Key 2: Open

I once heard a Linux expert on the radio explaining that when Windows is broken you cannot fix it yourself because the source is closed, whereas with Linux you can. This is fairly misleading, actually, because as computer programs go, Linux is extremely complex. Even with access to the code, your average computer user wouldn't be able to fix a bug. That requires an expert. However, there are thousands of Linux experts on the Net at any time that can respond to common problems such as security laws. These experts are more likely to jump into action before you'd even get to a real Microsoft employee on the phone. Openness simplifies complexity. With an open system, the power of the many can outweigh the power of the few.