Roll Out the Cake: Linux Turns 35

"Hello, this is Linus Torvalds, and I pronounce Linux, Linux."

I remember it well. Any time I would install Linux in the early days, there was that audio file of Linus Torvalds telling me how to pronounce Linux.

Even back then, I knew Linux would become something big. But did I know that, after 35 years of existence, it would pretty much run everything from a refrigerator to Amazon?

It was on the comp.os.minix newsgroup that Linus made this announcement:

“Hello everybody out there using minix –

“I’m doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won’t be big and professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones. This has been brewing since april, and is starting to get ready. I’d like any feedback on things people like/dislike in minix, as my OS resembles it somewhat (same physical layout of the file-system (due to practical reasons) among other things).

“I’ve currently ported bash(1.08) and gcc(1.40), and things seem to work. This implies that I’ll get something practical within a few months, and I’d like to know what features most people would want. Any suggestions are welcome, but I won’t promise I’ll implement them.”

He added:

“PS. Yes – it’s free of any minix code, and it has a multi-threaded fs. It is NOT portable (uses 386 task switching etc), and it probably never will support anything other than AT-harddisks, as that’s all I have :-(.”

Little did that student know just how big his project would become.

Starting in the late nineties, every year it seemed someone proclaimed that it would be the "year of the Linux desktop." After 35 years, we've yet to see that come to fruition, but with every passing year, it gets closer and closer. My guess is that, by the time Linux turns 40, we'll see that proclamation finally come true.

Happy birthday, Linux, and thank you, Mr. Torvalds, for creating something truly special.