Linus Torvalds
is often held in high regard because of his contribution to the creation of the
Linux operating system. Linux is an open source operating system and is the
third most commonly used operating system under the Mac OS and Windows. While
Linux is not as widely used as the Mac or Windows OS, Linus
has received numerous awards for his programming contributions. One
of the awards being the Millennium Technology Prize, which is
considered the Nobel Prize in the technology field. Linus graduated with a
master's degree in computer science at the University of Helsinki and has been
a programmer since 1990, when the Unix operating system was first introduced to
him. Since then, he had helped further develop the Linux and Unix based
operating systems and is now the holder of the Linux trademark as well as the
majority of the Linux code.
What sets the Linux operating system apart from Windows and Mac OS is
that it is open source, meaning anyone from around the world that knows how to
modify code can simply make a few modifications and change it in any way they
desire. This is Linux' major strong point, it has more customization and more
overall possible uses than the standard operating system. It is also free,
which means any person can download and immediately add to the vast amount
of code to improve the operating system.
The properties of the Linux operating system are what gave Linus Torvalds
such high recognition. The Linux OS is something that can be made better
through a shared collection of data. It works the same way the internet does, a
large collection of data, but in the form of code and it can constantly be
improved and modified. It benefits everyone when there is an option to improve
what already exists and the Linux OS is the very essence of this. That is why he is one of the greatest programmers of our time, because he gave the world the ability to continuously improve upon something so that everyone may benefit from it.
