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Well was having some free time from my project trip in mumbai just thought to know more about the man behind Linux i.e Linus Torvalds.Quite a interesting persona ?
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| Born: | 28 December 1969 Helsinki, Finland |
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| ccupation: | Software engineer |
| Spouse: | Tove Torvalds |
| Website: | http://www.cs.helsinki.fi/u/torvalds/ |
Linus Benedict Torvalds
(born December 28, 1969 in Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish software engineer best known for initiating the development of the Linux kernel. He now acts as the project's coordinator (or Benevolent Dictator for Life).
Linus was inspired by Minix (an operating system developed by Andrew S. Tanenbaum) to develop a capable Unix-like operating system that could be run on a PC. Linux now also runs on many other architectures.
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. His interest in computers began with a Commodore VIC-20. 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. 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.
The Linus/Linux connection
Torvalds originally used the Minix OS on his system which he replaced with the Linux OS. He first named it 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 Linux kernel was first hosted for downloading, gave Torvalds a directory called linux. (Torvalds & Diamond 2001:88)
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Authority on Linux
Only about 2% of the current Linux kernel is written by Torvalds himself. Despite the relative size of his contribution, Torvalds remains the ultimate authority on what new code is incorporated into the Linux kernel.
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Recognition
- In 1996 Asteroid 9793 Torvalds was named after Linus Torvalds.
- In 1998 he received an EFF Pioneer Award.[4]
- In 1999 he received honorary doctor status at Stockholm University.
- In 2000 he received honorary doctor status at University of Helsinki.
- In the Time magazine's Person of the Century Poll, Torvalds was voted at #17 at the poll's close in 2000. [5]
- In 2001, he shared the Takeda Award for Social/Economic Well-Being with Richard Stallman and Ken Sakamura.
- The 2001 film Swordfish contains a Finnish character - the number one computer hacker in the world - named Axl Torvalds.
- In 2004, he was named one of the most influential people in the world by the Time magazine article "Linus Torvalds: The Free-Software Champion" by Lawrence Lessig, Time Magazine, posted Monday, Apr. 26, 2004, retrieved October 3rd, 2006.
- In the search for the 100 Greatest Finns of all time, voted in the summer of 2004, Torvalds placed 16th.
- In 2005 he appeared as one of "the best managers" in a survey by BusinessWeek. [6]
- In August 2005, Torvalds received the Vollum Award from Reed College. [7]
- In 2006, Business 2.0 magazine named him one of "10 people who don't matter". [8]
Alok
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