I’m inspired by Simon Phipp’s post “Freedom to Leave” [via Tim Bray]. Simon’s talking about the openness of technology formats and standards, and reminds us all:

The fastest way to send early adopters packing is to make your cool new toy a roach motel.

Though we’re not about data formats, OpenDNS is against lock-in, too. We are asking you to choose OpenDNS, for various benefits. We’re confident that you’ll be happy with our DNS service. If you don’t agree, you’ll make another choice…and there’s nothing we could or would do to stop you.

DNS is easy to change (see for yourself), it’s under your control, and you have a choice.

P.S. I’ve felt this way before, though Simon (and others, like John Hagel) are more convincing.

One of my favorite movies is Amadeus, the fictional biography of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. (Metacritic, IMDb)

In the film, Mozart’s patron, the Emperor, comments on one of Mozart’s new pieces:

Your work is ingenious. It’s quality work. But there are simply too many notes, that’s all. Just cut a few and it will be perfect. [emphasis added; source: IMDb]

In the context of the film, this appeal for brevity is patently ridiculous. The emperor has a tin ear for music.

However, Seth Godin, while getting support for his MacBook Pro, reminds us that sometimes fewer words are better:

If you’re not sure what to say, say nothing.

Why do I bring this up?

Because I’ve been writing instructions for how to change your DNS settings, with different pages based on your situation (see Get Started), and I’m trying to limit myself to necessary words and steps, without skipping anything that matters.

Please let me know if there are too many words…or not enough.