Linus Torvalds

“Part of doing Linux was that I had to communicate a lot more instead of just being a geek in front of a computer.”

“No-one has ever called me a cool dude. I'm somewhere between geek and normal.”

“I like to think that I've been a good manager. That fact has been very instrumental in making Linux a successful product.”

“I see myself as a technical person who chose a great project and a great way of doing that project.”

“I actually think that I'm a rather optimistic and happy person; it's just that I'm not a very positive person, if you see the difference.”

“Artists usually don't make all that much money, and they often keep their artistic hobby despite the money rather than due to it.”

“The economics of the security world are all horribly, horribly nasty and are largely based on fear, intimidation and blackmail.”

“I never felt that the naming issue was all that important, but I was obviously wrong, judging by how many people felt. I tell people to call it just plain Linux and nothing more.”

“I do get my pizzas paid for by Linux indirectly.”

“I spend a lot more time than any person should have to talking with lawyers and thinking about intellectual property issues.”

“I used to be interested in Windows NT, but the more I see it, the more it looks like traditional Windows with a stabler kernel. I don't find anything technically interesting there.”

“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.”

“I don't think I'm unusual in preferring my laptop to be thin and light.”

“Helsinki may not be as cold as you make it out to be, but California is still a lot nicer. I don't remember the last time I couldn't walk around in shorts all day.”

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

“The Linux philosophy is 'Laugh in the face of danger'. Oops. Wrong One. 'Do it yourself'. Yes, that's it.”

“I don't expect to go hungry if I decide to leave the University. Resume: Linux looks pretty good in many places.”

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

“I've been very happy with the commercial Linux CD-ROM vendors linux Red Hat.”