Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Linux kernel author Linus Torvalds had never crossed paths in person before. That changed at a recent dinner hosted by Sysinternals creator Mark Russinovich.
Also in attendance was Microsoft tech guru and Windows NT lead developer Dave Cutler, who spoke with Torvalds for the first time. Russinovich joked that "no major decisions were made regarding the kernel."
Although Windows and Linux have historically been considered competitors, in recent years Microsoft has been actively integrating Linux support into its ecosystem, particularly through the Windows Subsystem for Linux.
The meeting between Gates and Torvalds became a symbolic moment in the relationship between the two worlds of operating systems.
Recall, it recently became known that Bill Gates promised to donate 99% of his fortune over the next 20 years.