I am pleasantly surprised that FOSS4G – the Open Source Geospatial conference to be held in Denver in September – is getting so much traction these days. I won't repeat everything that has already been written by Brian Timoney, Peter Batty, James Fee and Glenn Letham. Their articles will give you all the information you need, and all the reasons to attend the conference.

But I wonder whether we may be witnessing something bigger. Could we be seeing the turning of the tide here? Could open source geo finally be on the cusp of getting mainstream attention and acceptance, beyond the online echo chambers of geo-geekery? Brian Timoney thinks so, and so do I.

As if on cue to support my hypothesis, Cory Doctorow publishes an article in today's Guardian (UK) favoring Android over iOS. The Guardian is as mainstream as they come. And the article can safely be extrapolated to be about open source vs. proprietary in general, particularly about the resilience of open source.

Writes Cory:

"I prefer Android because it's [sic] relative openness means more people can and do inspect its workings to ensure it is doing what Google claims it is doing. I prefer Android because when Google decides to leave out a feature that users might want – such as tethering – the people making alternative OSes for the platform stick that feature in, and shame Google into adding it in subsequent versions."

"So why use Android? Because it requires less trust in Google than using iOS requires that you trust Apple."

There you have it – it's ultimately a choice between holding the reigns of your chariot and handing them over to someone who "knows best".

FOSS4G promises to be a watershed event in the evolution of the geospatial ecosystem on these shores. It also promises to be a lot of fun. Need convincing? Take a look at the masterfully-done two-minute video about the conference, featuring many of the organizers.