Bill Gates and Linus Torbalds, pictured in the same photo, sharing their first lunch together. On June 22, the Microsoft founder and the Finnish programmer nicknamed the "father" of Linux appeared publicly side by side for the first time in their lives, a more than symbolic image that brings together two visions and two foundations of the Internet we know. Both computer enthusiasts, they represent, on the one hand, the proprietary software suite and, on the other, the open source movement.
The meeting took place during a luncheon hosted by Mark Russinovich, the technical director of Microsoft Azure. He was the one who posted the photo on the LinkedIn network (acquired by Microsoft ten years ago). At their side was another guest, just as important to Microsoft in the 1990s: David Cutler, one of the central figures of Windows NT. Twenty years ago, Microsoft saw Linux as its main enemy, a real threat. Today, their founders meet, and Microsoft is less closed to open source, while the American giant owns GitHub.
"I had the thrill of my life organizing a dinner for Bill Gates, Linus Torvalds and David Cutler", wrote Mark Russinovich in his post.
Today, the top American tech leaders are used to rubbing shoulders at events, such as conferences, celebrity parties, but also Senate hearings. Twenty years ago, Bill Gates and Linus Torbalds had never appeared in public. Since then, Mark Russinovich has claimed that the two men had never actually met. If Bill Gates had a problem with Linux, Linus Torbalds also had one with Microsoft. He often criticized the company, highlighting its failures.
While the lunch generated a lot of interest within the technology community, Mark Russinovich didn't help matters, stating that another meeting could take place, and that projects could result from it between the two men, now aged 69 for the American and 55 for the Finn.
"Linus has never met Bill, and Dave (David) has never met Linus. "No major decisions were made here, but maybe at the next dinner," he wrote on his LinkedIn post.
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