>I doubt they'll die off by not doing things "our way".  They've succeeded
>up till now without doing it "our way" and I don't see any mass exodous
>happening anytime soon.  

The great thing about exponential growth is that you often don't recognize
it until stuff is exploding all around you.

The deployments of free, open-source software are like nodes on a network.
The value of these software networks grows exponentially with each
additional node. All the new interactions, modifications, and sharing of
information increase the value. The evolution of this software is quick and
its adaptations are directly influenced by the environment (the users, the
customers, the market).

This is true to some extent with proprietary software, but the value of the
network is dampened because the software's evolution is managed from a
central source (e.g. Microsoft) and information about the software is
guarded (e.g. no source code). Added to this is the cost of purchasing and
licensing, which greatly hinders adoption rates. This reduces the
interactions that can further the development of the software. The
software's evolution is impeded and adaptations that are made may not be as
suited to the environment.

Free, open-source software allows easy adoption. This increases the value of
the software network, which furthers the evolution of the software and
provides greater incentive for adoption. When this expansion hits the elbow
of the growth curve, there is an explosion in deployment and the value of
the software network becomes stratospheric.

This inherent benefit of free and open-source means these adapting, fluid
software entities will zip past their stodgy, closed cousins and dominate
the landscape.

Those who rely on the lesser of these two forms will find themselves left
behind and alone. In a constantly competing, interconnected world, a
profit-seeking being can afford to be neither.