Linus Torvalds Quotes

A lot of people who work on open-source software don't mind making money elsewhere. They aren't anticommercial.

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

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.

I do get my pizzas paid for by Linux indirectly.

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.

I work on OpenBSD fulltime, as the project leader. I set some directions, increase communication between the developers, and try to be involved in nearly every aspect of the base system.

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

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.

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.

We're not done yet, but two things WordPress has been able to exemplify is that open source can create great user experiences and that it's possible to have a successful commercial entity and a wider free software community living and working in harmony.

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.

Me trying to make a business around Linux would have been a total disaster.

There are lots of Linux users who don't care how the kernel works but only want to use it is not only a tribute to how good Linux is, but it also brings up issues that I would never have thought of otherwise.

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 started Linux because I wanted to see it on the desktop... I do hope that the desktop people would try to work together ... and work more on the technology than trying to make the login screen look really nice.

I personally think of Linux development as being pretty non-localized, and I work with all the people entirely over e-mail - even if they happen to be working in the Portland area.

Early versions of Microsoft Word left a lot to be desired. However, to the company's credit, it quickly learned where Word fell short, made the necessary changes, and repeatedly introduced new versions of the software.

Open source production has shown us that world-class software, like Linux and Mozilla, can be created with neither the bureaucratic structure of the firm nor the incentives of the marketplace as we've known them.

Software is now so complex - requiring so many gazillions of tiny files all over your computer - that most consumers don't want to bother to know what's really going on.

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

All of our code is open source, so it can be used for other projects.

The more money Automattic makes, the more we invest into Free and Open Source software that belongs to everybody and services to make that software sing.

If you don't have the best product, you're not going to make it in open-source.

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.