[ Thanks to Kelly
McNeill for this link. ]
“You see, for recorded history the rich have always used
knowledge as a means of controlling and directing society to their
whim. Up until this decade this held true, but the advent of the
Internet is what has changed everything. Before, the rich were able
to mobilize their power by controlling the selective flow of
information.”
“But as we move ever deeper towards a technological society,
those who are (at the moment) in control are finding themselves
unable to control the flow of information for a very simple reason:
They don’t understand the technology anymore. Before the Internet,
the “technology” of business consisted of strategies, numbers, and
insider information. What the Internet and the open source movement
have done is control the flow of that information, so now
high-level executives find themselves more and more at the whim of
their I.S. departments. Whether you make computers or paint, the
success of your business now depends on your ability to implement
new technologies.”
“This is where products like OpenBSD and Linux start to take
over. Never mind the free flow of information, this is the direct
and unencumbered free flow of technology itself. Intellectual
property no longer has a price, and that’s what has the traditional
companies changing their underwear. Microsoft charges a
premium for their intellectual property, but they’re certainly not
the only ones.”