I'm not a big believer in revolutions. What people call revolutions in technology were more of a shift in perception - from big machines to PC's (the technology just evolved, fairly slowly at that), and from PC's to the internet. The next "revolution" is going to be the same thing - not about the technology itself being revolutionary, but a shift in how you look at it and how you use it.

Linus Torvalds

Categorized in : People Perception Technology

A computer is like air conditioning - it becomes useless when you open Windows

Linus Torvalds

computer useless air

Most of the good programmers do programming not because they expect to get paid or get adulation by the public, but because it is fun to program.

Linus Torvalds

program work fun

Talk is cheap. Show me the code.

Linus Torvalds

coders linux programming

Microsoft isn't evil, they just make really crappy operating systems.

Linus Torvalds

microsoft technology evil

Theory and practice sometimes clash. And when that happens, theory loses. Every single time.

Linus Torvalds

theory practice sometimes

I like offending people, because I think people who get offended should be offended.

Linus Torvalds

offending people thinking

Backups are for wimps. Real men upload their data to an FTP site and have everyone else mirror it.

Linus Torvalds

mirrors real men

Modern PCs are horrible. ACPI is a complete design disaster in every way. But we're kind of stuck with it. If any Intel people are listening to this and you had anything to do with ACPI, shoot yourself now, before you reproduce.

Linus Torvalds

design listening people

Intelligence is the ability to avoid doing work, yet getting the work done.

Linus Torvalds

programming intelligence done

Bad programmers worry about the code. Good programmers worry about data structures and their relationships.

Linus Torvalds

data structure worry

All operating systems sucks, but Linux just sucks less

Linus Torvalds

operating-systems linux

Avoiding complexity reduces bugs.

Linus Torvalds

programming bugs simplicity

If Microsoft ever does applications for Linux it means I've won.

Linus Torvalds

linux microsoft mean

The fact that ACPI was designed by a group of monkeys high on LSD, and is some of the worst designs in the industry obviously makes running it at any point pretty damn ugly.

Linus Torvalds

groups design running

C++ is a horrible language. It's made more horrible by the fact that a lot of substandard programmers use it, to the point where it's much much easier to generate total and utter crap with it.

Linus Torvalds

language use facts

Excusing bad programming is a shooting offence, no matter what the circumstances.

Linus Torvalds

shooting funny science

Nobody actually creates perfect code the first time around, except me. But there's only one of me.

Linus Torvalds

first-time perfect firsts

Don't hurry your code. Make sure it works well and is well designed. Don't worry about timing.

Linus Torvalds

timing wells worry

Those that can, do. Those that can't, complain.

Linus Torvalds

live-by complaining can-do

I have one very basic rule when it comes to "good ideas". A good idea is not an idea that solves a problem cleanly. A good idea is an idea that solves several things at the same time. The mark of good coding is not that the program does what you want, it's that it also does something that you didn't start out wanting.

Linus Torvalds

doe want ideas