Monday, July 07, 2003

Linus Torvald--the Dynamics of Linux Development In some ways the description about how influences in Linux development occur can apply to what's happening with online instructional resources. Of course, a major difference is that there is no single person or center to monitor online instructional developments. JH _____ LINUX: THE MAGICIAN AND THE MAGIC--Newsscan Daily, July 7, 2003 Talking with the San Jose Mercury News, Linux creator Linus Torvalds gave this explanation of the evolution of the Linux operating system since it origination (when he spent six months personally writing the original code): "It all boils down to hundreds of different groups. A group can be a huge company that has an agenda. Or it can mean one person at a university working on a research project. They have their own thing they want to fix. All of these people make their modifications, and not all of them are accepted. I see it as a kind of ecosystem. You have survival of the fittest. Some changes work better. Sometimes it is for purely technical reasons. It's just the right thing to do. Sometimes it is for personality reasons. Some people who push their changes are more likely to get things done because they are nicer about it. It's not really centralized. I am at the center, but I don't direct any teams. All these people are trying to pull me in different directions. Some groups pull together in the same direction. It's a very dynamic situation." (San Jose Mercury News 4 Jul 2003) http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/6237239.ht 11:50:37 AM    COMMENT []