We find ourselves having slipped into a new era, an information age where the rules and patterns have changed. This is no longer business as usual as it has been performed throughout the industrial era. Yet we remain saddled by many of our old models of thinking, decision-making and collaborating.
Open Source Software (OSS) development is a shining example of the new era. The cutthroat and monopolistic business practices with which companies like Microsoft have eliminated their competition and controlled certain spaces have proven ineffective to stop it as open source operating systems, databases, web browsers and development tools erode their market share. Ten years ago, most people would not have believed that groups of loosely affiliated programmers who are sharing their code openly and have no recognizable business model could produce more stable, more innovative and more efficient products than the corporate giants. Many still cannot see it, but there are irresistible forces afoot.