Dabbling in alternative history is always a haphazard exercise. The intertwining of myriad factors and actions, mixed together in an infinitely complex historical equation that determines the future, renders any attempt to excise a certain variable essentially impossible. However, it can sometimes be educational and illuminating to try and poke holes in the edges of recent history to see where we might have wound up. Also, it's fun and potentially full of surprises.

Case in point: What would the world be like if Linus Torvalds hadn't uploaded his v0.0.1 Linux kernel to a public directory in 1991? What if the world never knew Linux?

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