The GNU project was officially announced on 27 September 1983 by Richard Stallman. Thirty-five years of a project that has now become the fundamental building block of everything we use and see in technology in 2018. I would not be wrong to say that there isn't a single proprietary piece of software that anyone is still using from 35 years ago – please post comments if there is something still being used.
There is only one reason for this longevity: the GNU project was built upon the premise that the code is available to anyone, anywhere with the only restriction that whatever is done to the code, it shall always be available to anyone, forever. Richard Stallman's genius in crafting the copyleft license that is the GNU General Public License is probably the best hack of the 20th century software industry.
Extra: Happy Birthday, GNU: Why I still love GNU 35 years later
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 28 2018, @09:11PM
When I say "system" and you bloviate about kernel it's disingenuous at best. From a technical standpoint.
But when you start telling me how I'm "not affected" by how and by whom the kernel of the OS that I run is made - you get firmly into the realm of the crazy. Go tell Windows users they're "not affected" by the consequences of architectural decisions within MS.
Please do not insult anyone's intelligence here with such ham-fisted rhetoric. Thanks.