Profile of Linus Torvalds • Hacker News Board

Re: Profile of Linus Torvalds

#11

Post by donuteaters » Tue, Jun 16, 2015, 5:39 PM UTC

pschastain wrote: post #7

I stopped reading when the author referred to Linux as an operating system.

Once upon a time, before RMS re-defined the term for his benefit, the phrase "Operating System" meant what we now call the kernel. You can see the legacy of this in Computer Science departments around the country where they teach an "Operating Systems" course which covers implementing schedulers, file systems, device drivers, etc... Maybe if the GNU folks could have made a usable kernel, they wouldn't have had to stoop to the petty tactic of trying to take credit for the Linux "Operating System" with all that GNU/Linux nonsense.

However, clearly the RMS propaganda machine has worked, and now the phrase has a new meaning to the new generation... So feel free to not read anything that might contradict with your point of view.

Re: Profile of Linus Torvalds

#12

Post by dragonwriter » Tue, Jun 16, 2015, 5:41 PM UTC

donuteaters wrote: post #11

pschastain wrote: post #7

I stopped reading when the author referred to Linux as an operating system.

Once upon a time, before RMS re-defined the term for his benefit, the phrase "Operating System" meant what we now call the kernel. You can see the legacy of this in Computer Science departments around the country where they teach an "Operating Systems" course which covers implementing schedulers, file systems, device drivers, etc... Maybe if the GNU folks could have made a usable kernel, they wouldn't have had to sto…

To be fair to RMS, commercial entities selling "Operating Systems" have usually used the label, even before RMS and the Free Software movement were widely noticed by outsiders, to refer to not only the kernel, but the whole package of software and tools sold as a package with it.

Re: Profile of Linus Torvalds

#13

Post by knicholes » Tue, Jun 16, 2015, 5:45 PM UTC

emodendroket wrote: post #9

pschastain wrote: post #7

I stopped reading when the author referred to Linux as an operating system.

Wow, Richard Stallman's posting here. What an honor.

Is this sarcasm, or is Stallman really posting here? What is his username?

Re: Profile of Linus Torvalds

#14

Post by anta40 » Tue, Jun 16, 2015, 5:49 PM UTC

knicholes wrote: post #13

emodendroket wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, Richard Stallman's posting here. What an honor.

Is this sarcasm, or is Stallman really posting here? What is his username?

I don't think Stallman himself would like to waste his time on HN :p

Re: Profile of Linus Torvalds

#15

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Jun 16, 2015, 5:56 PM UTC

Nux wrote: post #10

gtk40 wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I'm Lee-nus Torvalds and I pronounce 'Lee-nux' as 'Lee-nux.'"

http://dl.nux.ro/audio/linus-says-linux.oga

[deleted]

Re: Profile of Linus Torvalds

#16

Post by shmerl » Tue, Jun 16, 2015, 5:58 PM UTC

dctoedt wrote: post #2

Trivia: In the video he pronounces the first syllable of his first name as lie ; Wikepedia has an audio file [1] in which someone pronounces it as lee. Perhaps he uses the former to conform to expectations of American English speakers who are used to Linus Pauling and the Linus character in the Peanuts comic strip. [1] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Sv-Linus...

Yeah, that was strange.

Re: Profile of Linus Torvalds

#17

Post by emodendroket » Tue, Jun 16, 2015, 5:59 PM UTC

anta40 wrote: post #14

knicholes wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this sarcasm, or is Stallman really posting here? What is his username?

I don't think Stallman himself would like to waste his time on HN :p

Pretty hard to use HN through wget.

Re: Profile of Linus Torvalds

#18

Post by shit_parade2 » Tue, Jun 16, 2015, 6:02 PM UTC

donuteaters wrote: post #11

pschastain wrote: post #7

I stopped reading when the author referred to Linux as an operating system.

Once upon a time, before RMS re-defined the term for his benefit, the phrase "Operating System" meant what we now call the kernel. You can see the legacy of this in Computer Science departments around the country where they teach an "Operating Systems" course which covers implementing schedulers, file systems, device drivers, etc... Maybe if the GNU folks could have made a usable kernel, they wouldn't have had to sto…

Ritchie's ghost tells you to get off his digital lawn

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Ritchie

Re: Profile of Linus Torvalds

#19

Post by TallGuyShort » Tue, Jun 16, 2015, 6:03 PM UTC

pschastain wrote: post #7

I stopped reading when the author referred to Linux as an operating system.

Yeah, whenever people use a term with a very slightly different take on the subtleties of its technical meaning from me, I dismiss whatever else they have to say.

Re: Profile of Linus Torvalds

#20

Post by amyjess » Tue, Jun 16, 2015, 6:09 PM UTC

andrewbinstock wrote: post #5

dctoedt wrote: post #2

Trivia: In the video he pronounces the first syllable of his first name as lie ; Wikepedia has an audio file [1] in which someone pronounces it as lee. Perhaps he uses the former to conform to expectations of American English speakers who are used to Linus Pauling and the Linus character in the Peanuts comic strip. [1] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Sv-Linus...

During the early days of Linux's emergence, it was pronounced"Lie-nux", "Lin-ux," and "Lee-nux" by various groups of users. Finally, Lin-ux became the standard pronunciation b/c Torvalds explained that in Finnish his name was pronounced Lin-us, not Lie-nus. Given that he's spent most of his life in the US, he may have subsequently decided to "americanize" the pronunciation.

In Revolution OS (made around 2000), he explained that he pronounces it differently depending on what language he's speaking. He gave examples in English, Swedish, and Finnish.