Linus Torvalds

Real quality means making sure that people are proud of the code they write, that they're involved and taking it personally.

— Linus Torvalds

There's innovation in Linux. There are some really good technical features that I'm proud of. There are capabilities in Linux that aren't…

— Linus Torvalds

And 1.1.81 is officially BugFree(tm), so if you receive any bug-reports on it, you know they are just evil lies.

— Linus Torvalds

On a purely technical side, I'm really very happy with how Linux gets used in a very wide set of different areas.…

— Linus Torvalds

A consumer doesn't take anything away: he doesn't actually consume anything. Giving the same thing to a thousand consumers is not really…

— Linus Torvalds

I don't actually follow other operating systems much. I don't compete - I just worry about making Linux better than itself, not…

— Linus Torvalds

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

— Linus Torvalds

Once you start thinking more about where you want to be than about making the best product, you're screwed.

— Linus Torvalds

There are lots of Linux users who don't care how the kernel works but only want to use it is not only…

— Linus Torvalds

Modern PCs are horrible. ACPI is a complete design disaster in every way. But we're kind of stuck with it. If any…

— Linus Torvalds

In science, the whole system builds on people looking at other people's results and building on top of them. In witchcraft, somebody…

— Linus Torvalds

The big thing about distributed source control is that it makes one of the main issues with SCM's go away - the…

— Linus Torvalds

I'm not a big believer in revolutions. What people call revolutions in technology were more of a shift in perception - from…

— Linus Torvalds

Other people have other goals, and sometimes the BSD style licenses are better for those goals. I personally tend to prefer the…

— Linus Torvalds

Every once in a while an issue comes up where I have to make a statement. I can't totally avoid all political…

— Linus Torvalds

I changed the Linux copyright license to be the GPL some time in the first half of 1992. Mostly because I had…

— Linus Torvalds

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…

— Linus Torvalds

I obviously think that freely available software can not only keep up with the evolution of commercial software, but often exceed what…

— Linus Torvalds

I'm interested in Linux because of the technology, and Linux wasn't started as any kind of rebellion against the 'evil Microsoft empire.'

— Linus Torvalds

People enjoy the interaction on the Internet, and the feeling of belonging to a group that does something interesting: that's how some…

— Linus Torvalds

I made very sure that I did not get involved with any of the commercial Linux companies, exactly so that I would…

— Linus Torvalds

In personal conversations with technical people, I call myself a hacker. But when I'm talking to journalists I just say "programmer" or…

— Linus Torvalds

I really never wanted to do source control management at all and felt that it was just about the least interesting thing…

— Linus Torvalds

I've been employed by the University of Helsinki, and they've been perfectly happy to keep me employed and doing Linux.

— Linus Torvalds

Finnish companies tend to be very traditional, not taking many risks. Silicon Valley is completely different: people here really live on the…

— Linus Torvalds

The correct form factor for a laptop is obviously 12" and 2 lbs, and I don't understand why everybody gets that wrong.

— Linus Torvalds

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

— Linus Torvalds

Every time I see some piece of medical research saying that caffeine is good for you, I high-five myself. Because I'm going…

— Linus Torvalds

The idea of abstracting away the one thing that must be blindingly fast, the kernel, is inherently counter productive.

— Linus Torvalds

I've actually found the image of Silicon Valley as a hotbed of money-grubbing tech people to be pretty false, but maybe that's…

— Linus Torvalds

To be a nemesis, you have to actively try to destroy something, don't you? Really, I'm not out to destroy Microsoft. That…

— Linus Torvalds

In many cases, the user interface to a program is the most important part for a commercial company: whether the programs works…

— Linus Torvalds

If you start doing things because you hate others and want to screw them over, the end result is bad.

— Linus Torvalds

Helsinki may not be as cold as you make it out to be, but California is still a lot nicer. I don't…

— Linus Torvalds

I used to be interested in Windows NT, but the more I see it, the more it looks like traditional Windows with…

— Linus Torvalds

This 'users are idiots, and are confused by functionality' mentality of Gnome is a disease. If you think your users are idiots,…

— Linus Torvalds

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

— Linus Torvalds

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

— Linus Torvalds

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

— Linus Torvalds

An individual developer like me cares about writing the new code and making it as interesting and efficient as possible. But very…

— Linus Torvalds