Jamie Zawinski Quotes

I think Linux is a great thing, because Linux is an alternative to Windows, and because, of all the operating systems that are at all relevant today, Unix is the best of a bad lot.

Microsoft loves Linux.

On a purely technical side, I'm really very happy with how Linux gets used in a very wide set of different areas. It's important for development.

I'm interested in Linux because of the technology, and Linux wasn't started as any kind of rebellion against the 'evil Microsoft empire.'

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.

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

All the best people in life seem to like LINUX.

We all love Linux, but it's also a fact that some people might not be able to migrate.

People sometimes ask me if it is a sin in the Church of Emacs to use vi. Using a free version of vi is not a sin; it is a penance. So happy hacking.

I think the way IBM has embraced the open source philosophy has been quite astonishing, but gratifying. I hope they'll do very well with it.

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.

When I first got into technology I didn't really understand what open source was. Once I started writing software, I realized how important this would be.

Not only is UNIX dead, it's starting to smell really bad.

Linux has more than satisfied any small initial expectations I had. It's simply incredible how successful Linux has been, and how good a time I've had developing it and leading the project. It does take a lot of my time, but it's time I really enjoy spending, and Linux has continued to be challenging both technically and from a managing standpoint.

There's innovation in Linux. There are some really good technical features that I'm proud of. There are capabilities in Linux that aren't in other operating systems.

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

Software is a great combination between artistry and engineering.

TV and the press have always functioned according to the same sets of rules and technical standards. But the Internet is based on software. And anybody can write a new piece of software on the Internet that years later a billion people are using.

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.

There were open source projects and free software before Linux was there. Linux in many ways is one of the more visible and one of the bigger technical projects in this area, and it changed how people looked at it because Linux took both the practical and ideological approach.

I want people to use Perl. I want to be a positive ingredient of the world and make my American history. So, whatever it takes to give away my software and get it used, that's great.

I think the wonderful thing about vi is that it has such a good market share because we gave it away.

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

There are two main methodologies of open source development. There's the Apache model, which is design by committee - great for things like web servers. Then you have the benevolent dictator model. That's what Ubuntu is doing, with Mark Shuttleworth.