Tannenbaum wrote a clone of UNIX called Minix in 1987 and published a book about the design and implementation of operating systems, listing the source code in the appendix. His book served to help Finnish developer Linus Torvalds create the Linux kernel which initially used the Minix file system.

Soon after the release of Linux in 1991, Tannenbaum got involved in a debate about the relative merits of Minix and Linux; prominent among those who responded to his comments was Torvalds himself.

Tannenbaum was born in New York but moved to the Netherlands with his Dutch wife after he received his doctorate. At the Vrije University, he taught courses about computer organisation and operating systems and also supervised students who were working towards doctorates.

Tannenbaum is also well-known for the blog electoral-vote.com about the US elections which he created in 2004 and has maintained to this day. His last day at Vrije will be October 23.

A notice by the university says Tannenbaum, 70, will continue to teach, write and speak after his retirement.