Gates's Letter to Hobbyists, complaining about the unauthorized sharing of Microsoft BASIC, asked in a chiding way, Who can afford to do professional work for nothing? Torvalds found that an odd outlook. He and Gates were from two very different cultures, the communist-tinged radical academia of Helsinki versus the corporate elite of Seattle. Gates may have ended up with the bigger house, but Torvalds reaped antiestablishment adulation.
In Bill Gates's letter to hobbyists, he voiced his frustration about the free distribution of Microsoft BASIC, questioning how anyone could expect to make a living without compensation. Linus Torvalds, however, found this perspective strange, as he hailed from a different cultural background, one that was influenced by the ideals of radical academia in Helsinki, contrasting sharply with the corporate mindset of Seattle that Gates represented.
Although Gates achieved significant financial success and a luxurious lifestyle, Torvalds gained immense respect and admiration from anti-establishment circles. This difference in their views exemplifies the wider cultural divide in the tech world, highlighting the contrasting values of commercialization versus idealism in technology development as discussed in Walter Isaacson's "The Innovators."
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Other quotes in The Innovators: How a Group of Inventors, Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution
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All the things you can talk about in anyone's work are the things that are least important.
Race of Cain, ascend to heaven, And cast God down upon the earth!
