Messages in this thread | | | Subject | Re: Linux isn't an operating system | From | Bill Bogstad <> | Date | Thu, 07 Mar 1996 20:54:48 -0500 |
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>On Wed, 6 Mar 1996, Ulrich Windl wrote: >... >> > which some alternative doesn't, or couldn't, exist. All kudos to >> > GNU-*style* licensing, which is another matter entirely.... > >On the other hand, consider how useless GNU software would be without a free >operating system to run it on. By the way, we should take this discussion >to a more appropriate forum.
Sorry, I couldn't let this one pass. I was using GNU software on SunOS, 4.XBSD and other UNIX systems years before Linus had heard of Minix let alone started writing his own UNIX-like kernel. This is like claiming that the MIT X Windows software, LaTeX, or any number of freely distributable software packages was useless without a free kernel. I find it amusing that people want to simplify things so much that they ignore the very real contributions of others. Free UNIX based software has been widely used for years.
Linus made a tremendous contribution to this. He provided a catalyst for the collection of the various free packages floating around on the net into a working system. He's written some amazing amounts of code, but more importantly he got people working together. I've watched what happened with the various BSD projects and think that the way Linus manages to do this will in the long run be more important to the cause of free software then the Linux kernel. I hope that all free software projects will learn from his example.
Richard Stallman wrote much of emacs, gcc, and various other GNU packages. Still, I think Richard's most significant contribution will have been the concept of a totally free software system and the creation of the GPL which encourages people to contribute to such a system without fear of their work being taken over by others.
Bill Bogstad bogstad@cs.jhu.edu
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