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

Microsoft Whistleblowers Explain How Brutal the Latest Cull is (Layoffs in Seconds-Long Calls, Mass Elimination of Whole Studios and High-Level Officials)
we see anonymous leakers or whistleblowers in the media today
 
Links 16/07/2026: Slop Recognised as a Waste of Energy, Hong Kong Cracking Down on Dissent/Opposition Some More
Links for the day
GNU/Linux Approaching 5% "Market Share" in Oceania, Almost Trebling in 12 Months
It is difficult to ignore the gains made by GNU/Linux this month
Gemini Links 16/07/2026: esp32-gemserv, Slop-Contaminated Free Software, and Moving Systems
Links for the day
Last Summer Microsoft Mass Layoffs Came in Two Large Waves, Rumours Say Next Week Another Large Wave is Coming
If many more Microsoft layoffs are formally admitted next week we will not be surprised
Tomorrow is Another Strike Day at Europe's Second-Largest Institution, the Media is Still Deliberately Ignoring It
Fridays are now recommended “anchor days" for EPO strikes
Public Interest News Foundation Shows News Drought or News Deserts in the United Kingdom
Public Interest News Foundation shows that we should be deeply concerned
Illusions of Choice
Choices can be differently bad or equally bad
Windows Down to 10% in India
Windows is a "burning platform"
One Year Has Passed
Our aim is to repair an injured system wherein "abuse of process" can be turned into a weapon, leveraged even by foreigners who are funded by affluent third parties
Techrights is Annoying People Who Work for (and Serve) People Who Annoy (and Abuse) Society
Working against us (instead of with us) has historically been a bad strategy
No Skinnerboxes, No Slop, No False Idols or Corporate Prophets
Torvalds does not understand the everyday struggles of tech workers and tech users because he is a millionaire
IBM's Next Stop: $199 (Market Cap Already Under 2.5 Times IBM's Debt)
Don't rush to call us "sensationalist" over it
Links 16/07/2026: Solar Greenwashing by Energy-Wasting GAFAM and Growing Concerns About Harm by Social Control Media
Links for the day
Gemini Links 16/07/2026: Photography, Agility, and "Today I have Truly Become a Linux User."
Links for the day
Rebellion Brewing at Microsoft
As always, we welcome Microsoft whistleblowers
Technology Against Human Nature
Losing a sense of what it means to be alive
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, July 15, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, July 15, 2026
IBM Down to $211.20, the Market in General is Up
No recovery for IBM today
UEFI 'Secure Boot' Still Not Secure in 2026, New Holes (or Bypasses) Still Being Found
In 2026 there are still many people who call it "secure" and pretend to themselves that it is about security. It's not. It never was.
Gemini Links 15/07/2026: Lab 6, Retrospective 2, and "Getting Back Into Gemini"
Links for the day
Links 15/07/2026: "Gianni Infantino Under Fire" and "Todd Blanche's Record Raises Alarming Questions About the Future of the US DOJ"
Links for the day
Allegedly More IBM RAs (Mass Layoffs) Same Day the Stock Crashed
No paper trail, so it never happened, right?
Techrights Was Right: Microsoft's Layoffs Tally Was False, Far More People Are Being Sacked
"The Xbox Bloodbath Is Actually Way Bigger Than It Seems"
Get Ready for Increase in PIPs and RAs at IBM, Red Hat, and Other Companies Devoured by IBM
IBM's "market cap" has just fallen to 199 billion dollars and it has about 70 billion dollars in debt
IBM Sinking to Lowest Levels Since 2024, But Will Any Executives Be Arrested for Securities Fraud?
52-week high of $332.46 and now down to $212.94
Microsoft Whistleblowers Say "The Entire Thing is Going to Fall Apart" and There Are "No Benefits" to Being Part of Microsoft
"Multiple sources, who chose to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal"
IBM's Crash Continues Today
Stocks go up and down, but they don't typically go down by over 25% in a single day
Like Kyndryl, Multiple Securities Fraud Investigations Into IBM
Remember what happened to Kyndryl
How Long Before GNU/Linux is Measured at 20% in Chad?
The main way to get people to adopt Vista 11 is to sell them a new PCs and in poor countries it happens a lot less
Making Techrights Faster Down Under (Australia and New Zealand)
there's more to life than speed
Strikes at the EPO Approved for the Rest of the Year, "€1,3 Billion Taken From Staff Income"
Intensity can be revised and increased over time
Focusing on What We Really Ought to Focus on
Today we'll focus mostly on EPO affairs
Violence is Not a Joke
"Police say Widdecombe killing was targeted but motive remains unclear"
How to Properly Measure the Performance of a Patent Office
A "contribution from staff [which] is published by SUEPO Munich."
Who Next After IBM? (Bubbles Don't Last Forever)
the demise of companies with "ai" in their name/domain
EPO "Cocaine Communication Manager" - Part XIV - "Not One of Us" (How the Group Dubbed by EPO Insiders "Alicante Mafia" Pushes Out Talent, Replacing It With Friends)
misuses the EPO's budget like it is a fountain of money for his friends
LibreTech Collective Abandons Microsoft GitHub and All Other Proprietary Software
Each time a project eliminates control by a hostile party it stands to gain
GNU/Linux Estimated at 8% "Market Share" Today (in statCounter)
Days ago it said 7.1%, then 7.3% or 7.4%
Links 15/07/2026: US Regime "Cuts Two Utah National Monuments by More Than 90%", "Hormuz is Less Crucial Than It Was"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/07/2026: Old Computer Challenge, "Trial by Fire", LLM Slop Destroying Companies
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 14, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, July 14, 2026
Heshan de Silva-Weeramuni Becomes Program Manager at the Free Software Foundation (FSF)
Heshan's addition means that the FSF is growing after a solid financial year (best in years)
Michael McMahon Explains Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks on the Free Software Foundation (FSF)
The real solution is a curb on botnets. A mitigation strategy, however, would involve going static.
Matters of Public Safety
"Police say Ann Widdecombe killed in 'targeted attack' as motive investigated"
The Register MS and Its Promotional Microsoft Content
It's not too hard to see what the business model of The Register MS is
IBM: From $306 to $212 in 7 Days, IBM Won't Go Up More Than 50% to Where It Was at 'Peak Vapourware'
There's a limit to how much or how long a company can fake its performance and its potential [...] Early this morning a few insiders ("traders") cashed in on their "pump-n-dump"
Red Hat Staff Needs to Start Looking for the Next Job
Workers can conveniently lie or deny it to themselves, but waves of PIPs ("silent layoffs") will sweep over more and more units or teams as the company runs out of money to play with
IBM the Next Bear Stearns
IBM cannot recover if all it has to show is vapourware
IBM Stock Collapses and It's Only the Beginning
Will GAFAM soon follow and will any executives be arrested for the accounting fraud insiders have long cautioned about?
I'll Be Extremely Difficult for Microsoft to Sell Any XBox Consoles Now
Microsoft understands this
How Software Freedom Would Benefit Everybody
A society that denies control by greedy companies would do a disservice to monopolies and improve all services to citizens
Links 14/07/2026: Harsh But Also Fair Criticism of Hey Hi (AI) Slop, 'Open' AI Shuts Down Its Own Products as Funds Run Out
Links for the day
Gemini Links 14/07/2026: Old CD Binder and AWK
Links for the day
In Defence of Physical Tickets
Tickets are not some "app" and not some "code" on some "screen"
Microsoft Layoffs Not Limited to XBox (False Narrative in the Mainstream Media)
Microsoft is becoming less relevant and workforce reductions won't end any time soon
Links 14/07/2026: Plagiarism Spun as "Training", Zelensky Announces Leadership Shuffle
Links for the day
The Register MS Has Just Published "AI" Webspam That Mentions "AI" 54 Times. It Was Paid to Do This.
Who pays for all this "AI" hype or "buzz"?
Gemini Links 14/07/2026: Self-Advocacy Online; "The Internet Is Dead: How the Web Lost Its Human Soul"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 13, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, July 13, 2026
Modern Technology Harms Women More Than Men (Because the 'Tech Bros' Who Dominate STEM Have a Poor View of Women)
“Privacy protects us from abuses by those in power, even if we're doing nothing wrong at the time of surveillance.”
Internet Relay Chat Trolls Are Not Expressing Opinions, They Are Saboteurs
For the record
Links 14/07/2026: "The Freedom of Information Act Is in Serious Trouble"; Irish Datacenters Use Up Almost 25% of Total Energy
Links for the day