[plug] Quotable explanation of how Open Source works

[Peter Weatherall]

Leon Brooks wrote:

>From http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=67717&cid=6208422
>
>I make alternators, you make engines, leroy over there makes wheels, 
>bubba makes frames and bodies and etc. Now we could all sit around and 
>try to sell this stuff to each other with all sorts of schemes and 
>deals and middlemen and whatnot, or we could all just cooperate 
>completely and share a part with each other and all of us wind up with 
>a pretty cool and snazzy complete car at very little cost to anyone. 
>Then we *all* have our own good car to go drive to "real work" in. And 
>whenever I build a newer better alternator I chip it in, and so does 
>the engine guy, and so on. We do this forever, we are always driving a 
>new car for real reasonable and not much hassle. And once in awhile 
>someone totally new joins our car co-op group, like the new guy this 
>week we added has a really nice car sound system we all get to add to 
>our cars. Cool beans. Fat city. 
>
>Get it? Got it? Oh, never mind... (-:
>
>Cheers; Leon
>
>
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>
I know what Microsoft would use as an analogy : Frankenstein . Created 
in an academic research laboratory it's developed a life of its own and 
is now out trashing the neighbourhood . Now all we have to do is hunt it 
down and kill it .( I don't know what the equivalent to the government 
is in the Frankenstein story or it's  Anti Trust case ).
Regards