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Jamie Zawinski Biography

James Werner Zawinski (born November 3, 1968), commonly known as jwz, is an American computer programmer with contributions to the free software projects Mozilla and XEmacs, and early versions of the Netscape Navigator web browser. He maintains the XScreenSaver project which provides screenblanking for Mac OS X and for Unix and Unix-like computer operating systems using the X Window System.

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Jamie Zawinski Quotes

Because, you see, what I want to do is to commoditize the OS. I want to have access to all the applications that I need to do the things that I need to do, regardless.

Applications, Commoditize, Needs, Rehabilitation, Things, Want

The real bug here is that the design of the system even permits this class of bug. It is unconscionable that someone designing a critical piece of security infrastructure would design the system in such a way that it does not fail safe.

Class, Design, Real, Unconscionable, Way

My one purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others.

Life, Life Is, Purpose, Serve, Warning

I eat and drink at my desk, but I'm a tidy eater.

Desk, Desks, Drink, Eat, Office

Our focus in the client group had always been to build products and features that people wanted to use. That we wanted to use. That our moms wanted to use.

Features, Focus, Mom, People, Use

I find that getting something on the screen as soon as possible really helps focus the problem for me. It helps me decide what to work on next. Because if you're just looking at that big to-do list it's like, eh, I don't know which one I should do—does it matter which one I do? But if there's something you can actually look at, even if it's just the debug output of your mailbox parser, it's like, OK, there!

Does It Matter, Focus, Lists, Look, Mailbox, Screen

Convenient though it would be if it were true, Mozilla [Netscape 1. 0] is not big because it's full of useless crap. Mozilla is big because your needs are big. Your needs are big because the Internet is big. There are lots of small, lean web browsers out there that, incidentally, do almost nothing useful. But being a shining jewel of perfection was not a goal when we wrote Mozilla.

Goal, Jewel, Jewels, Needs, Perfection

You can divide our industry into two kinds of people: those who want to go work for a company to make it successful, and those who want to go work for a successful company.

Divide, Inspirational, Kinds, Make, Successful, Two

If you give a hacker a new toy, the first thing he'll do is take it apart to figure out how it works.

Firsts, Giving, Take, Toy, Toys, Works

Of course, all of the software I write runs on Linux; that's the beauty of standards, and of cross-platform code. I don't have to run your OS, and you don't have to run mine, and we can use the same applications anyway!

Anyway, Applications, Beauty, Running, Runs, Writing

Today, I use Linux as my primary OS (on an x86 PC, and on a Thinkpad), and I also use Irix (on an SGI O2). Linux has improved a great deal since I wrote this, specifically with respect to its ease of installation.

Use, Ease, Today, Wrote, Installation, Linux

On the other hand, there would be some value in different folks getting together to share expertise and technology; but to the listener, it wouldn't necessarily seem like a single station in the traditional sense.

Different, Folks, Hands, Technology, Together, Value

You can always affect things - so can you change it in a way that will make you as happy with it in the future as you were in the past? Maybe it won't be the same, but it might be something else you also like.

Like, Might, Past, Same, Way

[Perl] combines all the worst aspects of C and Lisp: a billion different sublanguages in one monolithic executable. It combines the power of C with the readability of PostScript.

Aspect, Billion, Combines, Different, Perl, Worst

I use a really simple calendar program on my computer.

Calendar, Calendars, Simple, Use

The universe tends toward maximum irony. Don't push it.

Irony, Maximum, Push, Tends, Universe

You can't take a dying project, sprinkle it with the magic pixie dust of "open source," and have everything magically work out.

Dust, Everything, Magic, Magically, Take, Work Out

Your "use case" should be, there's a 22 year old college student living in the dorms. How will this software get him laid?

College, Laid, Use, Year, Years

Nothing stands still. The real question is can you change it?

Change, Real, Real Questions, Stands, Stills

Don't do drugs, kids. Stay in school.

Drug, Drugs, Kids, School, Stay

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