Yes and even IF Linux was out then, Steve would want to make something that was more basic then Linux and more stable... Trust me I run SuSE 9.1 on My old P3 and while it's great and completly fun to use, it isn't a OS that i would want to write a 30 page essay on the meaning of life and then have the kernel freeze up - losing all my data... what i am trying to say is that... wait hold on i will start from the beggining.
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The year is 1990 - Linus Torvalds is working(playing) with his computer in a his small bed room/dorm In Helsinki University, Helsinki, Finland. He is operating on an OS called "MINIX" (a horrible OS for the i386 platform that was basicly the only alternative OS to Windows)... he needs to get some info from the Helsinki University server. So he uses his modem and absent-mindedly he Dials back into his own computer resulting in the Hard Drive being completly formated. Sadly or Happily you could say a few months earlier he tossed the install disks for Minix in frusturation. >this is where the legacy begins< He starts writing a base kernel so he can use his computer again... Years pass and he starts showing it off to geeks just like him... almost over night the obsession with Linux was born. After meeting with many computer Lords including Steve Jobbs, Torvalds went and worked(and still is) at Trasmetta - a company very secretive about what they do.
- As for Linux, Linux Basicly belongs to the community Different companies will make different "flavors" or "distrobutions" of Linux to fit peoples needs, but one thing they all have in common is there kernel is always still the same...LINUX.
Toravalds still obviously plays with and contributes to Linux on his own time. He really is a great guy... He distributes his E-mail freely among everyone - and if you e-mail him (as long as it's not Spam) he will probably e-mail you back.
> Oh and for the record - LINUX IS FREE
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> Torvalds Made all his money(which is not THAT moch compared to Steve and Bill) because a Linux Distro called Red Hat offered customers to obtain the Distro for free, but gave the option of Support for a price... To pay respect to Torvalds the company offer Him some free stock(that he couldn't sell for 6 months ) and guess what Red Hat Skyrocketed the week they went public. Torvalds now lives in The Silicon Valley with his wife and 2 or 3 kids. I think they plan to move to Portland, Oregon.
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-NOTE: THIS INFORMATION MAY BE A BIT INCORRECT I DON'T HAVE MY "JUST FOR FUN" BOOK ON ME
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the following are some cool Linux sites...
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http://linuxiso.org/ - a site offering hundreds of mirrors for downloading Linux, and also has popular forums.
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-http://www.cs.helsinki.fi/u/torvalds/ - Linus' website rather small and not updated much, but hey... he's Linus
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-http://search.barnesandnoble.com/bo...066620732&itm=1 - one of THE best book i ever read (Just For Fun) -- it's about Torvalds' making Linux
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