Why Linus Torvalds Rages at Intel, C++, and the Tech Industry

Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux and Git, is often first thought of as a hacker and open‑source champion, but he also remains a vocal figure on the front lines of technology.

Without Linux there would be no Android, and without Git there would be no GitHub, underscoring his massive impact on the software world.

Known for his emotionally charged and sometimes profanity‑laden comments, Torvalds recently erupted after Israeli security firm CTS‑Labs disclosed a series of AMD Zen CPU vulnerabilities without observing the customary 90‑day embargo.

"It looks like the IT security industry has lowered its baseline. If you work in security and think you have any morals, you should add a line on your business card: ‘No, really, I’m not a whore. I guarantee it.’" "I thought the security field was already rotten, but I didn’t expect it to be this shameless. When did security workers start acting like prostitutes to get attention?"

Intel CPU Vulnerabilities

In early 2018 Intel’s CPU design flaws (Spectre, Meltdown) sparked a rapid response from hardware vendors, OS makers, and cloud providers. Torvalds publicly blasted Intel’s Spectre patches for Linux as "complete and utter garbage".

"…the fixes for Meltdown and IBRS are half‑baked and unacceptable. Some people aren’t telling the truth! They are pushing out pure garbage for unknown reasons." "The current solution ignores many worse problems; the hardware interface was designed by incompetent people." "IBRS incurs huge overhead and is a total disaster. No sane person would use it because it’s too costly. We need something better than this junk."

C++

C++ was created by Bjarne Stroustrup to combine C’s performance with Simula’s features. Torvalds, however, has long argued that C++ is a poor choice for kernel development and criticizes it as a language for "incompetent" programmers.

"The fact is, C++ compilers are not trustworthy… the whole C++ exception handling is fundamentally unreasonable." (2004‑01‑19) "Although C++ can be used for prototypes or simple GUIs, it does not simplify things. C encourages simple, direct structures." (2007‑09‑07) "C++ is a terrible language." (2007‑09‑06)

GCC

Since 1987 the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) has been the default C compiler for GNU systems and later expanded to many languages, making it a staple in Unix‑like OSes such as Linux—something Torvalds knows intimately.

"Heaven forbid GCC 4.9.0 is allowed to graduate from kindergarten." (2014‑07‑24) "GCC is nonsense." (2006‑11‑28)

GNOME

GNOME is a popular open‑source desktop environment for many Linux distributions. Torvalds’ relationship with GNOME has been volatile, switching between it and other environments, often criticizing its UI bugs and customizability.

"I haven’t met anyone who likes the chaotic GNOME‑3." (2011‑08) "Out‑of‑the‑box GNOME‑3 doesn’t even give you the most basic tools to solve problems; you have to rely on unofficial extensions—a failed user experience." (2012‑06‑01)

Java

Java was released by Sun Microsystems in 1995 and became one of the most popular languages. Torvalds once hoped its "write once, run anywhere" promise would boost Linux, but later condemned Sun’s design and the JVM as unsuitable for desktop use.

"Essentially I see Java’s engine going downhill because it has nowhere to go." (1998‑08) "I don’t care about Java. What a horrible language." (2011‑11)

Mach

Mach is a microkernel originally from CMU, later used in GNU Hurd and Apple’s macOS. Torvalds, a staunch monolithic‑kernel advocate, has repeatedly denounced Mach as a waste of design.

"My personal rating of Mach is low; it’s basically a pile of design errors, even some that are its own." (2001) "The people who built Mach are incompetent idiots." (2006‑04‑20)

XML

Although XML is a W3C markup language for document encoding, Torvalds has expressed strong dislike for its complexity and usability.

"XML is possibly the worst‑designed format ever; it’s a disaster for both humans and computers." (2014‑03‑06) "XML is nonsense. Parsing XML is hateful to humans and a nightmare for computers. There’s no reason for this terrible junk to exist." (2014‑03‑06)

Despite his sharp tongue, Torvalds’ anger is almost always rooted in technical issues, and his outspoken critiques have cemented his reputation as one of the greatest programmers of our time.