A true hacker in the classic sense, Linus Torvalds was a computer science student at the University of Helsinki when he wrote the operating system Linux (a contraction of "Linus’ Minix") in 1991. The software has proven to be tremendously popular worldwide -- and best of all it’s FREE! Torvalds modestly attributes much of Linux’s success to the Net and to Richard Stallman’s GNU: Both have facilitated development of his original kernel by fostering collaboration among software programmers and developers.
Current status: Linus Torvalds -- one of the most genuinely respected hackers in history -- now works for Transmeta, a company that develops software-based microprocessors. He’s married with two daughters.
