“I’ve often wondered why some pundits describe Linux as a
disruptive technology. How can a technical model as old as Linux’s
(based, as it is, on Unix) with a distribution model based on
freely shared code challenge the status quo?”
“My answer to this question was clarified when I read an article
called “Is Linus killing Linux?” This piece, which has already
stirred up i ts share of controversy, assembles a broad assortment
of old-school projections onto the Linux development process, and
shows a lack of understanding of how or why Linux came to be.”
“Indeed, the saving grace of this piece is that it offers so
much for me to shoot down at one time.”
“The story follows an e-mail interview that the author, Paula
Rooney, had with Linus Torvalds. In the interview, Linus didn’t
show proper homage to the media and Linux’s corporate “friends,”
telling Rooney “you ask the wrong questions” and answering many of
her questions with dismissals such as “what will be will be.” As a
result, Rooney’s piece wondered aloud whether Linus, Linux’s
creator and chief cat-herder, was its worst enemy.”
“We should all be cursed with such enemies.”