Open Source -- Why It Works

Wikipedia defines open source as "practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials." 
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source"

I like that definition.  Notice that it says "practices that promote".  Open source is not an accident, but a decision.  Open source is a concept put into practice. 

It is a great concept AND practice.  When companies lock down their code, and sometimes there are legitimate reasons to do so, they are restricting the development and debugging of that code, to their code writers.
Open source takes advantage of good code writers all over the world.
Code and programs can be tweaked, altered, and configured to run better under certain situations, or overall.  Literally, hundreds and thousands of people contribute to open source code.  The internet, email, web pages, and blogs, made this possible.  It is a natural development in the sharing of information.  

So, open source is here to stay.  Take advantage of it, contribute to it; either in good code, good testing, buying products, or by donating money to those legitimate web sites and companies that you feel are doing a good job.  We all benefit.