Linus Torvalds Trying Quotations

To be a nemesis, you have to actively try to destroy something, don't you? Really, I'm not out to destroy Microsoft. That will just be a completely unintentional side effect.

Every once in a while an issue comes up where I have to make a statement. I can't totally avoid all political issues, but I try my best to minimize them. When I do make a statement, I try to be fairly neutral.

I don't try to be a threat to MicroSoft, mainly because I don't really see MS as competition. Especially not Windows-the goals of Linux and Windows are simply so different.

I try to avoid long-range plans and visions - that way I can more easily deal with anything new that comes up.

Once you realize that documentation should be laughed at, peed upon, put on fire, and just ridiculed in general, THEN, and only then, have you reached the level where you can safely read it and try to use it to actually implement a driver.

The way to do good basic design isn't actually to be really smart about it, but to try to have a few basic concepts.

With software, you really can replicate and do a lot of very real and active development in parallel, and actually try it out and see what works.

Me trying to make a business around Linux would have been a total disaster.

I never try to make any far-reaching predictions, so much can happen that it simply only makes you look stupid a few years later.