“Red Hat Software’s Letter to Shareholders that accompanied
its 2000 Annual Report contains something very special. The back of
the letter holds both the key to all wisdom and the key to Red
Hat’s business plan: the source code and comments for the Linux
v0.01 kernel, written by Linus Torvalds in 1991.“
“This arcane document, recreated in its entirety by Red Hat
Linux scholars (although the open-source Taliban are sure to argue
against its placement of include files and source for years to
come) proves two things about Linux: it’s small (the entire kernel
fits on the back of a poster-sized sheet, albeit in small type) and
it’s a gripping read. In an effort to trace the philosophy of Linux
back to its source, the following is a brief and admiring look at
what some would call The Writings of Linus Torvalds: The Hacker Way
of Power.”
“Linus’ kernel begins with a rare thing in the Linux kabala.
Here we find Linux’s true name, the name given to it by its
creator: Freax. If time and history had not stepped in, news of the
Freax revolution would have been plastered on Business Week,
People, Cat Fancy, etc., leading confused investors to put money
into refrigerants.”