Linus Torvalds: Apple’s lockdown mentality will ultimately lose

“Apple’s restrictive control measures and policies will ultimately fail, according to Linus Torvalds,” Nicole Martinelli reports for Cult of Mac.

“‘Technologies that lock things down tend to lose in the end,’ said Torvalds at the keynote of LinuxCon Brazil,” Martinelli reports. “Torvalds made the remark in answer to a question about Microsoft’s secure boot feature, saying the initiative – like Apple’s DRM – won’t last forever because ‘people want freedom and markets want freedom… I’m an optimist: openness is successful in the long run, secure boot is another one of these passing fads,’ Torvalds said.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: People want “openness,” Linus, so Apple will ultimately lose? Oh, you mean like Linux on the desktop?

StatCounter Linux OS share, July 2008 - October 2011

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Lynn Weiler” for the heads up.]

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85 Comments

  1. Linus needs to realize that not having any principles or standards is the root of his lost game. In order to be the leader you need not just to be innovative and genius but you also need strict organized standards and update them systematically.

    Second thoughts.. a poet named Hafez once said:
    Don’t bother sharing the secrets of love and life with an arrogant postulant and let him die in his ignorant dark world of selfishness.

    1. Does anyone on this site know anything about Torvalds? Not many apparently.

      Linus does not “push” linux on the desktop or anywherr else. He is all about the kernel, the core OS and what it is capable of.

      He is like the Steve Jobs of kernel developers. Highly intelligent, opinionated and driven to perfection (on the level that he works).

      He does not care if linux “wins” because winning is not what drove him to create linux to begin with.

      MDN’s chart just shows how utterly clueless they are about what linus does and where linux is even used!

      1. Linus used to use BitKeeper a “closed” software… goes from KDE to GNOME and then to XFCE…
        He is a person who can afford and has the means to migrate from one platform to another. He has not come up with a platform that is stable enough to keep for himself… I like the fact that he moves on to the next version and left his mark with Linux.
        He is a progressive person and interesting but he definitely has his own stubburn ideas and school of thought.
        just because he says Apple will fail it does not mean it will but he has a point…Apple has been smart enough to come up with way to mitigate its failure due to standards (standards being for stability but against progress) and if they stay smart they will provide a stable platform to progress from where they are now into the future… Cheers to Linus for his comment and damn all those who take his comments as negative words… and screw both Open and Close ideas. Be your own Pirate and do the right thing.

  2. Linux is a nice, cheap way to learn about how computers work. It can work as fairly decent cheap server.

    But where does he get the idea that “people” want open? The predominant desktop OS is friggin’ Windows. Windows is open? And “people” certainly aren’t flocking to Linux. It’s a royal pain in the ass as a desktop system.

        1. Between the ears only.

          @mac daddy

          Where did we get the idea “people” in hell want ice water? No one has ever come and gone from that place, so how do we know? Maybe they prefer shitshakes through thin straws, who knows.

          Why don’t you do us all a favor and define “openness”. Go ahead, I dare you.

    1. Ultimately lost what? Linus Torvalds’ creations are used everywhere, have changed the world for the better, and he’s done all this while sticking to his core ideals. What the hell does would it take for someone to win in your eyes?

  3. Linus is totally right. Like my Panasonic TV, I love how there is a healthy aftermarket for parts and soft/firmware for it. I’ve modified mine till it doesn’t even work anymore. I’m building a house right now and am doing the wiring myself – the openness allows me to choose exactly how I want to do it. This is my fourth house – the first two burned down. I sold the third – I didn’t lose as much money as I thought I would It’s great, I’m learning as I go. No point having to follow someone else’s specs just because they’ve already figured it all out. I mean, what if we all want to learn the hard way? My wife is complaining that i dont spend the time with the family that i used to since ive started taking advantage of all this openness. She really doesn’t understand. The openness is what gives all all the freedom to really explore our boundaries of ineptidue. I cant help that that it takes an inordinate amount of my time doing it all myself, not to mention the constant tweaking and the time that takes. I saved $50 so far on my Linux desktop! I’ve spent the last week tweaking and modifying it, we’ve all got more time than money, I always say. I actually bought an iPhone 4S, everyone was saying how it’s sooo great – it really pissed me off that it was pretty much completely usable right off the shelf. What is Apple thinking? Do they really believe that I would want to pay for an already finished product? Idiots. It even cost about the same as the other smart phone I could have bought. I don’t think I could even sell it now for half what I paid for it. Assholes. I’m more convinced than ever – open wins every time.

  4. Why this useless fight. Linux is Unix. OS X is Unix. Both are great for its purpose. On servers and stuff Linux is best, and in desktops it’s OS X. Great co-existence since none of them is terrible like Windows. Only sometimes Linus himself seems to be on a pill.

  5. Open has POSITIVE connotations and closed has NEGATIVE connotations.

    The problem is that in computing these popular connotations of open and closed are totally misplaced…to say the least. Those that understand computing will agree and those that don’t …..get fooled into thinking that this is some sort of panacea for computing to evolve. What is MOST surprising is that people who should know this the most would be the “guru’s” of computing such as Torvolds and those at Google. But they both say the opposite. So what is their reasoning? The reasoning…………is that there are more idiots to exploit in the world that think open in computing is a positive. Thats all it boils down to with these clowns. They have no no incentive to have the BEST as long as they can exploit the dumb.

  6. “Apple’s restrictive control measures and policies will ultimately fail”

    Linus, you’re a great inventor and leader who has been of great benefit to the computer community. Thank you!

    But you’re a FAILure as a futurist. Please just STFU regarding Apple. You’ve never once been right about them. Spitting into the wind is not your forte.

    1. Had you bothered to do a little digging into this matter you would have found the context in which he was speaking of Apple. Instead, you fall right in line with the reat of the consensus lemmings on this board.

      Linus was responding to a line of questioning from a Brazilian reporter who asked why is it that Apple-Sao Paulo, a major commercial presence in the country, is so tight-lipped and defers all regional policy and operational questions to Cupertino.

      Also, the conversation began with the notion that Apple uses proprietary cables for its mobile devices and why can’t they adopt universal cabling, after which Torvalds responded to who knows which question.

      The truth is the press conference probably took place over the course of any hour or so and clearly whomever decided this was the most salient point he made. Again, pick-and-choose-out-of-context journalism.

      I have no doubt that what he said of the topic made perfect sense to the audience he was addressing and little to you.

      In many respects, I don’t doubt he decided not to clarify his position with regard to whether he was talking about Apple-Sao Paulo or its headquarters in Cupertino but, if the shit fits wear it, I don’t care.

      By the way, the origins of my findings came from the articles I read that were written by spanish reporters.

      Cult of Mac’s Martinelli probably took his statements out of context because of the juicy nature of Torvalds’ attack on Apple.

  7. What a jerk! Making Linux OS doesn’t mean he knows anything about “freedom”.
    Does he leave his house open for everyone or does he suggest that to his neughbours to do ? Of course not.
    Why not do what he preaches, show some freedom in his doing?. Let people come freely into his house and go freely into others, take what you want from others too like others can take from you. Behave lile Google treats Apple/Oracle(Sun/Java).

    What a freedom preaching, and that has nothing to do with the meaning of freedom, rather abuse of that word.

    1. Karl, just STFU. No one here is trying to compare Linus Torvalds to Patrick Henry, or open platforms to your brand of freedom where everyone freely does what they want with your personal possessions.

      Enough with the misplaced analogies of home security, already.

      Every one of you has a differing opinion of what “open” even means. Some think open means unlocked doors, others equate open with freedom, still others think open means free, and the opinions just keep coming.

      So KARL SNOW, even after you read the article and the ensuing comments, you still think Linus was talking about homeland security?

      They say the chasm between concept and execution is great but you my friend have proven them wrong.

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