Linus Torvalds Quotes

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.

Briefly, to program it requires an absolute understanding of how all 65,536 processors are interconnected.

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

Android's user-space is so different from stock Linux, you can easily say that Android is not in any way a Linux system, except for the kernel.

The interesting thing about Android's design is how little we modified the kernel.

See, you not only have to be a good coder to create a system like Linux, you have to be a sneaky bastard too.

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.

Android is very different from the GNU/Linux operating system because it contains very little of GNU. Indeed, just about the only component in common between Android and GNU/Linux is Linux, the kernel.

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

We can build a better product than Linux.

There is no system but GNU and Linux is one of it's kernels

I was Computer Shopper's linux columnist for more than half a decade, from the late 90s onwards. Yes, I know about Linux. (My first review of a Linux distro in the press was published in late 1996.)

Hold the fort! I am coming!

To gain support in U.S. Congress and from other nations requires clarity, an acceptable mission and an explicit outcome.

At times our need for a sympathetic gesture is so great that we care not what exactly it signifies or how much we may have to pay for it afterwards.

I am struck by how sharing our weakness and difficulties is more nourishing to others than sharing our qualities and successes.

Islamic State is following a clear strategy. First, it wants to solidify its power in Iraq and Syria. Then, their fighters will try to advance to Syria's Mediterranean coast. If they are successful, that will be seen as their next great triumph. And then, their target will be Jordan, where things will be easy for them. Already, Islamic State has broad support in many cities there. And when they get there, it will once again come as a great surprise to everybody.

You had to change who you were to become famous. I thought that for a very long time. Even after signing a record deal, and then eventually getting my own recording company, Wonderland Records, I had to say no to a lot of opportunities to become well known. If it didn't align with my values and if it didn't support the image I had created for myself, I'd pass.

Beware how you take away hope from any human being.

I’ve learned that waiting is the most difficult bit, and I want to get used to the feeling, knowing that you’re with me, even when you’re not by my side.

It is at moments of need that one learns who one's friends are. Defeated armies learn their lesson.

Surround yourself with people who are doers!