The inherent value of Open Source: connections and "giving it a crack"

The first thing that most people hearing about open source software for the first time understand is free... as in price. For some, that's motivation enough to try it - for others, the "there's no such thing as a free lunch" brigade, it elicits a sneer followed by the lush tones of a Microsoft Windows desktop popping into existence (generally accompanied by a "your anti-virus software is out of date!" message)... It usually takes quite a while to get past that initial impression to what I (and others in the open source community) refer to as "getting it" - really understanding the real value in open source isn't the sticker price, it's the freedom. Perhaps, it can't be conveyed in the abstract, maybe it requires hands on visceral experience.