The most important thing to point out is ... (Score 1)

"Of course, by the time you read this, the bug will have been patched. ;)" This is the most significant benefit (to me atleast). In fact, I think that to most people, the biggest of open source is the rapid deployment of bug fixes, patches etc. rather than cheap or free software. Without open source, I'm afraid most of us would be stuck in a world of buggy software that only works when it feels like it. Oh Wait a minute... What? "Windows has encounterd a problem..." Anyway, the point is that I have never heard of MS, Oracle, or any of the other major software companies ever having a patch within hours much less days for anything.