What We Know For Sure on Linux's 20th Anniversary

Twenty years ago today Linux creator Linus Torvalds posted a message online that would change the world:

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

Today, the Linux kernel is the most pervasive piece of software in all of computing. It runs the world’s stock exchanges, transportation systems, consumer devices, smart grid technologies, 90 percent of the world’s supercomputers and much, much more.

Linux continues to prevail and today is the largest collaborative development project in the history of computing. This is because of one fundamental principle: Freedom. Richard Stallman helped us understand long ago what freedom means as it relates to software: the freedom to use the software for any purpose, to change the software to suit your needs, to share the software with friends and neighbors, to share the changes you make to the software. These ideas today are the fundamental building blocks for making the world’s best software and enabling innovation across industries and around the globe.

So what do we know for sure today, on the 20th anniversary of Linux? That we are on the right side of history. That products and technologies come and go but freedom endures. And because of that, we know that Linux will be the fabric of computing for decades to come.

We invite you to watch the Story of Linux today and to share it with your friends, family and colleagues. Also, please check out a special Linux.com picture gallery that shows some pretty amazing items recently displayed at LinuxCon in the 20th Anniversary of Linux Gallery.