NEW BOOK BY LINUS TORVALDS...
THE MASTER OF THE LINUX CODE
How Linus Torvalds Transformed the Computer Industry
Linus Torvalds, the creator of the open source, freely-distributed
Linux code, is disarmingly candid about how he came to revolutionize the
computer industry: "I didn't think it was the most important thing on Earth.
I didn't think that I was doing something really important...It was more
like fun." And, as he demonstrates in the new book he and David Diamond have
written JUST FOR FUN: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary, Torvalds is
still having fun.
JUST FOR FUN is the ultimate insider's perspective on the origins,
spread, and success of the Linux code. Torvalds integrates his personal
story with an engaging, accessible look at the growth of technology in the
final decades of the 20th century. He describes his early fascination with
computers, including his teen-age enchantment with programming: "It's a game
much more involved than chess, where you can make up your own rules, and
where the end result is whatever you can make of it..." As a student at the
University of Finland, he eagerly embraced Unix, the powerful operating
system developed at Bell Labs that embodied Torvalds' belief that a
well-designed system smoothly combines simplicity and sophistication.
Unlike earlier systems (as well as the current Windows approach) which
depend on complex interfaces to build complexity, "Unix comes with a
small-is-beautiful philosophy. A small set of simple basic building blocks
that can be combined into something that allows for infinite complexity of
expression." Because AT&T didn't see Unix as a commercial venture (in fact,
as a regulated monopoly in the early 1980s, AT&T couldn't even sell
computers), the creators made it made freely available along with source
licenses. Any person, institution, or company could clone and improve it.
Independent software developers, dreading the intrusion of commercial
interests, soon banded together in the Free Software Movement, and Richard
Stallman-"The God of Free Software"-issued the General Public License, an
"anti-copyright" designed to protect and encourage open source projects.
Linus Torvalds' Linux would emerge as the quintessential example of the
limitless benefits of allowing anyone to participate in the development-and
commercial exploitation-of cutting-edge technology.
Torvalds remains dedicated to developing of the best possible
technology and making sure that it is available to anyone who wants it. He
details the fundamental differences between the Linux model and other
so-called "open source" projects-including efforts by Sun Microsystems and
Netscape that failed because they required licenses from the originating
company in order to be used effectively in any commercial way. In response
to the free software idealists who bemoan the fact that Linux has betrayed
"the movement" and enriched the coffers of corporate America, Torvalds
argues that the adoption of Linux by companies like Sun, Oracle, and
especially IBM, helped enhance the beauty, flexibility, and power of the
system. Through specific examples, he shows that these and other commercial
interests have allowed Linux to flow into new markets, created opportunities
for innovations, and enabled the millions of people searching for an
alternative to bad technology (or to the products of dominant, much-hated
Microsoft) to get the best-for free.
Inspired by an ideology and driven by a spirit of adventure and fun,
Linux has evolved into a technology that no one can ignore. Linus Torvalds'
story of how it all happened makes fascinating reading. Packed with telling
insights into why open source makes sense not only in technology, but in all
businesses and professions, JUST FOR FUN offers this exciting, enticing
glimpse of the future: "Imagine: instead of a tiny cloistered development
team working in secret, you have a monster on your side. Potentially
millions of the brightest minds are contributing to a project, and are
supported by a peer-review process that has no, er, peer."
---
You are currently subscribed to linuxusers as: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
