My joy at living in a world where people who are better at technology than I am distribute to me the fruits of their superior knowledge and hard labour, continually, at no extra cost, is hard to describe.

I log into WordPress, and somebody just improved their plugin. I pick up an Android phone and it works better than it did yesterday. My browser just got better. My operating system just improved. My search engine gives me more options today.

To me, open source is the answer to that depressing feeling of taking something new and shiny, and having the bliss gradually wear off. Open source software is for future-orientated optimists. Okay, so my Android handset is not yet an iPhone, but one day it will be better.

Out of interest, this is the effect of a link from Marginal Revolution on your blog traffic. I’m not entirely sure why Tyler linked to me linking to Wehr in the World, linking to his own comments, but I guess it’s an example of economizing your PR. Trail, monitor, link.