Bill Joy famous quotes

The reason I use ed is that I don't want to lose what's on the screen.
-- Bill Joy

#Want #Use #Reason

Document preparation systems will also require large screen displays.
-- Bill Joy

#Preparation

It is formatted, and I'm tired of using vi. I get really bored.
-- Bill Joy

#Tired #Bored

Given the incredible power of these new technologies, shouldn't we be asking how we can best coexist with them? And if our own extinction is a likely, or even possible, outcome of our technological development, shouldn't we proceed with great caution?
-- Bill Joy

#Technology #Asking #Development

There are a couple of people in the world who can really program in C or FØRTRAN. They write more code in less time than it takes for other programmers. Most programmers aren't that good. The problem is that those few programmers who crank out code aren't interested in maintaining it.
-- Bill Joy

#Couple #Writing #People

The Open Source theorem says that if you give away source code, innovation will occur. Certainly, Unix was done this way... However, the corollary states that the innovation will occur elsewhere. No matter how many people you hire. So the only way to get close to the state of the art is to give the people who are going to be doing the innovative things the means to do it. That's why we had built-in source code with Unix. Open source is tapping the energy that's out there.
-- Bill Joy

#Art #Mean #People

The best way to do research is to make a radical assumption and then assume it's true. For me, I use the assumption that object oriented programming is the way to go.
-- Bill Joy

#Use #Research #Way

I think it is no exaggeration to say we are on the cusp of the further perfection of extreme evil, an evil whose possibility spreads well beyond that which weapons of mass destruction bequeathed to the nation-states, on to a surprising and terrible empowerment of extreme individuals.
-- Bill Joy

#Thinking #Evil #Perfection

You can't prove anything about a program written in C or FØRTRAN. It's really just Peek and Poke with some syntactic sugar.
-- Bill Joy

#Sugar #Program #Prove

There are always more smart people outside your company than within it.
-- Bill Joy

#Smart #People #Smart People

That lack of programmability is probably what ultimately will doom vi. It can't extend its domain.
-- Bill Joy

#Fate #Domain #Doom

Interleaf is based on the formatting process.
-- Bill Joy

#Process

I think one of the interesting things is that vi is really a mode-based editor.
-- Bill Joy

#Thinking #Editors #Interesting

What's your personal computer, anyways? Your personal computer should be something that's always on your person.
-- Bill Joy

#Technology #Computer #Should

Take responsibility for the things you build and invent.
-- Bill Joy

#Responsibility #Taking Responsibility

And once an intelligent robot exists, it is only a small step to a robot species - to an intelligent robot that can make evolved copies of itself.
-- Bill Joy

#Intelligent #Steps #Robots

I think multiple levels of undo would be wonderful, too.
-- Bill Joy

#Thinking #Would Be #Levels

You can't solve a problem with the management of technology with more technology.
-- Bill Joy

#Technology #Management #Problem

I got tired of people complaining that it was too hard to use UNIX because the editor was too complicated.
-- Bill Joy

#Tired #Editors #People

If you stay up late and you have another hour of work to do, you can just stay up another hour later without running into a wall and having to stop. Whereas it might take three or four hours if you start over, you might finish if you just work that extra hour. If you're a morning person, the day always intrudes a fixed amount of time in the future. So it's much less efficient. Which is why I think computer people tend to be night people - because a machine doesn't get sleepy.
-- Bill Joy

#Running #Morning #Wall

The standard definition of AI is that which we don't understand.
-- Bill Joy

#Definitions #Standards #Computing

You can drive a car by looking in the rear view mirror as long as nothing is ahead of you. Not enough software professionals are engaged in forward thinking.
-- Bill Joy

#Thinking #Mirrors #Views

Sometimes the easiest way to get something done is to be a little naive about it.
-- Bill Joy

#Done #Littles #Way

Most of the bright people don't work for you - no matter who you are.
-- Bill Joy

#People #Matter #Management

Bitmap display is media compatible with dot matrix or laser printers.
-- Bill Joy

#Media #Lasers #Dots

I think editors have to come out of a certain kind of community.
-- Bill Joy

#Thinking #Editors #Community

Today scientists, technologists, businessmen, engineers don't have any personal responsibility for the consequences of their actions.
-- Bill Joy

#Responsibility #Technology #Today

I started to write a new editor not too long ago and had it about half done after two days.
-- Bill Joy

#Writing #Editors #Two

I just don't like to lose what's in the window.
-- Bill Joy

#Window

I had almost rewritten all of the display code for windows, and that was when I gave up.
-- Bill Joy

#Window #Gave Up #Code

But no, I don't generally have trouble with spelling mistakes.
-- Bill Joy

#Mistake #Trouble #Spelling

The next step after cheap is free, and after free is disposable.
-- Bill Joy

#Next Steps #Next #Steps

I think Unix is a great system -- especially for running data centers -- because it is very mature, very reliable, very scalable. But when I want to go out and populate small devices, I think Java.
-- Bill Joy

#Running #Thinking #Data

We have to encourage the future we want rather than trying to prevent the future we fear.
-- Bill Joy

#Teamwork #Trying #Want

Although humankind inherently "desires to know", if open access to, and unlimited development of, knowledge henceforth puts us all in clear danger of extinction, then common sense demands that we re-examine our reverence for knowledge.
-- Bill Joy

#Knowledge #Common Sense #Desire

Just about every computer on the market today runs Unix, except the Mac and nobody cares about it.
-- Bill Joy

#Running #Care #Today

Well, limbo is not a good place to be.
-- Bill Joy

#Wells #Limbo

The point is that you want to have a system that is responsive.
-- Bill Joy

#Want

Systems are going to get a lot more sophisticated.
-- Bill Joy

#Sophisticated

I wish we hadn't used all the keys on the keyboard.
-- Bill Joy

#Keys #Wish #Keyboards

I was surprised about vi going in, though, I didn't know it was in System V.
-- Bill Joy

I think the Macintosh proves that everyone can have a bitmapped display.
-- Bill Joy

#Thinking #Macintosh #Prove

Interleaf is very nice. I expect there to be a lot of competition for programs like that.
-- Bill Joy

#Nice #Competition #Program