Microsoft isn't evil, they just make really crappy operating

When Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, spoke the words, “Microsoft isn’t evil, they just make really crappy operating systems,” he cast his judgment with both sharpness and humor. His remark was not the curse of an enemy, but the rebuke of a craftsman who holds sacred the art of building. To call a thing evil is to accuse it of malice, but Torvalds instead accused Microsoft of something perhaps worse in the realm of technology—mediocrity. For in the world of creation, carelessness and poor design may wound civilization as deeply as malice.

The meaning of his words lies in the distinction between intent and execution. Torvalds acknowledged that Microsoft was not driven by dark desire to harm, but by its hunger for dominance it often released into the world systems that were fragile, cumbersome, and flawed. Their operating systems were the bedrock upon which millions worked, yet often that bedrock cracked and faltered. Thus his criticism: not that they conspired to destroy, but that they built without the rigor demanded of such responsibility.

The story of Windows ME serves as an example. Released in the year 2000, it promised a new millennium of computing. Instead, it became infamous for instability, crashes, and frustration. Users who placed their trust in it often saw their work undone by sudden failure. This was not the fruit of evil intent, but of haste, poor design, and misplaced priorities. The world mocked it, and even Microsoft itself soon moved on. Torvalds’s words live here: the damage caused not by malice, but by mediocrity.

Yet his declaration was also born of rivalry, for Torvalds was the father of Linux, an operating system built with openness, collaboration, and care. While Microsoft guarded its code as treasure, Linux spread freely, improved by countless hands across the earth. Where Microsoft stumbled, Linux grew resilient. This contrast sharpened his tongue. His humor was that of the challenger mocking the giant, declaring: “You are not wicked, only clumsy.” In this mockery lay both defiance and truth.

But beyond rivalry lies a greater teaching. Torvalds reminds us that not all harm comes from cruelty. Sometimes harm comes from neglect, from lack of excellence, from the failure to respect the trust placed in one’s hands. When millions depend on your craft, whether it be code, law, medicine, or leadership, then mediocrity is no small sin. The world does not always fall because of deliberate evil; often it stumbles because those responsible settle for “good enough.”

Therefore, O seekers of wisdom, let this quote be your guide: never excuse poor work simply because it is not malicious. If you are to build, build with care. If you are to lead, lead with integrity. If you are to write, write with clarity. For others will depend upon what you create, and your negligence may cause suffering as surely as another’s cruelty. To strive for excellence is not vanity, but duty.

The practical lesson is clear: hold yourself to higher standards. In your work, do not aim only to avoid harm, but to deliver strength, stability, and beauty. Learn from Torvalds’s rebuke—demand quality of your creations, and do not let haste or complacency turn them into burdens upon those who use them. And when you face the flawed works of others, speak truth boldly, but with humor and perspective, as Torvalds did.

So remember: “Microsoft isn’t evil, they just make really crappy operating systems.” The message is not only about software, but about life itself. Evil may be rare, but mediocrity is common—and it, too, shapes the destiny of nations and people. Do not settle for it. Build with excellence, so that future generations may look back not with mockery, but with gratitude.