When you say "I wrote a program that crashed Windows," people just stare at you blankly and say "Hey, I got those with the system, for free."

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

Finnish companies tend to be very traditional, not taking many risks. Silicon Valley is completely different: people here really live on the edge.

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

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.

When it comes to software, I much prefer free software, because I have very seldom seen a program that has worked well enough for my needs, and having sources available can be a life-saver.

Linux has definitely made a lot of sense even in a purely materialistic sense.

The thing with Linux is that the developers themselves are actually customers too: that has always been an important part of Linux.

Helsinki isn't all that bad. It's a very nice city, and it's cold really only in wintertime.

There are lots of Linux users who don't care how the kernel works, but only want to use it. That is a tribute to how good Linux is.

See, you not only have to be a good coder to create a system like Linux, you have to be a sneaky bastard too.

I like to think that I've been a good manager. That fact has been very instrumental in making Linux a successful product.

I'm generally a very pragmatic person: that which works, works.

What commercialism has brought into Linux has been the incentive to make a good distribution that is easy to use and that has all the packaging issues worked out.

The memory management on the PowerPC can be used to frighten small children.

Shareware tends to combine the worst of commercial software with the worst of free software.

When you say "I wrote a program that crashed Windows," people just stare at you blankly and say "Hey, I got those with the system, for free."

People enjoy the interaction on the Internet, and the feeling of belonging to a group that does something interesting: that's how some software projects are born.

Helsinki may not be as cold as you make it out to be, but California is still a lot nicer. I don't remember the last time I couldn't walk around in shorts all day.

Non-technical questions sometimes don't have an answer at all.

In many cases, the user interface to a program is the most important part for a commercial company: whether the programs works correctly or not seems to be secondary.

I've been employed by the University of Helsinki, and they've been perfectly happy to keep me employed and doing Linux.

In my opinion MS is a lot better at making money than it is at making good operating systems.

You won't get sued for anticompetitive behavior.

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

I don't expect to go hungry if I decide to leave the University. Resume: Linux looks pretty good in many places.

I very seldom worry about other systems. I concentrate pretty fully on just making Linux the best I can.

Programmers are in the enviable position of not only getting to do what they want to, but because the end result is so important they get paid to do it. There are other professions like that, but not that many.

My name is Linus, and I am your God.

I've never regretted not making Linux shareware: I really don't like the pay for use binary shareware programs.

The Linux philosophy is 'Laugh in the face of danger'. Oops. Wrong One. 'Do it yourself'. Yes, that's it.

The cyberspace earnings I get from Linux come in the format of having a Network of people that know me and trust me, and that I can depend on in return.

Any program is only as good as it is useful.

Making Linux GPL'd was definitely the best thing I ever did.

A consumer doesn't take anything away: he doesn't actually consume anything. Giving the same thing to a thousand consumers is not really any more expensive than giving it to just one.

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

I never felt that the naming issue was all that important, but I was obviously wrong, judging by how many people felt. I tell people to call it just plain Linux and nothing more.

Artists usually don't make all that much money, and they often keep their artistic hobby despite the money rather than due to it.

Before the commercial ventures, Linux tended to be rather hard to set up, because most of the developers were motivated mainly by their own interests.

Software is like sex: it's better when it's free.

I used to be interested in Windows NT, but the more I see it, the more it looks like traditional Windows with a stabler kernel. I don't find anything technically interesting there.

That's what makes Linux so good: you put in something, and that effort multiplies. It's a positive feedback cycle.

The fame and reputation part came later, and never was much of a motivator, although it did enable me to work without feeling guilty about neglecting my studies.

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

I do get my pizzas paid for by Linux indirectly.

I've been very happy with the commercial Linux CD-ROM vendors linux Red Hat.

Fairly cheap home computing was what changed my life.

Hey, I'm a good software engineer, but I'm not exactly known for my fashion sense. White socks and sandals don't translate to 'good design sense'.

I actually think that I'm a rather optimistic and happy person; it's just that I'm not a very positive person, if you see the difference.