In today's open source roundup: What would happen to Linux if Linus died? Plus: The Linux Foundation's scholarship program. And Tor Browser 4.5.2 released What would happen to Linux if Linus died? Linus Torvalds has been the face and voice of Linux for many years now. But what would happen if Linus died? Well Linus himself thinks that Linux would survive just fine without him, and that may come as a relief to those who have wondered about Linux after Linus. Ashlee Vance reports for Blooberg: The conversation, combined with Linus Torvalds’s aggression behind the wheel, makes this sunny afternoon drive suddenly feel all too serious. Torvalds—the grand ruler of all geeks—does not drive like a geek. He plasters his foot to the pedal of a yellow Mercedes convertible with its “DAD OF 3” license plate as we rip around a corner on a Portland, Ore., freeway. My body smears across the passenger door. “There is no concrete plan of action if I die,” Torvalds yells to me over the wind and the traffic. “But that would have been a bigger deal 10 or 15 years ago. People would have panicked. Now I think they’d work everything out in a couple of months.” It’s a morbid but important discussion. Torvalds released the Linux operating system from his college dorm room in Finland in 1991. Since then, the software has taken over the world. Huge swaths of the Internet—including the servers of Google, Amazon.com, and Facebook—run on Linux. More than a billion Android smartphones and tablets run on Linux, as do billions upon billions of everything from appliances and medical devices right on up to cars and rockets. While Linux is open-source, which allows people to change it as they please, Torvalds remains the lone official arbiter of the software, guiding how Linux evolves. When it comes to the software that runs just about everything, Torvalds is The Decider. More at Bloomberg Linux redditors reacted to the article about the mortality of Linus: Pizzaiolo: “For some reason I think Stallman will be a bigger loss to the free software movement than Torvalds will be for kernel development :(“ Send-me-to-hell: “I’m pretty sure if RMS died of a heart attack tomorrow he would be too stubborn to admit it.” Mini_market: “Nor allow non-free software defibrillator to revive his heart.” Regeya: “He wouldn’t even be close to the first Free Software developer to die in an accident. People should take this…seriously. “ Knaekce: “Linus could get run over by a bus. The Linux Foundation should at least have a plan how to continue without him, such a huge project as the Linux kernel should not depend that much on a single person.” Riotingpacifist: “He could easily be replaced, much of the work is done by core maintainers anyway. I mean development would slow down as linux would lose it’s dictator in favour of committees, but given the value and driving force behind linux, the linux foundation would certainly keep all the big contributors playing.” Kiipa: “It’s a question that I bet a lot of people would like to be answered. Most of us who use Linux aren’t contributing/involved with the project – we just use the product – so we wouldn’t necessarily know how the project is managed.” IMBJR: “Why does this subject keep reappearing? It seems like there’s an obsession out there that keeps bubbling up.” Oversized_hoodie: “Every time Linus takes a vacation, another news publication does a story about what would happen if he disappeared.” More at Reddit The Linux Foundation’s scholarship program The Linux Foundation has been very proactive in trying to bring more people into the Linux community. And now the organization is offering scholarships to encourage people to consider careers in Linux. Brian Fagioli reports for Beta News: Are you happy with your life? Maybe you are stuck in a dead-end job. Maybe you are unemployed and living on your mom’s couch. Hell, maybe you just need to enhance your skills for your current job. You know you need to make a change, but you keep putting it off. What is a smart path to take? Linux. Yes, careers involved in Linux are in high demand. Getting certified in some way is not only personally rewarding, but also improves your employment potential by bolstering your resume. If you do not have money for such a thing, I have good news — you could get a scholarship from The Linux Foundation. In other words, you can get a free education and certification. Will you improve your life by applying? “The Linux Foundation this year is expanding its Scholarship Program to enable more individuals to get started in a lucrative IT career or to increase their Linux skill set. Fourteen scholarships will be awarded in seven categories to individuals who demonstrate need and who have already displayed interest in or knowledge of Linux and open source software. This is nine more scholarship opportunities than in years past, and includes two new categories: Linux Newbies and Teens-in-Training”, says The Linux Foundation. More at Beta News Tor Browser 4.5.2 released The Tor Browser can be an important tool to help protect your privacy on the Internet. And now the Tor developers have announced that version 4.5.2 of the Tor Browser is available for download. A new release for the stable Tor Browser is available from the Tor Browser Project page and also from our distribution directory. Tor Browser 4.5.2 provides a fix for the Logjam attack (https://weakdh.org/) and updates a number of Tor Browser components: Tor to version 0.2.6.9, Torbutton to version 1.9.2.6, NoScript to version 2.6.9.26 and HTTPS-Everywhere to version 5.0.5. Moreover, it fixes a possible crash on Linux and avoids breaking the Add-ons page if Torbutton is disabled. Here is the complete changelog since 4.5.1: All Platforms Update Tor to 0.2.6.9 Update OpenSSL to 1.0.1n Update HTTPS-Everywhere to 5.0.5 Update NoScript to 2.6.9.26 Update Torbutton to 1.9.2.6 Bug 15984: Disabling Torbutton breaks the Add-ons Manager Bug 14429: Make sure the automatic resizing is disabled Translation updates Bug 16130: Defend against logjam attack Bug 15984: Disabling Torbutton breaks the Add-ons Manager Linux Bug 16026: Fix crash in GStreamer Bug 16083: Update comment in start-tor-browser More at Tor Did you miss a roundup? Check the Eye On Open home page to get caught up with the latest news about open source and Linux. Software DevelopmentOpen Source