“It wasn’t that I wanted to change the world; I wanted to make Linux freely available, but there wasn’t any deep philosophical thinking behind it. I want to have fun in my life… I want to do something that matters.” Linus Torvalds shares his thoughts on Linux, Microsoft, and life in Silicon Valley.
You probably know Linus Torvalds as the moving force behind the operating system that is reshaping the computing industry. But did you also know that he owns a four-wheel drive, orders steak and beer when given the chance, and that these days, he worries less about symmetrical multi-processing support in Linux 2.2 than he does about being away from his wife and two kids?
Linux Magazine had the unique opportunity to sit down with Linus Torvalds over dinner, near the headquarters of Transmeta — the mystery-shrouded Santa Clara, California company that employs him. On hand was Adam Goodman, editor of Linux Magazine, Matt Welsh, author of O’Reilly’s Running Linux and senior editor of LM, and Lee Gomes, who covers technology for the Wall Street Journal.
We met Torvalds at the Transmeta headquarters and as expected, we were not allowed beyond the lobby; he also refused to answer any questions about what the company is actually up to. (Our best guess is that it is working on a chip that will compete with Intel.) From the lobby, we adjourned to a nearby restaurant, where Torvalds — despite his wife having pleaded with him not to miss dinner at home to do yet another interview — spent an obliging two hours answering questions. Topics ranged from Microsoft’s software design philosophy to Torvalds’…
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