During LinuxCon North America 2015, Jim Zemlin, executive director for the Linux Foundation, had the opportunity to ask Linux kernel creator Linus Torvalds a few questions about the kernel and its role in today’s tech hot topics.

The power of saying no

Starting the interview, Zemlin quoted an article from Businessweek about Torvalds, which describes the power he has gained through Linux and open source. In response, Torvalds is self-deprecating by saying, “It does feel absurd, and I am not sure about the power, but I love open source and how all the credit goes to me.”

He then mentioned that while he doesn’t write code any longer, he does have the power to say no. He claims that these days he gets credit for being a maintainer and for managing some very productive people.

Containers, containers, containers …

When asked about the explosion of the open-source container projects like Docker and CoreOS, Torvalds explained that the kernel is so far-removed from those projects and he only sees the kernel. He said he does not get to see these other projects.

“I don’t get involved in the politics of what goes on the kernel, and I am really happy I don’t have to,” he said.

Shrinking the kernel for IoT

Zemlin asked Torvalds about the Internet of Things (IoT) and if he is getting pressure to “shrink” the kernel for small devices. The creator of Linux described the history of how the kernel has grown over the years, and he feels that trying to get back to a “lean-mean IOT machine” is going to be hard.

“Realistically I don’t think we will grow back down to the size we were 20 years ago,”  he said. “If you want to work on really small devices, you will need to find another alternative.”

At odds with security

Security tends to be a hot-button issue for Torvalds. “I tend to be at odds with the security industry, because security tends to be either black or white, and with security it’s not” he remarked.

He stressed that security is never going to be perfect, and strict standards are in place for developers to get into the kernel. “Outside of  the kernel, the only real solution is to admit that bugs happen and that you need to have security on multiple layers so that if one misses it gets picked up on the next,” he said. He also noted that total security is unrealistic: “We will always have issues.”

Linux 10 years from now

Don’t ask Torvalds where Linux will be 10 years for now, because he is not thinking beyond six months. To him, Linux is consistently  moving forward.

“Just by its very nature, the open-source process is forward thinking because using open source helps to push the next agenda,” he said.

Watch the full interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of LinuxCon 2015.

Photo by SiliconANGLE