[ Thanks to Linda
Ellington for this link. ]
“In a study hardcore computer enthusiasts find ‘repulsive and
unconscionable,’ at least 99.9 percent of the general population
will have no special recollection of Jan. 5, 2001, the day the
Linux 2.4 operating system was finally released.”
“‘It’s truly pathetic,’ said Linux evangelist Eric Raymond. ‘Not
knowing where you were on Jan. 5, 2001, is like saying you can’t
recall exactly what you were doing on January 22, 1998, right? …
Am I right?’
“For most adherents of Linux – the open source alternative
operating system to Windows and Unix – life came to a standstill
Jan. 5, and thousands scrambled to download the update. However,
Stanford University researchers couldn’t help but notice the
feeling was not universal. ‘I was driving in my car when I heard on
the radio that 2.4 was officially out, and I thought to myself,
Wow, do I need to pull off the road to regain my composure?’
recalled sociologist and lead researcher Kirsten L. Anders. ‘And I
realized, No.'”