In my opinion MS is a lot better at making money than it is at making good operating systems. — Linus Torvalds

In my opinion MS is a lot better at making money than it is at making good operating systems.

Author: Linus Torvalds

Insight: There's a tension Linus Torvalds was pointing to that still plays out everywhere: the difference between being genuinely good at something and being good at convincing people you're good at it. Microsoft became dominant not because Windows was technically superior—it was often clunky and crash-prone compared to alternatives—but because they mastered distribution, partnerships, and making themselves indispensable to business. That's a real skill, just a different one. This matters today because we see it constantly. The most profitable product isn't always the best product. Social media platforms optimize for engagement, not truth. Streaming services chase subscribers over consistency. We live in an economy where marketing sophistication and network effects often matter more than actual excellence. Torvalds was a purist pointing out something uncomfortable: if you're really good at the business game, you don't necessarily need to be great at your core craft anymore. The weird part is that this observation doesn't mean Microsoft was wrong—it just means they were playing a different game than open-source idealists. Success in the marketplace and success as a technical achievement are genuinely different things. Recognizing that gap might help us stop conflating wealth with competence, and stop being surprised when great products struggle while mediocre ones dominate.