Editing Linus Torvalds (section)

=== Linux ===
{{Main|History of Linux}}
The first Linux prototypes were publicly released on the Internet in late 1991 from an [[FTP]] server at his university.<ref name="moody" /><ref>{{cite newsgroup |title= What would you like to see most in minix? |last=Torvalds |first=Linus Benedict |date=25 August 1991 |newsgroup= comp.os.minix |message-id= 1991Aug25.205708.9541@klaava.Helsinki.FI |url= http://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.minix/msg/b813d52cbc5a044b?dmode=source | quote=I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones.}}</ref> Version 1.0 was released on 14 March 1994.<ref name="kern1p0-release">{{cite news|url=https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v1.0/|title=Kernel 1.0 Source Code Release|access-date=27 October 2008}}</ref>

Torvalds first encountered the [[GNU Project]] in the autumn of 1991 when another Swedish-speaking computer science student, Lars Wirzenius, took him to the University of Technology to listen to free software guru [[Richard Stallman]]'s speech. Because of the talk and pressure from other contributors, Torvalds would ultimately switch his original license (which forbade commercial use) to Stallman's [[GNU General Public License]] version 2 (GPLv2) for his [[Linux kernel]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wirzenius |first1=Lars |title=The early days of Linux |url=https://lwn.net/SubscriberLink/928581/841b747332791ac4/ |access-date=14 April 2023 |work=LWN.net}}</ref>

After a visit to [[Transmeta]] in late 1996,<ref name="linuxonlinebio">{{cite web|url=http://www.linux.org/info/linus.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040626044423/http://www.linux.org/info/linus.html |archive-date=26 June 2004 |title=Linux Online&nbsp;– Linus Torvalds Bio |publisher=Linux.org |access-date=13 March 2010}}</ref> Torvalds accepted a position at the company in California, where he worked from February 1997 to June 2003. He then moved to the [[Open Source Development Labs]], which has since merged with the [[Free Standards Group]] to become the [[Linux Foundation]], under whose auspices he continues to work. In June 2004, Torvalds and his family moved to [[Dunthorpe, Oregon]]<ref name="Rogoway">{{cite news |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2005/06/linus_torvalds_incognito_inven.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140709153804/http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2005/06/linus_torvalds_incognito_inven.html|archive-date=9 July 2014 |title=Linus Torvalds, Incognito Inventor |first=Mike |last=Rogoway |newspaper=[[The Oregonian]] |date=7 June 2005 |access-date=8 July 2014 |quote=A sort of anti-celebrity, he is plainly ambivalent about fame and content to stay nestled at home in a tony cluster of million-dollar houses atop the densely forested hills of the Dunthorpe neighborhood.}}</ref> to be closer to the OSDL's headquarters in [[Beaverton, Oregon|Beaverton]].

From 1997 to 1999, he was involved in [[86open]], helping select the standard binary format for [[Linux]] and [[Unix]]. In 1999, he was named by the ''[[MIT Technology Review]]'' [[TR100]] as one of the world's top 100 innovators under age 35.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.technologyreview.com/tr35/profile.aspx?TRID=495 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20110329015921/http://www.technologyreview.com/TR35/Profile.aspx?TRID=495 |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 March 2011 |title=1999 Young Innovators Under 35: Linus Torvalds, 29 |magazine=[[Technology Review]] |year=1999 |access-date=14 August 2011 }}</ref>

In 1999, [[Red Hat]] and [[VA Linux]], both leading developers of Linux-based software, presented Torvalds with [[stock option]]s in gratitude for his creation.<ref name=r1/> That year both companies [[went public]] and Torvalds's share value briefly shot up to about US$20&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.11/linus_pr.html|title=Leader of the Free World|last=Rivlin|first=Gary|access-date=14 June 2008|magazine=Wired}}</ref><ref name="unauthbio">{{cite web|url=http://www.linfo.org/linus.html|title=Linus Torvalds: A Very Brief and Completely Unauthorized Biography|work=The Linux Information Project|publisher=Bellevue Linux Users Group|date=24 January 2006|access-date=22 October 2010}}</ref>

His personal mascot is a penguin nicknamed [[Tux (mascot)|Tux]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ussg.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9605/0855.html|title=Re: Linux Logo prototype.|date=9 May 1996|first=Linus|last=Torvalds|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120530044051/http://www.ussg.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9605/0855.html|archive-date=30 May 2012}}</ref> which has been widely adopted by the Linux community as the Linux kernel's mascot.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.linux.org/info/penguin.html |title=Why a Penguin? |access-date=19 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070113035356/http://www.linux.org/info/penguin.html |archive-date=13 January 2007 }}. linux.org</ref>

Although Torvalds believes "[[open source]] is the only right way to do software", he also has said that he uses the "best tool for the job", even if that includes [[proprietary software]].<ref>{{YouTube|4XpnKHJAok8|Linus Torvalds at Google, on Git}}, 9:50–10:00</ref> He was criticized for his use and alleged advocacy of the proprietary [[BitKeeper]] software for version control in the Linux kernel. He subsequently wrote a free-software replacement for it called [[Git]].

In 2008, Torvalds stated that he used the [[Fedora Linux]] distribution because it had fairly good support for the [[PowerPC]] processor architecture, which he favored at the time.<ref name="LinusFedora">{{cite web|url=http://www.simple-talk.com/opinion/geek-of-the-week/linus-torvalds,-geek-of-the-week/|title=Linus Torvalds, Geek of the Week|date=17 July 2008|access-date=3 August 2009|last=Morris|first=Richard|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100110045635/http://www.simple-talk.com/opinion/geek-of-the-week/linus-torvalds%2C-geek-of-the-week/|archive-date=10 January 2010}}</ref> He confirmed this in a 2012 interview.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.tuxradar.com/content/interview-linus-torvalds-linux-format-163 | title=Interview with Linus Torvalds from Linux Format 163 | date=29 November 2012 | website=TuxRadar | publisher=Linux Format | access-date=3 February 2014 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140119045740/http://www.tuxradar.com/content/interview-linus-torvalds-linux-format-163 | archive-date=19 January 2014 }}</ref> Torvalds abandoned GNOME for a while after the release of [[GNOME 3.0]], saying, "The developers have apparently decided that it's 'too complicated' to actually do real work on your desktop, and have decided to make it really annoying to do". He then switched to [[Xfce]].<ref>{{citation|author=Ricky|title=Linus Torvalds Ditches GNOME For Xfce|date=4 August 2011|url=https://digitizor.com/linus-torvalds-ditches-gnome-for-xfce/|work=Digitizor|access-date=8 November 2011|archive-date=11 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411094010/http://digitizor.com/2011/08/04/linus-torvalds-ditches-gnome-for-xfce/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2013, Torvalds resumed using GNOME, noting that "they have extensions now that are still much too hard to find; but with extensions you can make your desktop look almost as good as it used to look two years ago".<ref>{{cite web|date=7 November 2012|title=Torvalds: I want to be nice, and curse less, but it's just not in me|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/07/passion_of_torvalds/|access-date=2 January 2013|publisher=The Register|archive-date=13 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151113202510/http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/07/passion_of_torvalds/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Heath|first=Nick|title=Linus Torvalds switches back to Gnome 3.x desktop|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/linus-torvalds-switches-back-to-gnome-3-x-desktop/|website=ZDNet|access-date=22 April 2019|archive-date=3 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220203130301/https://www.zdnet.com/article/linus-torvalds-switches-back-to-gnome-3-x-desktop/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Linux Foundation]] currently sponsors Torvalds so he can work full-time on improving Linux.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.linuxfoundation.org/about|title=About Us|publisher=The Linux Foundation|access-date=19 June 2013}}</ref>

In 2012, while giving a talk at [[Aalto University]], Torvalds said "fuck you" and raised his middle finger after critiquing the company [[Nvidia]], which specializes in GPU technology. He said Nvidia was, at the time, the single worst company he has dealt with in the development of the kernel. In the talk, he also discussed other elements of computing.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Garling |first=Caleb |title=Nvidia Responds to F-Bomb From Linus Torvalds |url=https://www.wired.com/2012/06/nvidia-linus-torvald/ |access-date=2024-12-13 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Savov |first=Vlad |date=2012-06-17 |title=Linus Torvalds: 'fuck you, Nvidia' for not supporting Linux |url=https://www.theverge.com/2012/6/17/3092829/linus-torvalds-fuck-you-nvidia |access-date=2024-12-13 |website=The Verge |language=en}}</ref>

Torvalds is known for vocally disagreeing with other developers on the [[Linux kernel mailing list]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-16/the-creator-of-linux-on-the-future-without-him | work=Bloomberg | first=Ashlee | last=Vance | author-link=Ashlee Vance | title=The Creator of Linux on the Future Without Him | date=16 June 2015}}</ref> Calling himself a "really unpleasant person", he explained, "I'd like to be a nice person and curse less and encourage people to grow rather than telling them they are idiots. I'm sorry—I tried, it's just not in me."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/01/19/got_bugs_got_anger_just_get_them_out_says_linus_torvalds/|title=Buggy? Angry? LET IT ALL OUT says Linus Torvalds|first=Simon|last=Sharwood|website=The Register|date=19 January 2015|access-date=8 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/07/passion_of_torvalds/|title=Torvalds: I want to be nice, and curse less, but it's just not in me|first=Gavin|last=Clarke|website=The Register|date=7 November 2012|access-date=8 November 2015}}</ref> His attitude, which he considers necessary for making his points clear, has drawn criticism from [[Intel]] programmer [[Sage Sharp]] and [[systemd]] developer [[Lennart Poettering]], among others.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.slashdot.org/story/14/10/06/1837237/lennart-poettering-open-source-community-quite-a-sick-place-to-be-in|title=Lennart Poettering: Open Source Community "Quite A Sick Place To Be In"|publisher=Slashdot|date=6 October 2014|access-date=8 November 2015}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=October 2022}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.networkworld.com/article/943950/linux-kernel-dev-sarah-sharp-quits-citing-brutal-communications-style.html|title=Linux kernel dev Sarah Sharp quits, citing 'brutal' communications style|first=Jon|last=Gold|publisher=Network World|date=5 October 2015|access-date=8 November 2015}}</ref>

On Sunday, 16 September 2018, the Linux kernel ''Code of Conflict'' was suddenly replaced by a new ''Code of Conduct'' based on the [[Contributor Covenant]]. Shortly thereafter, in the release notes for Linux 4.19-rc4, Torvalds apologized for his behavior, calling his personal attacks of the past "unprofessional and uncalled for" and announced a period of "time off" to "get some assistance on how to understand people's emotions and respond appropriately". It soon transpired that these events followed ''[[The New Yorker]]'' approaching Torvalds with a series of questions critical of his conduct.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/CA+55aFy+Hv9O5citAawS+mVZO+ywCKd9NQ2wxUmGsz9ZJzqgJQ@mail.gmail.com/|title=Linux 4.19-rc4 released, an apology, and a maintainership note|date=16 September 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://lwn.net/SubscriberLink/765108/f1a80a6d6a6ff0f4/|title=Code, conflict, and conduct|first=Jonathan|last=Corbet|publisher=[[LWN.net]]|date=18 September 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/science/elements/after-years-of-abusive-e-mails-the-creator-of-linux-steps-aside|title=After Years of Abusive E-mails, the Creator of Linux Steps Aside|first=Noam|last=Cohen|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|date=19 September 2018|location=New York City|issn=0028-792X}}</ref> Following the release of Linux 4.19 on 22 October 2018, Torvalds returned to maintaining the kernel.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lwn.net/Articles/769111/|title=The 4.19 kernel is out|first=Jonathan|last=Corbet|publisher=[[LWN.net]]|date=22 October 2018}}</ref>

In 2024, Russian developers were excluded from the list of Linux kernel maintainers. Torvalds commented: "I'm Finnish. Did you think I'd be supporting Russian aggression?"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lore.kernel.org/all/CAHk-=whNGNVnYHHSXUAsWds_MoZ-iEgRMQMxZZ0z-jY4uHT+Gg@mail.gmail.com/|title=Re: [PATCH] Revert "MAINTAINERS: Remove some entries due to various compliance requirements." - Linus Torvalds|work=Kernel Mailing Lists|access-date=28 October 2024|archive-url=https://archive.today/20241026165021/https://lore.kernel.org/all/CAHk-=whNGNVnYHHSXUAsWds_MoZ-iEgRMQMxZZ0z-jY4uHT+Gg@mail.gmail.com/|archive-date=26 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linus-Torvalds-Russian-Devs|title=Linus Torvalds on Russian Developers|date=2024}}</ref>

==== The Linus/Linux connection ====
{{Main|History of Linux#Naming}}

Initially, Torvalds wanted to call the kernel he developed ''Freax'' (a combination of "free", "freak", and the letter X to indicate that it was a Unix-like system), but his friend [[Ari Lemmke]], who administered the [[FTP]] [[server (computing)|server]] where the kernel was first hosted, named Torvalds' directory ''linux''.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Moody|first=Glen|title=The Greatest OS That (Never) Was|url=https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/5.08/linux.html?pg=3&topic=|magazine=Wired|access-date=22 July 2013}}</ref>