Fountain codes look very interesting. There was a project at OLPC, I think written in Forth for OpenFirmware, that used something like fountain codes to reflash massive numbers of computers. It worked like this. Turn one XO-1 on in OFW mode, insert a USB with the disk image you wanted to be on all machines, and turn it on as the source server. Boot into OFW, the other XO-1s you want to reflash, and tell them to receive a new image. I think there was a key shortcut of some kind that told a machine to receive. The server XO would continue to send packets until all other machines had received enough packets to make up a complete disk image. If I remember correctly, they used it to reflash 3000 machines in the field that I heard about. There may have been more elsewhere or since.
OLPC Tried to make a $100 /computer/ (laptop, and got pretty close (~$185). And Raspberry is making a $25 development board. I applaud Raspberry Pi and their intentions. But putting all of the necessary devices to make this also a /computer/ will probably cost at least $100.
Without contrasting $25 and $100 pricepoints, what else is the author trying to say?
Books are information, they are only /things/ due to convenience. We still sell them as objects due to historical reasons, but that is slowly starting to change.
Is the point of this to fund project like kickstarter? Because I think what the FOSS community needs are much smaller, less marketable fixes and bounties. Like 'port django to python3' not 'write a new FOSS video editor'.