Friend who is not a software person sent me this tweet, which amused me as it did them. They asked if “runk” was real, which I assume not.
But what are some good examples of real ones like this? xz became famous for the hack of course, so i then read a bit about how important this compression algorithm is/was.
Actually I think he has already had an adequate amount of recognition:
“In 1999, Red Hat and VA Linux, both leading developers of Linux-based software, presented Torvalds with stock options in gratitude for his creation.[29] That year both companies went public and Torvalds’s share value briefly shot up to about US$20 million”
his autobiography is in several hundred library collections worldwide
Awards he’s received:
2 honorary doctorates
2 celestial objects named after him
Lovelace Medal
IEEE Computer Pioneer Award
EFF Pioneer Award
Vollum Award
Hall of Fellows of the Computer History Museum
C&C prize
Millenium Technology Prize
Internet Hall of Fame
IEEE Masaru Ibuka Consumer Electronics Award
Great Immigrants Award
Wow! A company gave away money without being contractually obligated to do so? The world sure has changed since then. I’m glad that Torvalds is doing well, he completely changed the world.
I wonder how Brahm Cohen is doing. He also had a huge impact on the world. I know he got a write-up in Wired Magazine after inventing Bit Torrent (that’s how I learned about it way back then), but I haven’t heard much about him since.