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Linus Torvalds
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Linus Torvalds










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| birth_place = Helsinki, Finland| residence = Portland, OregonFinnish people>FinnishLinux, Git (software)>Git| employer = Linux Foundation| occupation = Software engineer| spouse = | children = | parents = Nils Torvalds (father)
| relatives = Ole Torvalds (grandfather)| website = www.cs.helsinki.fi/u/torvalds/| footnotes = }}Linus Benedict Torvalds ({{Audio|Sv-Linus_Torvalds2.ogg|pronunciation}}; {{IPA|[ˈliːnɵs ˈtuːrvalds]}}; born December 28 1969 in Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish software engineer best known for having initiated the development of the Linux kernel. He later became the chief architect of the Linux operating system, and now acts as the project's coordinator.

Biography

Early years

Linus Torvalds was born in Helsinki, Finland, the son of journalists Anna and Nils Torvalds,(1) and the grandson of poet Ole Torvalds. His family belongs to the Swedish-speaking minority (5.5%) of Finland's population. Torvalds was named after Linus Pauling, the American Nobel Prize-winning chemist, although in the book Rebel Code: Linux and the Open Source Revolution, Torvalds is quoted as saying, "I think I was named equally for Linus the peanut-cartoon character," noting that this makes him half "Nobel-prize-winning chemist" and half "blanket-carrying cartoon character."BOOK
, Moody
, Glyn
, Rebel Code: Linux and the Open Source Revolution
, Perseus Books Group
, 2002
, 336
,weblink
, 0738206709,
Both of his parents were campus radicals at the University of Helsinki in the 1960s.Torvalds attended the University of Helsinki from 1988 to 1996, graduating with a master's degree in computer science. His M.Sc. thesis was titled Linux: A Portable Operating System. From 1997 to 1999 he was involved in 86open helping to choose the standard binary format for Linux and Unix.His interest in computers began with a Commodore VIC-20.(2) After the VIC-20 he purchased a Sinclair QL which he modified extensively, especially its operating system. He programmed an assembler and a text editor for the QL, as well as a few games.(3) He is known to have written a Pac-Man clone named Cool Man. In 1990 he purchased an Intel 80386-based IBM PC and spent a few weeks playing the game Prince of Persia before receiving his MINIX copy which in turn enabled him to begin his work on Linux.(4) Torvalds was running introductory computer laboratory exercises for students and instructed the course attendants to send him an e-mail as a test, to which Tove responded with an e-mail asking for a date.(5)After a visit to Transmeta in late 1996, (6) he accepted a position at the company in California, where he would work from February 1997 through 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 Portland, Oregon to be closer to the consortium's Beaverton, Oregon-based headquarters. Red Hat and VA Linux, both leading developers of Linux-based software, presented Torvalds with stock options in gratitude for his creation.(7) In 1999, both companies went public and Torvalds' net worth shot up to roughly $20 million.(8)(9)His personal mascot is a penguin nicknamed Tux, which has been widely adopted by the Linux community as the mascot of the Linux kernel. Unlike many open source icons, Torvalds maintains a low profile and generally refuses to comment on competing software products {{Dubious}}. Torvalds generally stays out of non-kernel-related debates. Although Torvalds believes that "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.(10) He has been criticized for his use and alleged advocacy of the proprietary BitKeeper software for version control in the Linux kernel. However, Torvalds has since written a free-software replacement for BitKeeper called Git. Torvalds has commented on official GNOME developmental mailing lists that, in terms of desktop environments, he encourages users to switch to KDE(11).(12)

The Linus/Linux connection

Initially Torvalds wanted to call the kernel he developed Freax (a combination of "free", "freak", and the letter X to indicate that it is a Unix-like system), but his friend Ari Lemmke, who administered the FTP server where the kernel was first hosted for downloading, named Torvalds' directory linux.

Authority on Linux

About 2% of the current Linux kernel is written by Torvalds himself.(13)

Linux trademark

Torvalds owns the "Linux" trademark, and monitors(14) use of it chiefly through the non-profit organization Linux International.

Recognition

See also

Notes





  1. BOOK, Torvalds, Linus, David Diamond, (Just for Fun, Just for Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary), HarperCollins, 2001, ISBN 0-06-662073-2,


  2. Just For Fun pages 6-7


  3. Just For Fun pages 41-46


  4. Later years

    Linus Torvalds is married to Tove Torvalds (née Monni) – a six-time Finnish national Karate champion – whom he first met in the autumn of 1993.Just For Fun page 123


  5. Tove and Linus were later married and have three daughters, Patricia, Daniela, and Celeste.Torvalds' bio on nndb.com


  6. Linux Online - Linus Torvalds Bio


  7. WEB,weblink Tovalds], Linus Torvalds: By giving away his software, the Finnish programmer earned a place in history, 60 Years of Heros, TIME, Gumbel, Peter, 2006, 2008-06-14,


  8. WEB,weblink Leader of the Free World, Rivlin, Gary, 2008-06-14, Wired,


  9. Linus Torvalds: A Very Brief and Completely Unauthorized Biography


  10. Linus Torvalds at Google, on Git, 9:50-10:00


  11. Printing dialog and GNOME


  12. Linus versus GNOME


  13. Since Linux has had thousands of contributors, such a percentage represents a significant personal contribution to the overall amount of code. Torvalds remains the ultimate authority on what new code is incorporated into the standard Linux kernel.Henrik Ingo. Open Life: The Philosophy of Open Source. Ingram, 2005. 42-45. Online version


  14. Linus Explains Linux Trademark Issues


  15. Torvalds, Stallman, Simons Win 1998 Pioneer Awards


  16. Talking to Torvalds, British Computer Society, September 2007.


  17. The Person of the Century Poll Results


  18. The Best & Worst Managers Of The Year


  19. Linux creator Linus Torvalds honored with Reed College's Vollum Award


  20. 10 people who don't matter


  21. Linus Torvalds






References

  • BOOK, Himanen, Pekka, Linus Torvalds, and Manuel Castells, The Hacker Ethic, Secker & Warburg, 2001, ISBN 0-436-20550-5,

External links

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