Open Source: Access to the Information Bible

To me, the move to Open Source is similar to when it was once believed in religious faiths that a priest or minister had to tell people what the Bible said. They were ordained or chosen by God and thus the common believer wasn't allowed or capable enough to read and interpet it for himself.

Likewise, Open Source believes in the knowledge of the collected masses and that they both know what they want and are able to develop it to best meet their needs (and thus others). They don't need large corporations or businesses to tell them what they need.

How has technology changed the way information is available? Three years ago if I needed to know the hours of a bookstore or location of a restaurant, I may have used the Yellow Pages. Now, it's the web. If I needed to fix my lawn mower, I would have called my father in law or brother who may have called someone else or a friend or a friend of a friend. Now, at least first, it's the web. If I wanted to see highlights of Barry Bond's record breaking home run, it would have been ESPN or the paper, now it is the web (and not news sources but YouTube and Flickr). If I had missed an episode of a show during the week, rather than wait for repeats after the season or for it to come out on DVD, now it's the web.