They got it backwards, it should read: In recognition of his creation of a new open source kernel leading to the widely used Linux-based operating systems for computers.

Yeah - even though rms would still complain about that sentence, the first version is just painfully wrong. Why bother to distinguish between the OS and the kernel if you're going to attribute the former to the wrong person? It's not like the kernel is named after him or anything!

I couldn't help think: "New? It's over 20 years old...". By this logic, we should still be giving Nirvana awards for "Nevermind".

That is exactly what I found interesting. Reading hn one might be tempted to think that only three latest new thing matters. Think Trello : they use only post 2012 technologies and everyone says wow.

But in reality it takes 20 years our more for a "real" technology to mature and get serious recognition. The OP should remind us about this fact when we get too hot about something too new.

Looks like Linus did more or better work. I 've never used/seen a gnu hurd system in my life.

Edit: Well, then you should not stop at Stallman. Hundreds of scientists, going back to Godel and beyond gave roots to modern open algorithms/software by giving away their academic research for free. I think Linux did not start just to be a free kernel, but because linus wanted to actually make a better system than minix (and learn to use 386, and finish his Master!).

Oh, I didn't mean GNU+Hurd in particular, rather the fact that any operating system is more than "just" the kernel. And that is not meant to discredit Linus' outstanding achievement.

But you've seen the GCC - the thing that compiles the Linux kernel, right? The default C - and some more languages - compiler on almost any Linux or BSD system.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Compiler_Collection