Linux Founder Criticizes OS X and Windows

Linus Torvalds spoke out against Linux's goliath competitors in a recent interview, picking apart their both companies' approach to the operating system.

With no PR flacks, no quotable CEO, and no money to spend on frilly promotions, Linux has always been the operating system underdog, with a modest reputation to say the least, and in some cases, complete obscurity to non-techies. But that hasn’t stopped one of the Linux kernel’s original authors, Linus Torwalds, from occasionally stepping up as the impromptu frontman for the OS, sticking up for his creation and taking a few jabs at the competition while he’s at it.

In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Torvalds gave quite a candid view of what he really thinks about Windows and Leopard. “Their file system is complete and utter crap, which is scary,” he said of Apple. “ I think OS X is nicer than Windows in many ways, but neither can hold a candle to my own. It’s a race to second place!”

Torvalds believes both companies have made the mistake of overemphasizing visual elements in their latest releases. “It’s stupid – when you make a big deal about something like Vista or Leopard, a lot of it is about things I don’t consider to be the operating system. It’s about the visual shell around it,” he said.  “The fact Microsoft tied the two together so much actually caused them problems, not just the legal problems. If you manage a thousand clients, or a hundred thousand clients, which is not at all unheard of, you sure as hell don’t want to point and click at them.”

Besides his technical critiques of both operating systems, he also criticized both companies for the way they leverage them. “To Microsoft and Apple the o/s is important as a way to control the whole environment, from a marketing and money-making standpoint, to force people to upgrade their applications, and your hardware,” he said.