In case you didn't happen to notice it, we're in the middle of a revolution. Personally, I first experienced this as an occasional vague sense of uneasiness, but after writing for WorldWatch.LinuxGazette for six months, I finally became immersed enough in Linux and Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) to really begin to get what's going on into focus.

That being said, I will be the first to admit that I don't know exactly where we're headed.

I do know that Linux and Open Source are very important. But I'm not sure exactly why they are so important. I have a hunch that the importance is somewhere on the level of the printing press, but I also know that we're so close to the beginning of the history that it's really hard to say with any degree of certainty where we're going, and what concepts and events are most important.

There's a lot going on all over the world. In fact, there is so much going on that it's hard to keep track of even a small portion of it. But, we're going to try with this website to give you a thoughtful perspective of those significant current ideas and events which are somehow related to or echo this revolution of Linux and FLOSS, with some history and philosophy thrown in to get some perspective. We also intend to provide some system-level books on practical things which can be done with them.

Why is the site called a42.com? Because, as you well know if you have read Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 42 is the answer to the question "Why does the universe exist, and what is its purpose?" So a42 is short for Answer:42. If this seems stupid or frivolous to you, then you probably won't like this site. But we think that one of the points made in the book is that what is going on makes people and things so crazy that the only way we can treat them without blowing up is with an enormous sense of humor and levity. It's the only reasonable way to stay sane in an insane world.