I suppose that is why I so love using Linux. I happen to find the freedom offered in building solutions a great deal more exciting than simply being confined to a given set of options. I think it is rather analogous to building you own living space. If we think of the Internet as a form of self-expression that manifests itself through our own designs, then we can also see those designs as the building of a comfortable living space that we are free to build to suit our needs.

While it is true that many people are happy to live in the pre-fabricated or "built-out" dwelling space, they will always seek to outfit that space in such a way that they find comfortable and affordable.

Given the opportunity, mankind chooses simply to surround themselves with the necessities deemed necessary to establish a level of comfort and functionality. I suppose there are some that would argue that one can simply buy their furnishings from a set of options provided by others, and I know there are those that do.

I have seen examples of people here in my own community that have bought very expensive homes already furnished, leaving the decor to the taste of others. To my way of thinking, that is having more money than taste or good sense. You might as well move in to a hotel. The idea that "one size fits all" is no more true of clothing than it is of your daily surroundings. How many people would willingly live in a home where someone else dictated their taste in furnishings? Would you allow someone to tell you that your bathrooms must be painted blue, or that your walls must always be white?

I know in my heart that you would not. There are those that do not care about form, but only care about function, but would you accept a functional bed if the bed were known to only come in one size, by one manufacturer, and you had to make payments for that bed for the rest of your natural life? I do not think you would.

That is the beauty of the free market system. You must be allowed to be free to choose. You should have the right to choose to use what you want and not be restricted by a single point of availability. Our economy, our ideals, our country, have been built on the principles of a free market system. That is why our government has established laws that make it illegal for monopolies to control markets through the power of their wealth.

Please do not take this as an argument against wealth. I do not think such an argument makes much sense in a capitalist society. What the government has made punishable is not wealth or its pursuit - it is the abuse of monopoly power that has been deemed to be wrong. When we allow any group to effect a monopoly, we damage competition, restrict choice, and ultimately harm the free market economy.

A homogeneous environment is far more dangerous than that afforded by diversity. Heterogeneous environments allow for the production of greater diversity and true progress. Homogeneous environments do not allow for growth or diversity, but in fact restrict any new ideas. Nature knows this. While there are those that believe only the strong survive, I will take that idea and say that only those who can adapt a successful strategy for survival in a hostile world will survive. Strength is not the only attribute that matters. Intelligence, cunning, and the ability to adopt new stratagems in the face of a hostile opponent are far better methods of survival than merely trying to crush your opponents.

Sun Tzu said it best so long ago when he said,"to win without fighting is best". Open source does not need to fight the closed-source wars with the monopolists to thrive. Open Source will thrive because it is without form, it can be everywhere and nowhere. It is skilled in its art, and moves like the wind.

The use of the General Public License ensures that those open source projects will continue to stay open and adaptable to the comfort and use by those that seek them. Does this mean that Linux projects cannot use closed-source applications? No. It simply means that Linux can more easily adapt and embrace new strategies for survival. Dinosaurs lost their fight for survival because they could not adapt quickly. Many species of life-forms have lost their evolutionary battles because of their inability to adapt quickly to a changing world.

It will be interesting to see if the giants of industry can adapt as quickly to the wind. The old ways of doing business are not gone, they have merely been revived in a more adaptable form by those that realize the value of an adaptable survival strategy.

Nature rewards diversity and punishes homogeneity in the cycle of reproduction. The proof of this is in-breeding, where limitations of the gene pools form disease and defect in the offspring. This is just as true in the self-expression of computers. Only when the pool of development is opened to all do we begin to see the benefits of diversity. Certain combinations will emerge powerful, while others may emerge cunning. Many will fail, but this is the natural selection process. Natural selection allows us to build and try new ideas. Denying that selection is a self-defeating implosion awaiting a grand failure.

Man is not a sheep to go along blindly with the edicts of a system that denies creativity, and limits adaptability. The strong shall survive, but not because they crush their opponents, but because they can adapt faster and change to an ever-evolving environment.

In my opinion, a hetergeneous environment benefits us all. It gives us the opportunity to deliver creative solutions and create, while a homogeneous environment leads us to a loss of creative power and promise.

If you believe that open-source has no place in your environment, I urge you to re-think those thoughts. I would simply tell you to realize that information is only powerful when it is shared. Knowledge that no one else shares, immediately loses it worth. What is it worth to have the secrets of the universe if you never share them? If you never share that knowledge, you cannot use that to do anything of value with it. Man is a collaborative animal, and his knowledge - when shared - allows him to exponentially grow the power of that knowledge.

All I ask, is that you think about what I am writing. I believe that you probably build or customize your environment to suit your own needs. All the open-source movement is about, is the right to express onself in the computing environment. That opens the world to the possibility for extraordinary creativity. Think about it. I promise it will not hurt.

You, of course, are free to disagree.

Peace, Love, y Linux a mis compadres del mundo. Vaya con Dios!