People
who dissented didn't do so in public. The person who
broke that taboo was Torvalds."
The ultimate breach of taboo would come near the end of
the show. During a discussion on the growing market
dominance of Microsoft Windows or some similar topic,
Torvalds admitted to being a fan of Microsoft's
PowerPoint slideshow software program. From the
perspective of old-line software purists, it was like a
Mormon bragging in church about his fondness of
whiskey. From the perspective of Torvalds and his
growing band of followers, it was simply common sense.
Why shun worthy proprietary software programs just to
make a point? Being a hacker wasn't about suffering, it
was about getting the job done.
"That was a pretty shocking thing to say," Raymond
remembers. "Then again, he was able to do that, because
by 1995 and 1996, he was rapidly acquiring clout."
Stallman, for his part, doesn't remember any tension at
the 1996 conference, but he does remember later feeling
the sting of Torvalds' celebrated cheekiness.
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