Bonum Certa Men Certa

Linus Torvalds on GNU When His Ego Was Still Smaller



Source video (clipped from 1:26 onward, raw bits from Revolution OS, the documentary film)

Summary: More than two decades ago the creator of Linux explained the relation/connection of his project to GNU (which predates his project by almost a whole decade and also inspired him); nowadays he pretends GNU barely exists and the Linux Foundation pretends that GNU is just some part of Linux

THE Linux Foundation has just sold another keynote to Microsoft. It was advertised in a press release earlier this week. We suppose that this so-called 'Linux' Foundation fails to recognise Microsoft's role in derailment of Linux, just because Microsoft now pays this self-acclaimed 'Linux' Foundation...



"They are, in effect, offering GNU training, but they call it "Linux"."Not so shockingly, the 'Linux' Foundation nowadays loves Microsoft more than it cares for GNU. Microsoft pays. Unlike the FSF. Earlier today I spent two hours going through "LinuxFoundationX LFS101x - Introduction to Linux" -- an online course that's perhaps the most popular among the Foundation's courses. I went through about 400 pages (lots of time spent on this!) only to find that this course is misnamed because it is mostly about GNU utilities and non-Linux stuff; I checked all the pages there (18 chapters in total, including pictures and videos). More GNU than Linux in there! They are, in effect, offering GNU training, but they call it "Linux". They also add revisionism (like it all started in 1991) to the mix... and top that off with chapters about programming, networking and other stuff that in no way relates to Linux (not directly, anyway). They focus on systemd and GNOME, acknowledging openly that there's a controversy around/surrounding systemd being favoured.

Here's a screenshot with some annotation (chapter 15):

LinuxFoundationX LFS101x cropped



Two decades ago (slightly more) when Linus Torvalds participated in the making of Revolution OS -- as did ESR, RMS, Michael Tiemann and Larry Augustin (now working for Jeff Bezos) -- he made the above statement. It's raw in the sense that questions are heard; it's not quite the same as the film. The above is Fair Use, as per the following statement (attached to the original).

Linus Torvalds talks about Linux and GNU/Linux. Selected clips from Revolution OS.

Copyright 2001 Wonderview Productions

Note: This video may only be used for purposes such as criticism, review, private study, scholarship, or research.


What's noteworthy about this section of the video is that back then (late 1990s) Torvalds still publicly acknowledged -- however hesitantly and begrudgingly -- the importance of GNU, the GPL, and the FSF. The Foundation called (or misnamed) "Linux" has worked really hard to purge all 3 from history, sometimes even under the veil/guise of 'training' (with exams, scores and digital certificates). Training people to recite falsehoods...

Recent Techrights' Posts

"Latest Technology News" in BetaNews Still LLM Slop and SPAM Composed by LLMs (It's Basically a Spamfarm Disguised as a News Site)
Only a fool would visit BetaNews in search of actual news
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
The EPO's Corruption, If It Remains Untackled, Helps the Far Right and Enemies of European Unity/Solidarity
Do not negotiate with evil
The Web, Including Wikipedia, Gets Filled With Lies About Bill Gates, Added by Bill Gates and His PR Team
Of course Wikipedia is funded by Gates
"SuccessFactors" (SAP) Stunts at the EPO Used to Break Laws and Constitutions, Staff Tricked Into Harming Themselves
Ongoing corruption and lawlessness became the norm; Europe's second-largest institution (EPO) along with the largest institution (EU) has its very own Minsk
The GNU Manifesto Turns 40 in a Few Weeks
The FSF turns 40 later this year, too
 
Articles About Free Speech at Facebook
'Facebook vs Linux' story is now receiving a lot more media coverage
We Were Right About stallmansupport.org Making an Error by Joining Social Control Media. mastodon.social Suspends stallmansupport.org.
From what we can guess, accounts can be banned by some oversensitive admin or a mob of users ("bury brigades")
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, January 28, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, January 28, 2025
More Illegal Patents at the EPO, Legality of Granted European Patents No Longer Matters to the Office
breaking the law for profit
Facebook Banning Linux Sites (or People Who Link to Linux Sites) is Another Symptom of the Web's Demise
The state of media on the Web is really bad; Social Control Media amplifies the badness, as Facebook serves to show
Gemini Links 29/01/2025: Neovim Telescope and Writing Less
Links for the day
Links 28/01/2025: Chaffbot as Commodity Fad, New Import Restrictions in Thailand
Links for the day
Links 28/01/2025: "Against Social [Control] Media", "Smart" Buses' Ticketing System Cracked
Links for the day
[Video] Richard Matthew Stallman (RMS) in India, Talking About Proprietary Software's Dangers Only Yesterday
WebM file
Gemini Links 28/01/2025: Thinking About Not Much, Computing Fatigue, the Curse of JavaScript
Links for the day
Continued Support and Momentum at the Free Software Foundation (FSF)
"This helps protect our community."
Another Talk by Richard Stallman Tomorrow, This Time in Bengaluru
This means that in January 2025 he is giving at least 5 public talks
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, January 27, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, January 27, 2025
Links 27/01/2025: Lukashenko's Sham Elections, TikTok for Insurrection Loyalist (Larry Ellison)?
Links for the day
Gemini Links 27/01/2025: IndieWeb Musings and Devlog
Links for the day
IBM Layoffs in "Co-location Mandate" Clothing
It's possible that later this week, around the time of the so-called 'results', many layoffs would be announced
Microsoft-Funded IDG Seems to be 'Googlebombing' the Term Free Software to Promote Proprietary Spyware Too
Microsoft advocated along with other proprietary things
Videos and Photos of Richard Stallman's (RMS) Keynote Address in India Earlier Today
He probably told the target audience (India) a thing or two about the role of proprietary software in colonialism
Rhino Linux Can (and Perhaps Should) Promote Alternatives to Microsoft Instead of Preloading Microsoft
Deeper down inside Rhino Linux there's a problem
GAFAM Hates - Except in a Worryingly Parasitic Way - GNU/Linux and Its Freedoms (or Its Users)
Let the story from DistroWatch serve as a reminder that the era of Social Control Media is over
Links 27/01/2025: Social Control Media Explores Propaganda for Racism as a Business Model, China’s Tibet Dam Criticised
Links for the day
Slashdot is Once Again Publishing Lies and Revisionism for Bill Gates, Citing Microsoft's MSN to Rewrite History and Distract From the Jeffrey Epstein Crimes
Of course this also distracts
Too Big, Will Fail (How Linux Grew Way Too Fat)
Linux has very extensive hardware support, but that comes at a cost
Richard Stallman Gives Keynote Address in a Few Hours
Richard Stallman's personal site was updated to give more details
Microsoft Relegated by Manchester United
No Microsoft
IBM Layoffs in 2025: Rumours Say Even Managers Will Get the Axe, Some Via Loopholes Like PIP and/or RTO (Preparations Already Underway)
Where does IBM's money go?
FOSDEM Talks Are Vanishing
They no longer seem to be taking money from Microsoft and/or its tentacles
Gemini Links 27/01/2025: Mental Locomotion, Gemini Protocol Bots From China, and Domain-Specific Languages
Links for the day
Microsoft Still Hires Journalists to Reward Them (Belated Payment) for Microsoft Propaganda
The PR/lying pipeline
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, January 26, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, January 26, 2025