Many people would like to get a solid understanding of Open Source and Free software and, unfortunately, have not found a good, easy way to do so. Even my law review article on the Open Source licenses probably won’t do the trick for most people, much as I hate to admit that.
I just watched today a DVD of a documentary called “Revolution OS” that is an excellent introduction to what is going on in the Open Source Movement, the Free Software Movement, Linux and the licensing and IP implications involved. It tells the story well, through interviews with most of the major players. I thoroughly recommend this DVD as an introduction to these topics. My only critique might be that it is a little light on the MIT/BSD family of licenses, but, in fairness, the focus of the film is on the GPL and Linux.