I was reading Wired last night, and there was an interesting article about Torvalds. You can read the article here. There was a blurb in it about the Stallman GNU/Linux debate that bothered me. Stallman is a crank in the finest sense. This means that when he says something, it is usually true, you just have to think about it for a few years. The article completely dismissed the controversy without the author giving any indication that he understood it. One way to understand this is to read the document on gnu.org here, and the faq here. But, my suggestion is to figure it out, from scratch, for yourself. Go to Linux From Scratch and build a GNU/Linux system for yourself. Think about where the pieces came from and what they are based on. I challenge you to make up your own mind. Pay attention to the libraries that are used, as well as the applications and utilities. Then, re-read the Linux and GNU article one more time and see if it makes more sense.