragmatic person: that which works, works.

People will realize that software is not a product; you use it to build a product.

Any program is only as good as it is useful.

Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow.

It's what I call "mental masturbation", when you engage is some pointless intellectual exercise that has no possible meaning.

Portability is for people who cannot write new programs.

I very seldom worry about other systems. I concentrate pretty fully on just making Linux the best I can.

The memory management on the PowerPC can be used to frighten small children.

Today, I will offer free web hosting and developpement helps for projects under Sourceforge

I don't expect to go hungry if I decide to leave the University. Resume: Linux looks pretty good in many places.

The thing with Linux is that the developers themselves are actually customers too: that has always been an important part of Linux.

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.

If you want to travel around the world and be invited to speak at a lot of different places, just write a Unix operating system.

Software patents, in particular, are very ripe for abuse. The whole system encourages big corporations getting thousands and thousands of patents. Individuals almost never get them.

Developers have the attention spans of slightly moronic woodland creatures.

Making Linux GPL'd was definitely the best thing I ever did.

I've been very happy with the commercial Linux CD-ROM vendors linux Red Hat.

It just makes it even harder for people to even approach the (open source) side, when they then end up having to worry about public humiliation.

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.

Linux has definitely made a lot of sense even in a purely materialistic sense.

You won't get sued for anticompetitive behavior.

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.

The idea of abstracting away the one thing that must be blindingly fast, the kernel, is inherently counter productive.

I like to think that I've been a good manager. That fact has been very instrumental in making Linux a successful product.

My name is Linus, and I am your God.

The fact is, there aren't just two sides to any issue, there's almost always a range of responses, and "it depends" is almost always the right answer in any big question.

Only religious fanatics and totalitarian states equate morality with legality.

Let's put it this way: if you need to ask a lawyer whether what you do is "right" or not, you are morally corrupt. Let's not go there. We don't base our morality on law.

I don't actually follow other operating systems much. I don't compete - I just worry about making Linux better than itself, not others.

Whoever came up with "hold the shift key for eight seconds to turn on 'your keyboard is buggered' mode" should be shot.

I think, fundamentally, open source does tend to be more stable software. It's the right way to do things.

Hmmm, completely a-religious - atheist. I find that people seem to think religion brings morals and appreciation of nature. I actually think it detracts from both.

The bulk of all patents are crap. Spending time reading them is stupid. It's up to the patent owner to do so, and to enforce them.

Quite frankly, even if the choice of C were to do *nothing* but keep the C++ programmers out, that in itself would be a huge reason to use C.

To be honest, the fact that people trust you gives you a lot of power over people. Having another person's trust is more powerful than all other management techniques put together.

Real quality means making sure that people are proud of the code they write, that they're involved and taking it personally.

I love making friends.... it's people I can't stand.