"Linux is only free if your time has no value"
You’ve probably heard the phrase “Linux is only free if your time has no value” more than once. It’s one of the favorite quotes of Linux critics or fans of other operating systems.
There’s just one small problem:
This quote is from 1998.
And another issue? It’s often used out of context.
Who Said It?
The author of this quote is Jamie Zawinski, also known as jwz. He is an American programmer who made history as one of the co-authors of projects like Netscape Navigator and Netscape Mail.
Jamie was heavily involved in the open-source movement. He is credited with coming up with the name Mozilla and was the one who registered the mozilla.org domain when Netscape created the Mozilla Foundation.
So how could such a lovely person say something so harsh about Linux?
Welcome to 1998!
It’s 1998. The dot-com bubble is in full swing, and the internet is booming. Microsoft has completely dominated the desktop market—over 90% of new computers come with Windows preinstalled.
Windows’ dominance is unquestioned, even though there are a few competing options—MacOS, BeOS, JavaOS (wtf?), and Linux.
Linux first appeared in 1991 as an open-source operating system kernel. This was a key moment in free software history. The kernel was the missing piece in the GNU project, which aimed to create a complete Unix-like system. Many GNU programs were adapted to work with Linux, enabling the creation of various distributions that functioned as full-fledged operating systems. By 1998, distributions like Slackware, Red Hat, and Debian had emerged.
However, all early Linux distributions shared a common problem—it was extremely difficult to use them without extensive knowledge of Unix systems. And hardware. And the specific pitfalls of the Linux distribution you were using.
Linux Problems
Jamie Zawinski personally experienced many of these issues. He claimed that in 1995 and 1996, he used Linux almost exclusively, hoping it would solve many of the problems found in UNIX. However, he was deeply disappointed, as he described in an interview for themes.org. The Linux-related portion of that interview is available in a post titled “mouthing off about linux.”
Reading the full text helps understand what he meant by “Linux is only free if your time has no value.” But here’s a key excerpt that gives a pretty good idea:
It took me three weeks to get X to drive my monitor at better than 640x400, even though Windows did 1280x1024x16 without flinching. I spent weeks fighting IRQ conflicts, trying to get PPP working, trying to find a three-button mouse that worked, and all manner of gross indecencies which do not bear mentioning in polite company.
He admitted that by 1998, things were slightly better than in 1996, but daily-driving Linux still required a lot of dedication and time.
To Jamie (and to most sane people I imagine), an operating system should be almost invisible, allowing users to run whatever applications they need. After all, using a computer should be a means to an end, not a goal in itself. At the time, Linux didn’t provide that experience, so his quote was fully justified.
What About Today?
A lot has changed in 27 years. In 1998, we had Debian 2.0—now we have Debian 12. Dependency management has significantly improved in all distributions, and the Linux kernel supports more hardware than ever before.
Installing Linux is no more complicated than installing Windows. There are plenty of distribution choices, too—something for everyone. There's Ubuntu or Pop!_OS, which work out of the box, and Arch for those who like to tinker. There are also Fedora, Debian, Mint, and many more.
The early problems that plagued Linux in the ‘90s have been resolved. Linux is no longer just a toy for nerds—it’s a tool. In Poland’s IT industry, 30% of professionals use Linux at work, and 24% also use it at home (and this number is growing every year as we explore in our report).
On the other hand, what’s not a problem for an IT professionals can still be a major barrier for an average computer user. For me running a few commands or editing a config file is quite normal, but for most it sounds like black magic.
That’s why I don’t believe Linux is the best option for everyday use by the average person. Windows and macOS are still more user-friendly for regular users. However, repeating in 2025 that “Linux is only free if your time has no value” is a huge exaggeration—especially in the IT industry, where many solutions are easiest to run and maintain on Linux. In this case, Linux is actually a tool that saves time—and, as a result, money.