Overview

• Mark Russinovich posted a LinkedIn photo capturing Gates, Torvalds and Windows NT architect Dave Cutler at the dinner.
• The gathering represents the first face-to-face interaction between Gates and Torvalds after decades of indirect encounters and open-source rivalry.
• Under Satya Nadella’s leadership, Microsoft has shifted from Steve Ballmer’s hostile view of Linux to integrating it in Azure and contributing to the Linux Foundation.
• Russinovich joked that the dinner produced no major kernel decisions, adding that “maybe next dinner” could see deeper technical discussions.
• Dave Cutler, whose design work on DEC’s VMS and Microsoft’s Windows NT shaped mainstream operating systems, was also present, highlighting the convergence of open-source and proprietary OS pioneers.