Listen closely and you can hear it: the gentle sound of millions of folks nervously scratching their heads wondering just what the heck is going on with the open-source, or "free" software that has suddenly gotten so much attention (see "Programs to the People," TR January/February 1999). There's no better source of information, rumor and opinion on this phenomenon than Slashdot, which titles itself: "News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters." The creation of 22-year-old Rob Malda- whose nom de Web is "Commander Taco" - Slashdot feels like a geek clubhouse. Malda and others post articles on topics ranging from "the personalities behind Linux" to an essay predicting the arrival of "sexbots" that never have headaches.

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