What's the point? It means you can do a lot with Linux and download all kinds of software for free. It also means you can have more knowledge and control over how Linux operates. Windows is not open source, in fact Microsoft is known for their secrecy, and their protectiveness of their code. That has turned off a lot of computer geeks and governments. eWEEK recently published a story on their site about how different nations are collaborating to make a better alternative to Windows: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,4149,1252634,00.asp Being open source attracts a lot of users, which makes Linux popular and gives the operating system a significant number of users and support groups. We talk about this on point #3.