Linus Torvalds a Hero!

I was really happy when I read in this Time article that Linus Torvalds, also known as the father of Linux, is considered a hero! He really deserves it!

He not only created Linux, which is already a wonderful thing: he also managed to make a huge number of people spread ALL around the world collaborate on it, giving birth to one of the most impressive project in the history of computer science (this is not only my opinion :-)

I started using Linux in 1996 (if I remember well) with a Slackware 1.2.3; the pre-installed kernel did not even support my cdrom, so I had to install the system using 20 floppy disks; then I discovered the magic moment of kernel compilation (in order to make my cdrom work) and it was really emotionally geeky! ;-)

I had already used Xenix few years before so it was like going back home; but there was more: there was that impressive availability of software for free (and of course, open source, and this really matters).

I'm using Linux now most of the time (going back to Windows only to test my software also in that environment, and when I can't use Linux for some hardware or some not working drivers).

It's also a very pleasant and comfortable environment for programmers and nowadays can surely be used for anything... if only people were not too lazy to start using it :-P

Thanks Linus!