Home > Linus Torvalds
2 The Linus / Linux connection
Linus Torvalds originally used the Minix OS on his system which he replaced by his own OS; he gave a working name of Linux (Linus' Minix); but thought the name to be too egotistical and planned to have it named Freax (a combination of "free", "freak", and the letter X to indicate a Unix-like system). His friend Ari Lemmke encouraged Linus to upload it to a network so it could be easily downloaded. Ari, however, not happy with the Freax name, gave Linus a directory called linux on his FTP server.
In August of 1991, he publicized[2] his creation on the USENET newsgroup comp.os.minix:
Message-ID: 1991Aug25.205708.9541@klaava.helsinki.fi
From: torvalds@klaava.helsinki.fi (Linus Benedict Torvalds)
To: Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: What would you like to see most in minix?
Summary: small poll for my new operating system
Hello everybody out there using minix-
I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and
professional like gnu) for 386 ( 486) AT clones. This has been brewing
since april, and is starting to get ready. I'd like any feedback on
things people like/dislike in minix, as my OS resembles it somewhat
(same physical layout of the file-system (due to practical reasons)
among other things).
I've currently ported bash(1.08) and gcc(1.40), and things seem
to work. This implies that I'll get something practical within a few
months, and I'd like to know what features most people would want. Any
suggestions are welcome, but I won't promise I'll implement them :-)
Linus (torvalds@kruuna.helsinki.fi)
PS. Yes - it's free of any minix code, and it has a multi-threaded fs.
It is NOT protable (uses 386 task switching etc), and it probably never
will support anything other than AT-harddisks, as that's all I have :-(.
Only about 2% of the current Linux kernel is written by Torvalds himself, though he remains the ultimate authority on what new code is incorporated into the Linux kernel [3]; other operating system aspects (both user visible and invisible) such as the X Window System, gcc and various package management schemes are run by others. Many Linux distributions even have their own versions of the kernel. Torvalds tends to stay out of non-kernel-related debates, even among their developers. The Linux kernel written/supervised by him, when combined with software developed by many others (mainly the GNU system) results in a so-called Linux distribution. Many people refer to this combination as just Linux, and others refer to it as "GNU/Linux." Linus himself has said that the name "GNU/Linux" is only justified if you make a GNU-based distribution.
Torvalds owns the "Linux" trademark, and monitors [4] use (or abuse) of it chiefly through the non-profit organization Linux International. Needless to say, 'many eyeballs make trademark abuse difficult'; he gets help on this from the entire worldwide Linux community. Due to the Open Source philosophy, Torvalds used to dislike the fact that Linux is a trademark. However, in 1995, he had to adopt the trademark, because some other man had registered Linux himself and threatened to blackmail Torvalds.
3 Recognition
Many Linux fans tend to worship Linus as a kind of god. In his book "Just For Fun" he complains that he finds it annoying.
In Time Magazine's Person of the Century Poll , Linus was voted at #17 at the poll's close in 2000. In 2001, he shared the Takeda Award for Social/Economic Well-Being with Richard Stallman and Ken Sakamura. In 2004, he was named one of the most influential people in the world by TIME. In the search for the 100 Greatest Finns of All Time; voted on through the summer of 2004, Linus came "only" 16th.
