Linus Torvalds more popular than Bill Gates

In a bid to discover the most influential person of the last 100 years, Time Magazine is holding a whizzo online poll to discover the Person of the Century. While the usual suspects appear -- Elvis Presley, Adolf Hitler, Albert Einstein and Ronald Reagan(?) -- some less obvious candidates are creeping up the most popular dude list. Of whom do we speak? Step forward please, Mr Linus Torvalds, currently riding high at No. 15 in the charts, ahead of Nelson Mandela, the lovely Princess Diana (sob) and Saddam Hussein. Most important, Superhero Linus is currently ahead of the antichrist Bill Gates. Now we all realise that these polls are a bit of a laugh and not to be taken seriously as they reflect the hordes who just gotta vote for their heroes -- how else can we explain the inclusion of Ronnie Reagan? And would it be seditious to suggest that all those Linux geeks love SuperLinus so much that they would consider casting only one vote for their hero? Do you honestly believe that there aren't thousands of Penguin-powered systems out there bombarding the Time site with a vote a second for good ol' Linus? Thought not. But all is not lost. If you visit the poll site here, you will find a category for the biggest fraud, shyster or phoney of the Century. Simply enter Torvalds in this section and you will bring even more insanity to the result. Cast your vote now, I already have. NB Pete Sherriff is mad