Software is subject to very strong network effects, which can lead to monopolies. i.e. applications are made for Windows, so consumers need Windows computers, s

Software is subject to very strong network effects, which can lead to monopolies. i.e. applications are made for Windows, so consumers need Windows computers, so developers need to make apps for Windows. Similarly with IE6, Microsoft Office, and increasingly so with Android. Once it's established, the platform owner can rake in money simply by charging users & developers to meet on a common ground. I don't think all software needs to be open source, but I'd like the basics - operating systems, web browsers, word processors, etc. - to be open source. It's much easier to explore different ideas if you can use existing code and keep compatibility with millions of apps/web pages/documents.