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The Origins of Linux—Linus Torvalds

Computer History Museum

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  • Recommended by 3 people: 2 on Hacker News and 1 curated list.
  • Presented by Linus Torvalds, creator of Linux

Intermediate. Assumes working knowledge.

658K views18 years ago3 recommendations

History and cultureSystems programmingOperating systemsLinuxHistory of computing

Linus Torvalds shares the history of Linux, detailing its evolution from a graduate student project in Helsinki to a global open-source operating system.

[Recorded Sept 19, 2001] Linus Torvalds, the creator of the operating system phenomenon Linux, tells the story of how he went from writing code as a graduate student in Helsinki in the early 1990s to becoming an icon for open source software by the end of the decade. Catalog number: 102703210 Acquisition number: X4798.2009

Why it's here

3 people recommend this

What people say. Recommended as a fascinating historical talk by Linus Torvalds on the creation, licensing, and early growth of Linux.

jackchristopheron Hacker News • Recommends

On “Linus Torvalds' Micro-emacs”

Pertaining to the editor wars. There's a great (long) video about Linus and Linux history from 2001. Watch the whole thing if you can—after the 40 minute mark is especially worth it: link to this video 55 minutes in someone asks him, "What editor and mail reader do you use?" He smirks, "The editor is microemacs, the best editor ever made. And vi and GNU Emacs suck, suck."
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programming-talkscurated list on GitHubRecommends

Under “Operating Systems”

The Origins of Linux 1:25:12 by **Linus Torvalds** (2001) A
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mechanical_fishon Hacker News • Recommends

On “Diary of a Failed Startup”

link Even better, a video of Linus Torvalds speaking on the history of Linux at the Computer Museum in 2001: link to this video
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poulsonon Hacker News • Mentions

On “Open source as a civic duty”

In this speech on the history of Linux from 2001 1, Linus makes it clear that he views the viral nature of the GPL to be a crucial component of Linux's success. He likens it to allowing evolution to take place. I'm not sure when this viewpoint took hold for him, but it would suggest that he likes the most fundamental part of the license (though he disagrees with much of the politics). 1 link to this video
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mqsiuseron Hacker News • Mentions

On “The Tanenbaum-Torvalds Debate (1992)”

…shows there). And certainly so much hard work (and anger "f__k you Nvidia"). Kudos to his incredible dedication and sensoring for what is (likely to turn out) right! He has revisited these topics later calling micro-kernels "mental (academic) masturbation" 1 (so been much stricter and confirming himself to be spot on). 1 The origins of Linux: link to this video…
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