Linus Torvalds Quotes

One of the ways that Microsoft beat Apple way back in the day was that they were a lot more open; today, in the world I come from, the free software and open-source world, Microsoft is not generally viewed as open; they're viewed as proprietary.

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.

The biggest challenge for open source is that as it enters the consumer market, as projects like WordPress and Firefox have done, you have to create a user experience that is on par or better than the proprietary alternatives.

Linux is a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches.

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

In trying to understand the Linux phenomenon, then, we have to look not at a single innovator but to a sort of bizarre Trinity : Linus Torvalds, Richard Stallman, and Bill Gates. Take away any of these three and Linux would not exist.

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

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.

Linux is only free if your time has no value.

I think operating systems work best if they're free and open. Particular applications are more likely to be proprietary.

I think that Microsoft will increasingly feel margin pressure from Linux as well as people saying: well actually the applications that really matter to me are not on my PC. And so they're going to be able to extract less of a monopoly rent, so to speak.

I'm not of the opinion that all software will be open source software. There is certain software that fits a niche that is only useful to a particular company or person: for example, the software immediately behind a web site's user interface. But the vast majority of software is actually pretty generic.

Ubuntu is doing amazing things, and I think it's going to change the face of the desktop.

I've felt strongly that the advantage of Linux is that it doesn't have a niche or any special market, but that different individuals and companies end up pushing it in the direction they want, and as such you end up with something that is pretty balanced across the board.

The crucial legacy of the personal computer is that anyone can write code for it and give or sell that code to you - and the vendors of the PC and its operating system have no more to say about it than your phone company does about which answering machine you decide to buy.

Linux has never been about quality. There are so many parts of the system that are just these cheap little hacks, and it happens to run.

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

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

It is the fate of operating systems to become free.

I'd never compromise my position as a journalist by having a friendly relationship with a politician.

I think Linux is a great thing, in the big picture. It's a great hacker's tool, and it has a lot of potential to become something more.

Microsoft loves Linux.

In my capacity as a board member of the OfS, I hope to be impartial, objective, and fair.

Our clients value our independence as the leading partner of both the established providers and emerging players.

We can build a better product than Linux.