| Torvalds talks Linux, life, legacy to high school kids |
Jun. 16, 2005
Portland Oregon's Riverdale High School shares a rare look at Linus Torvalds this month in its paper, The Maverick. Torvalds speaks a bit on his past, the present, his goals for the future, and how young Linux enthusiasts can help promote Linux's growth.
Riverdale High School, like a number of other schools in the US and elsewhere in the world, has migrated to Linux and Open Source software. For this reason -- and because of Torvalds's proximity now that he is employed by the OSDL (his children are enrolled in the Riverdale school district) -- The Maverick and a young man identifying himself only as Anthony Q. requested an interview with the creator of Linux himself.
Torvalds agreed to the interview, and answered a host of questions ranging from the charmingly frivolous "Were you considered a nerd in high school?" to the encouragingly enthusiastic "What can kids my age (15) or younger do for Linux?"
Torvalds's answer to the latter is characteristically easy-going, and encourages exploration over evangelism. "The best thing you can do is get into it and do whatever comes natural," says Torvalds. "You start off doing things that interest you. If you end up using Linux and learning the system, eventually you'll get to the point where you'll notice, 'Hey that doesn't do what I want it to do' and you'll fix it yourself."
"So what happens when Linus Torvalds sits down with a high school freshman for an interview?" The Maverick asks. The answer is a solidly interesting read.
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