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| Linus Torvald suggest some market positioning for Microsoft Windows |
Linus Torvald, the creator of LINUX and a prominent proponent for common standards and open source software, is NOT joining Microsoft to work on anything.
Microsoft represents the kind of clumsy monopoly that is inimical to everything Torvald believes in and stands for.
When I first read that article at a reputable financial site I spit out my coffee and almost fell out of my chair. As a former boy programmer who left the 360 gulag to work on the Unix operating system I was stricken. What the heck is going on in the world? Has everyone gone crazy?
I did not realize that the article was a few days old, and it was printed on April Fools. Well they got me. This is how bad things have gotten. And I did forget that the next windows is not going to be Windows 9, but Windows Blue.
Torvald joining Microsoft would be like Chris Hedges becoming a salesman for Goldman Sachs, or Noam Chomsky enlisting to pilot drone strikes on domestic peace marches. Or even Pope Francis I resigning his pontificate to join Dancing With the Stars and HRM Queen Elizabeth abdicating the throne to become the new house driver, aka The Stig, for the BBC's Top Gear. Although I must admit it would be thrilling to see her daintily execute her famous hand wave through the window of a Ferrari as she cleared the last sharp turn into the finish.
Not everyone has become a complete whore to their principles, although it may often seem that way if you read and watch the financial media and the observations of very famous establishment economists that fraud is freedom and privation is prosperity.
Here is a recent example of what Torvald thinks about Microsoft, that may have helped inspire the goof from FOSS. I need a dose of reality. Time to go out and work in the garden.
(Caution: the following article contains harsh language)
Linus Torvald: I Will Not Change Linux to Deep Throat Microsoft
This is not a d**k-sucking contest," says Linux's benevolent overlord.
by Jon Brodkin
Feb 26 2013
The Linux kernel development process may welcome all those who love open source software and have the right coding chops, but one man remains the ultimate authority on what does and doesn't go into Linux—and he isn't afraid to let everyone know it.
The rants of Linux creator Linus Torvalds often become public through the Linux Kernel Mailing List archive. That's the open source way, and it gives us a glimpse into the thinking of the people behind one of the world's most widely used technologies.
The latest example comes from an argument between Torvalds and other Linux developers over whether the Linux kernel should include code that makes it easier to boot Linux on Windows PCs. This goes back to Microsoft requiring that PCs designed to run Windows 8 use UEFI firmware with the Secure Boot feature enabled.
This has complicated the process of booting Linux on PCs that shipped with Windows 8, but it hasn't prevented people from doing so. There are workarounds, but some people are looking for a solution in the Linux kernel itself...
Read the rest here.
