Is Open Source Hardware a new movement?

Since I started thinking about sustainable technology and then stumbled upon the idea of Open Source Hardware and began trawling the net for the subject it have become clear to me that I am not alone - far from it, but also that the phenomenon is in its infancy - The information is not connected and people are not connected - YET!
Another strange generation phenomenon has also become apparent - The old school versus new school.
Old school is the now 50+ needs that missed the PC/Software/Internet race and still reads magazines like this or this or what about this one. These old men have a very different way of sharing knowledge - you suck up to those with more knowledge (or more toys or buy some fancy stuff useself so others wants to play with you - knowledge is power and you better start pleasing..

New School is another creature. New school IS about sharing.
Its about helping and getting more people interested in your interest. This has also brought some unlikely groups of people in the realms of electronics. Last week I meet 2 young(er than me) woman and to my surprise we talked about Arduino and electronics for the best of an hour. I am very pleased about seeing more than I expected woman in the forums and behind projects I visit. This might also keep a lit on the "I have the fastest, newest, biggest.." male trend that pester male dominated areas.

Another thought I had was the other day when thinking about why this electronics bug has caught on. Its a reaction to being utterly at the mercy of things that we have NO idea about how functions. Basically its about empowering and New school is coming on strong.