[ Thanks to Kevin
Reichard for this link. ]
“A strong undercurrent of the Open Source movement has been a
rebellion against the monopolization of information. If information
is free, it cannot be used for pernicious reasons; i.e., used by a
company like Microsoft to force consumers to purchase products they
normally wouldn’t buy. That’s why the release of source code is
such a powerful thing: there are no secrets that can be hidden in
the source code, and anyone is free to build a better mouse trap
based on the old mouse trap. This leads to a meritocracy where
externalities like money (the better for hiring a raft of lawyers)
and proprietary interests are neutralized.”
“I was reminded of this today when I went to visit one of my
favorite Web sites, the Iron Chef fan site. I was greeted by this
sad message: “IronChef.com–An Unofficial Site of All Things Iron
Chef–is no longer functional. I am deeply saddened that it has
come to this: Due to a cease and desist letter, sent by lawyers
representing the show’s production company, FujiTV, this site’s
content is current unavailable. What was here represented three
year’s labor devoted to evangelizing my favorite show. While I
would like nothing better than to share with other fans the
excitement I have for the show, apparently the production company
has other plans.”
“…Such abuses are natural when there is a centralization
of power, which brings us to the real topic of this column: that
when power is centralized, those holding onto the power will go to
great lengths to protect it. The very nature of Open Source means
that information is freely available to all, meaning that anyone
can sidle up and play.“