--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is the fate of operating systems to…" description: "\"It is the fate of operating systems to become free.\" — Neal Stephenson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15f/neal-stephenson-362_fate_it-is-the-fate-of-operating-systems-to-b_376654.png" --- # It is the fate of operating systems to become free. ![“It is the fate of operating systems to become free.” quote by Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15f/neal-stephenson-362_fate_it-is-the-fate-of-operating-systems-to-b_376654.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15f/neal-stephenson-362_fate_it-is-the-fate-of-operating-systems-to-b_376654.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15f/neal-stephenson-362_fate_it-is-the-fate-of-operating-systems-to-b_376654.png) > “It is the fate of operating systems to become free.” [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Operating systems will inevitably become free, implying a trend toward open-source or cost‑free software. **In simple terms:** OSs will become free. Key Takeaway Support open-source development. Themes technology software freedom open source future Mood optimistic critical forward‑looking Type technological economic When to use this quote - software development - IT budgeting - tech policy - startup strategy Key Concepts computer science economics innovation Questions to Reflect On - Will free OSs replace proprietary ones? - How to fund open-source projects? A Different Perspective Free models may face sustainability issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Operating systems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/operating-systems/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) ## Related quotes > [I don't actually follow other operating systems much. I don't compete - I just worry about making Linux better than itself, not others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linus-torvalds/i-don-t-actually-follow-other-operating-systems-much-i-don-t-compete/) [Linus Torvalds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linus-torvalds/) > [Microsoft has a monopoly over the desktop operating systems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-alsop/microsoft-has-a-monopoly-over-the-desktop-operating-systems/) Stewart Alsop > [Unix is not so much an operating system as an oral history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/unix-is-not-so-much-an-operating-system-as-an-oral-history/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [No one cares what operating system you run as long as it stays up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-perens/no-one-cares-what-operating-system-you-run-as-long-as-it-stays-up/) [Bruce Perens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-perens/) > [I believe OS/2 is destined to be the most important operating system, and possibly program, of all time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/i-believe-os-2-is-destined-to-be-the-most-important-operating-system-2/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [I believe OS/2 is destined to be the most important operating system, and possibly program, of all time. As the successor to DOS, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/i-believe-os-2-is-destined-to-be-the-most-important-operating-system/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [I suggested that someone grab Bill Gates and get him to install a new operating system, but apparently he's not a demon" At Reaver's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larissa-ione/i-suggested-that-someone-grab-bill-gates-and-get-him-to-install-a-new/) [Larissa Ione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larissa-ione/) > [Thus even as servers die or are put to sleep, even as operating systems come and go, I can carry the work forward-despite all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ford/thus-even-as-servers-die-or-are-put-to-sleep-even-as-operating/) [Paul Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ford/) > [To a programmer, an operating system is defined by its API.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-petzold/to-a-programmer-an-operating-system-is-defined-by-its-api/) [Charles Petzold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-petzold/) > [By the time Apple's Macintosh operating system finally falls into the public domain, there will be no machine that could possibly run it. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/by-the-time-apple-s-macintosh-operating-system-finally-falls-into-the/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [Technically, Windows is an "operating system," which means that it supplies your computer with the basic commands that it needs to suddenly, with no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/technically-windows-is-an-operating-system-which-means-that-it/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [I started Linux as a desktop operating system. And it's the only area where Linux hasn't completely taken over. That just annoys the hell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linus-torvalds/i-started-linux-as-a-desktop-operating-system-and-it-s-the-only-area/) [Linus Torvalds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linus-torvalds/) > [EVERY MOMENT IN business happens only once. The next Bill Gates will not build an operating system. The next Larry Page or Sergey Brin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/every-moment-in-business-happens-only-once-the-next-bill-gates-will/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [Culture is your operating system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/culture-is-your-operating-system/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Willpower is the fuel that runs human life; Like a driver in a computer application, Or Operating System in cyber programme, Willpower works life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/praveen-kumar/willpower-is-the-fuel-that-runs-human-life-like-a-driver-in-a/) [Praveen Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/praveen-kumar/) ## More by Neal Stephenson > [“I study dead languages for a living,” I said. “That’s why you hired me. Why should I be up to speed on your line…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/i-study-dead-languages-for-a-living-i-said-that-s-why-you-hired-me/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“Other people - store clerks, burger flippers, software engineers, the whole vocabulary of meaningless jobs that make up Life in America - other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/other-people-store-clerks-burger-flippers-software-engineers-the/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“It is what you don’t expect,” he’d said, “that most needs looking for.” “Do”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/it-is-what-you-don-t-expect-he-d-said-that-most-needs-looking-for-do/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“...the insects here see you as a big slab of animated but not very well defended food. The ability to move, far from being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/the-insects-here-see-you-as-a-big-slab-of-animated-but-not-very-well/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“There was no way that these guys were going to let a bleeding, barefoot woman simply wander off alone into the streets. Two of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/there-was-no-way-that-these-guys-were-going-to-let-a-bleeding/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“Space and Time! Two minor omissions that no one is likely to notice," grumbled Newton.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/space-and-time-two-minor-omissions-that-no-one-is-likely-to-notice/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [See, the world is full of things more powerful than us. But if you know how to catch a ride, you can go places,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/see-the-world-is-full-of-things-more-powerful-than-us-but-if-you-know/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“Hey,” Shaftoe says, “if we surrender to you, you’ll kill us. Right?” “Yes.” “If you guys surrender to us, we won’t kill you. Promise.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/hey-shaftoe-says-if-we-surrender-to-you-you-ll-kill-us-right-yes-if/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“My men think you are dead now, and won’t waste balls on you,” Jack said. “In fact I have let you live, but for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/my-men-think-you-are-dead-now-and-won-t-waste-balls-on-you-jack-said/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“You’ve probably heard the expression that the Industry feeds off of biomass, like a whale straining krill from the ocean.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/you-ve-probably-heard-the-expression-that-the-industry-feeds-off-of/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“The Deliverator belongs to an elite order, a hallowed subcategory. He’s got esprit up to here. Right now, he is preparing to carry out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/the-deliverator-belongs-to-an-elite-order-a-hallowed-subcategory-he-s/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [Interesting things happen along borders - transitions - not in the middle where everything is the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/interesting-things-happen-along-borders-transitions-not-in-the-middle/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“and people could only make sense of complicated matters through stories. Likewise”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/and-people-could-only-make-sense-of-complicated-matters-through/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“Van Eck phreaking,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/van-eck-phreaking/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“When the Deliverator puts the hammer down, shit happens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/when-the-deliverator-puts-the-hammer-down-shit-happens/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) [Explore all 633 Neal Stephenson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) ## More Fate quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [When you have counted eighty years and more, Time and Fate will batter at your door; But if you should survive to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khushwant-singh/when-you-have-counted-eighty-years-and-more-time-and-fate-will-batter/) [Khushwant Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khushwant-singh/) > [“To be a Sufi is to detach from fixed ideas and from preconceptions; and not to try to avoid what is your lot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/to-be-a-sufi-is-to-detach-from-fixed-ideas-and-from-preconceptions/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [ Man blindly works the will of fate. \[Ger., Blindlings that er blos den Willen des Geschickes.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-martin-wieland/man-blindly-works-the-will-of-fate-ger-blindlings-that-er-blos-den/) [Christoph Martin Wieland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-martin-wieland/) > [Fate with impartial hand turns out the doom of high and low; her capacious urn is constantly shaking the names of all mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/fate-with-impartial-hand-turns-out-the-doom-of-high-and-low-her/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Real chessplayers think about chess more or less 24 hours a day. It is a passion and a fate that one has to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simen-agdestein/real-chessplayers-think-about-chess-more-or-less-24-hours-a-day-it-is/) Simen Agdestein > [Holy shadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/holy-shadows-of-the-dead-i-m-not-to-blame-for-your-cruel-and-bitter/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [You can't choose what stays and what stays away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-welch/you-can-t-choose-what-stays-and-what-stays-away/) [Florence Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-welch/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Fate and future both are servant to the determined, for they are nothing but creation of human determination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/fate-and-future-both-are-servant-to-the-determined-for-they-are/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [My fate cannot be mastered; it can only be collaborated with and thereby, to some extent, directed. Nor am I the captain of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/my-fate-cannot-be-mastered-it-can-only-be-collaborated-with-and/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“What would have been the fate of sages if there were no fools?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogwo-david-emenike/what-would-have-been-the-fate-of-sages-if-there-were-no-fools/) [Ogwo David Emenike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogwo-david-emenike/) > [“I’ve always seen this in you, ever since you were a little girl — this hunger to love other people into their highest selves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-elisabeth/i-ve-always-seen-this-in-you-ever-since-you-were-a-little-girl-this/) [Jennifer Elisabeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-elisabeth/) > [“God has a way of picking a “nobody” and turning their world upside down, in order to create a “somebody” that will remove the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/god-has-a-way-of-picking-a-nobody-and-turning-their-world-upside-down/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Do we make ourselves into what we become or is it built into our genes, into the fate spun for us by whatever shapes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-bruchac/do-we-make-ourselves-into-what-we-become-or-is-it-built-into-our/) [Joseph Bruchac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-bruchac/) [Browse all 5,152 Fate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is the fate of operating systems to become free.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neal Stephenson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/it-is-the-fate-of-operating-systems-to-become-free/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fate" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/it-is-the-fate-of-operating-systems-to-become-free/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15f/neal-stephenson-362_fate_it-is-the-fate-of-operating-systems-to-b_376654.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15f/neal-stephenson-362_fate_it-is-the-fate-of-operating-systems-to-b_376654.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15f/neal-stephenson-362_fate_it-is-the-fate-of-operating-systems-to-b_376654.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is the fate of operating systems to become free.” — Neal Stephenson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Neal Stephenson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is the fate of operating...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/it-is-the-fate-of-operating-systems-to-become-free/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/it-is-the-fate-of-operating-systems-to-become-free/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```