When Linus Torvalds thanks the thousands of contributors who have made Linux what it is today, one who is uppermost in his mind is Alan Cox. Since he first loaded Linux as a replacement for his Amiga in 1992, Cox has gone on to write much of the networking and SMP (symmetric multiprocessor) code for Linux. But his most important work is as “kernel maintainer.” Right now, that means maintaining the cutting-edge “AC” version of the kernel — a test-bed for the latest and most innovative (and sometimes unstable) patches to Linux.
Though Torvalds is the more visible public figure, Alan Cox clearly commands the respect of the Linux community, and a comment in his widely-read Diary can cause a serious ripple in the world of Linux hackerdom. The 30 year-old Cox met with Linux Magazine Publisher Adam Goodman and Executive Editor Robert McMillan at last May’s Linux Expo in Raleigh, NC.
LINUX MAGAZINE: What was your first computer?
ALAN COX: The first computer I actually programmed was a…
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