This is just of the many pearls of wisdom he has shared with us over the years

Aug 29, 2013 07:26 GMT  ·  By

Steve Ballmer has announced his imminent retirement from the position of Microsoft CEO and the feelings for this decision have been mixed, at least when it comes to Windows users. Linux users have a much clearer picture of the man.

The contribution of Steve Ballmer to the Windows ecosystem is not in dispute, but we felt it was necessary that we share his opinion about the Linux platform, antiquated as it may be.

“Linux is not in the public domain. Linux is a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches. That's the way that the license works.” According to wikiquote.org, this message appeared in an article in Chicago Sun Times, back 2001.

It's unsure if his opinion changed over time, but we do know for sure that Bill Gates had a lot more consideration for open source.