Cringely writes:

A number of forces have to work in conjunction to make these disruptive technologies possible. Economies of scale gained by mass production are augmented by the willingness of technically savvy people to share the fruits of their labor, but the third component we don't give enough credit to, I think, is the willingness of absolutely normal people to mess with this complex technology. I credit Napster (the original Napster, not the new one) and DivX for this relatively sudden willingness for average people to get their hands dirty twiddling bits. Motivated by free music and video, millions of people have learned that it isn't really that hard to do, especially if there is a 12 year-old available to help. And since we seem to keep producing 12 year-olds, I'd say the sky's the limit when it comes to how these technologies will change our world.