A Look at Cloud Computing
Cloud computing seems to be one of the new technology buzzwords; whatever technology news pieces you look at, you’re very likely to see it at least mentioned in passing. But what is it, what are its advantages, what is it used for, and where will this relatively new technology take us?
To quote from Wikipedia, “Cloud computing is internet (“cloud”) based development and use of computer technology (“computing”).” Wonderful, but that’s pretty vague. Expanding on that definition, cloud computing is essentially storing (and accessing) information online (the cloud!), as well as using web based software. What I would consider the most commonly used, and incidentally, most recognized, is a web based email service. Yahoo, Hotmail, and Gmail are all web based email clients, providing access to your inbox from virtually any computer with an internet connection. While these are relatively established technologies, at least from a noncommercial standpoint, fairly recently we’ve seen a surge of cloud computing services, with a wide range of functions.
It is my opinion that over the next few years, the popularity of cloud computing will continue to grow, and more and more private users, and even corporations, will adopt it. There are some… speed bumps relating to the potential widespread adoption of cloud computing, particularly on a business level, as well as some interesting new moral questions technology like this brings up. I still feel, however, that these downsides can be classified as the “growing pains” of a new technology, and as this paper progresses, we’ll look at some examples of cloud computing services, mostly using Google as an example.
While cloud computing has some major advantages, there are some concerns that individuals and corporations have voiced, and some of them are valid. One concern I’ve seen mentioned is that cloud based computing isn’t ideal for people who live out in the country, as a high speed, reliable internet connection is not always guaranteed. I feel that this concern is legitimate, however, as one who lived in the sticks for a couple of years, I know first hand that more and more small town companies are offering high speed internet packages, with some even going so far as to be setting up fiber optic lines. Like anything, give it time, and the advances will be made. A corporate concern that comes to mind is the security of the physical data. Where are the servers stored, and what sort of redundancies and backups are in place? After doing some research, and again, using Google as an example, I’ve come to the conclusion that the major cloud players have their infrastructure set up much like the major players in web based email, that is to say (using laymen’s terms) you have large banks of servers, with powerful software running to analyze performance and adjust as needed. Honestly, in terms of data loss, you’re safer using cloud computing, with all of its built in redundancies and many separate server locations. We saved the biggest downer for last, the one that both corporations and private individuals are most concerned about: security. As Lance Ulanoff (of PC Magazine) states, “We live in a suspicious society. We’re told not to give out our personal information, but documents we store in the cloud could contain our private data. I think consumers will need greater assurances than just the company saying, “We’ve got you covered.” A valid concern, as there have been several stories lately about cloud based medical data ending up being, one way or the other, publicized. I have mixed feelings about all this (I’m kinda big on privacy), and it’s turned out to be the hardest part to research. I’m not sure if there is any easy way to prove what sort of access the companies involved has to the data. As I’ve been researching around for this, several of the companies geared towards a corporate base make it clear that they don’t actually have direct access to your data. They manage it, store it, but they can’t actually open up the file named secretstufflol.docx. An interesting point that was brought to my attention was that even with some of the potential security downsides of cloud computing, since the information is only handled by one group (the contracted cloud managers, vs. many corporate IT services), the chances of industrial espionage are far lower, as a cloud computing firm who doesn’t protect their clients won’t be in business long. You’re far more likely to see government or healthcare provider computers being sold at auction with hard drives being improperly wiped then have your cloud data h4×0r3d. I’m not saying it’s not an issue, but I am saying that it’s an issue that is blown out of proportion, or at least not any more “deadly” than standard methods of computing and storage. As time progresses, and the technology advances, there will be more and more companies dedicated to provide cloud security (see Wikipedia, Computerworld).
So what are the advantages of computing on the cloud, and why does everyone keep talking about it? In my mind, the single greatest thing about cloud computing is the ability to access your information from practically anywhere. If you have an (preferably highspeed) internet connection, smartphone, internet enabled PDA, netbook, and in some cases, even newer cars, you can access your data. No loading software and files onto each and every device, no matter where you are (or what device you’re on), your information is right there, at your fingertips. As the world is becoming more and more connected, this ability is huge. Cloud computing is about detaching those wires to truly enter a mobile society, able to adapt to new developments on the fly. A byproduct of being able to connect anywhere with multiple devices is that true synchronization across multiple devices is now being seen more and more often, and has become much more usable of late. As an example, I recently purchased a smartphone from Verizon, the new Motorola Droid that runs on Google’s open source mobile OS, Android 2.0. Upon first starting the phone, I was prompted to enter my Google account information, and then after five minutes or so, it had synced all of my Google Contacts (emails, phone numbers, addresses, birthdays, the works), my Google calendars, and my Gmail account. With minimal work on by part, I took those contacts, and then added information from Facebook and even Twitter (which are both, incidentally, cloud based social networking platforms) to those that were applicable. The end result is that I can make a change to my calendar for instance, on my phone, and it will change online, and on all my other devices that are also synced with my account. Apple offers a cloud synchronization service called Mobile Me (complete with a cute little cloud logo) that let’s you sync your iPhone or iPod Touch, computer based iCal and Address Book, and opens up online storage and accessibility options as well. The ability to sync my devices and access the information from anywhere is why I personally (from a private user standpoint) think cloud computing is such an amazing progression.
There are well-documented advantages from a corporate standpoint as well, most of them being financial based. If all of your information is set up on the cloud, and you’re paying a company to take care of it for you, all of a sudden your IT department is pretty small, which is saving you money. You’re also paying as a subscription, which means as your needs change, you can change and drop the services, and not have to invest in software and hardware. Ted Schadler (see Forrester’s advice to CFOs on eWeek.com) goes on to say, “The financial benefit of paying by the month rather than upfront is great when times are good, but especially important during a downturn. And while cloud computing is not yet ready for many enterprise IT needs, cloud-based collaboration services are a viable option for most firms today. And Forrester believes that cloud-based application services will become increasingly important as the providers mature.” Since you are investing in a service, part of your costs are going to help pay for the maintenance of the servers, again freeing you from having to pay and run your own department. On top of a dramatic reduction in personnel costs, you’re saving the money that would otherwise be dumped into server upkeep and housing, allowing you, among other things, to be working in smaller, more efficient buildings. As web apps become more and more popular (Google recently released their own package), companies who switch will be saving massive amounts of money on the cost of software licensing. Cloud computing is financially good for corporations, and as the technology matures, more and more businesses are going to make partial or full switches.
In summary, though cloud computing has some minor issues, these will be worked out in time, and even today are relatively minor. This technology is the future; it’s ease of use and setup, ability to connect, sync, and access data nearly anywhere, and lower costs for corporations means that cloud computing is here to stay.
Introducing my introduction to my final paper! lol wut
Topic: Cloud Computing
How will I start my thesis?: By giving a little background info about cloud computing, and some examples (Google). Will also touch on the hopes and dreams of “Computing in the Cloud”.
What is my thesis?: I think that as time (and the internetz) progresses, and more everyday focus is placed on mobile devices, cloud computing will continue to gain in popularity. I don’t, however, see it as being the “end all, PC is dead” revolution that some people are claiming it is.
Counter argument: There are downsides, and the biggest one I see is security and data usage. Google has a crazy amount of personal information that I’ve provided them. What do they do with it? How is it kept secure? Where is it really housed?
My argument:
- Convenience factor
- Co-colaboration factor
- Doesn’t rely as heavily on hardware
Conclusion: Yes, the cloud is awesome, but until some of the downsides are addressed, I can’t see large scale business adopting it, at least not completely. Personal users may well be another matter, however.
Sources:
- Cloud Computing, Wikipedia (this isn’t going to remain a source, I more use it as a source of sources)
- Google’s Cloud: 8 Key Questions, Lance Ulanoff, PC Magazine
- What Cloud Computing Really Means, Eric Knorr & Galen Gruman, InfoWorld
Code Chapter Summaries
Code is Law
Besides giving a brief summary of what latter parts in the book will be about, you start to get a sense of the author and his background. With a background in constitutional law, he’s not what you would first expect, but as he continues to compare and contrast the beginning years of the internet with the beginning years if a new form of government, you start to see the relation. He draws on his experiences in eastern Europe during the fall of communism to make people understand how the shift from strict control to an open environment, then back, can occur, but warns that our cyber rights can be just as easily trampled as our physical ones.
Four Puzzles from Cyberspace
The second chapter shares four stories, each meaning to point out a particular notion, those being regulation, regulation through code, latent ambiguity, and competing sovereigns. It then describes what each story has to do with each point, and promises to tell all farther into the book. At this point, it’s fairly obvious (it was to me at least) that this book is brilliant.
is-ism
This chapter argues that despite (at least initial) popular belief, cyberspace can, indeed be regulated. One of the main points is that since it’s not natural, since it’s all human created, coded, it is totally unrealistic to thing that there can (or will) be no regulation, or for that matter, change. It’s possible, therefor it will happen. The author goes on to talk about different levels of control, or closed vs. openess.
Architectures of Control
The chapter begins by stating that in order for a government to regulate, it has to know “who did what, where?” It then goes on to talk about identities, authentication, and credentials, how they interact, and why they are important. As the chapter continues, it is discussed that while currently the main portion of the internet (TCP/IP) is open, it wouldn’t be too hard to start adding identities to the various packets, but that already it is relatively easy for ISPs to trace IP addresses back to users. Towards the end, the chapter talks about cookies and how they came to be, and even goes into cryptography. This is a pretty lengthy chapter, and as such hard to summarize down into one paragraph.
Regulating Code
This chapter details how, in the name of the unseen terrorist threat, the government has already started to change internet protocols to make it easier for them to track, search, and create wiretaps. The first example is how in 2005 Congress decided that VOIP protocols needed to be restructured so that they “must be designed so as to make government wiretapping easier”. It doesn’t get a whole lot clearer then that, and frankly, it terrifies me. As you go further into the chapter, it goes into detail about what some of the advantages of a more… concrete online identity are, mostly in terms of commerce and the like. It goes on to detail different code origins, and their differences. Towards the end of the chapter, there’s even a Jeff Goldblum reference thrown in.
Colloquia Response
The following is a response to the lecture “Where Do Designs Come From and How Can We Get There?” presented by Gilbert Cockton.
Gilbert Cockton is researcher in HCI at University of Sunderland in England, which means among other things, he has a sweet British accent, instantly making his presentation even better. He’s been published a ton, is members in all sorts of British things that I have no idea of of the meaning, and and has some interesting, abstract ideas about HCI on the whole.
He starts out with comparing basic menu design to the Monty Python Spam skit and a menu from a high end French restaurant, written in french. His points is that in order to have a good design, you must adapt to your audience, and also present it in a way that is easy for the targeted users to understand. He continues that without a good menu, it is hard to create informed choices, making it near impossible to successfully use a system.
As the lecture continues, he speaks on how to evaluate the targeted audience, but even more so upon how to evaluate your own evaluations. If you aren’t asking yourself the right questions, you’re never going to get it right. His point is also that HCI is more complicated then other fields of designs, as the line between technology (product) and user is so much harder to define, and without a user, much of the hardware or software would be pointless (like in social networking).
During the latter part of the presentation, he makes the point over and over again that in order to truly advance technology, we need to focus on the actual people during the development, and less on the actual end product. The question should be less does the product itself work, and more does the product’s end result achieve what we set out to achieve. For example, an MP3 player (hardware) may play music, but is it easy to use in a portable setting? The questions aren’t really the same.
An interesting presentation, which makes me wish I had more of an HCI foundation to really understand the basics of the field.
Announcing Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0
A response to Announcing Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0 as posted on Official Google Blog
Since 2005, millions of people have relied on Google Maps for mobile to get directions on the go. However, there’s always been one problem: Once you’re behind the wheel, a list of driving directions just isn’t that easy to use. It doesn’t tell you when your turn is coming up. And if you miss a turn? Forget it, you’re on your own.
Today we’re excited to announce the next step for Google Maps for mobile: Google Maps Navigation (Beta) for Android 2.0 devices.
This new feature comes with everything you’d expect to find in a GPS navigation system, like 3D views, turn-by-turn voice guidance and automatic rerouting. But unlike most navigation systems, Google Maps Navigation was built from the ground up to take advantage of your phone’s Internet connection.
As the VXW Droid release date keeps coming closer (this Friday!), and Android Mania continues to rise, more and more features of Android 2.0 are being unveiled, and one of the (if not the) coolest features so far looks like Google Maps Navigation, which will be released in it’s beta form.
Before anyone freaks out, Gmail was beta for what, 18 years before it was finally released? So yeah, I wouldn’t worry too much.
I purchased a Garmin GPS a few months ago, finally fed up with bumbling my way around cities like Chicago or Lexington where I have close friends I visit regularly, getting lost while trying to make a catering delivery for work, or trying to find some random persons house or an unknown to me bar. It’s pretty cool, picks up on FM traffic alerts which is nice in Chicago, and generally works pretty well. The downside is it’s one more electronic device that I get to mess with, which I guess isn’t too much of a downside, since new toys are fun.
Regardless, I think one of the things the iPhone did is show that a well designed phone can really be much more, and that device integration is possible. Music, maps, contacts, calendar, it’s all there, all on a fluffy cloud so you can sync it up with other stuff in your life, which is pretty darn cool, except that I still refuse to be on AT&T, and the iPhone Maps app, while cool, leaves a whole hell of a lot to be desired.
So enter the new Google app on Google’s Android 2.0 mobile phone OS. You can port contacts in from Gmail and Facebook’s address book to your phone, input them, and because the Google app is connected to the internet, your map data will be up to date, which is cool, because my couple month old GPS with the newest map software (which is $100 to upgrade) isn’t.
Not something in your address book? Search for it, either by categories (sushi near your mom’s house), or a bit broader (Colt’s Stadium in Indianapolis). It’s a smart search, and is voice search compatible, but if it’s anything like Google Voice, it’s gonna be rough.
Top it off with street and satellite overviews like what can be found on Google Maps and Google Earth, and it’s pretty ****ing cool.
But will it be able to tell quickly when you’re off it’s chosen route and recalculate? How quick will it be to update once you’ve made a turn? What’s the overall UI really like? Is Google going to slowly take over the world?
We shall see, and I shall see hopefully on Friday. I totally plan on running both my Garmin and Droid in my car simultaneously, which I think will grant a bonus of +500 techie uberness to my VW.
I also want a job with Google.
Apple In-App Sales Policy Revamped
A response to In-App Sales and iTablet: The Killer Combo to Save Publishing? as posted on Wired.com
Apple on Thursday made a subtle-yet-major revision to its App Store policy, enabling extra content to be sold through free iPhone apps. It’s a move that immediately impacts the publishing industry, and it could pay even bigger dividends if the Cupertino, California, company indeed delivers its highly anticipated touchscreen tablet.
While the most obvious beneficiaries would be app developers, a market segment that can also benefit from the new in-app commerce model are people and companies that create content and need to set up shop in a way that doesn’t, in effect, charge someone for just walking in — like media publishers.
Newspapers and magazines are reportedly in talks with Apple about repurposing their content onto a “new device,” presumably the rumored touchscreen tablet Apple will deliver in early 2010. Numerous reports suggest an Apple tablet would have a strong focus on redefining print media. Enabling in-app commerce through free apps was a crucial move to help make this goal a reality.
Oh look, more tablet rumors, with more details that make it look that much more like a reality. The article goes into detail about how the pricing might work, and the book mentioned that is written by one of Wired.com’s writers is one that I just added to my need to read list.
The thought is you download an app from The Wall Street Journal for free, and it comes with oh, say a week’s worth of content. You could then choose to subscribe monthly, weekly, by day, etc, etc, etc.
I think it’s interesting that eBook readers, tablets, and other means of journalism are getting so much focus these days. As more and more “paper and ink” publications are going the way of the dodo, new markets are going it emerge, and I think it will be interesting to see where the new trends lead. I also think that if this Apple thing ever gets released, that it will beat the snot out of Amazon’s Kindle. The more I read about the Kindle, the more ill-thought it seems.
Once someone comes out with a quality eBook reader (multimedia device?), that has realistic pricing and subscription options, and a well thought out design, I think the idea is really going to take off.
Verizon’s Motorola Droid
A response to Motorola Droid Hands on! as posted on Boy Genius Report
For the past couple of hours, I’ve been frantically Googling, trying to find out more information about the new phone of Verizon’s that I saw advertised this weekend, while I was up in Chicago, and what I found was pretty darn interesting.
I’m not going to lie, my uberness when it comes it cell phones is pretty low. I worked at a camp for quite awhile, and spend a fair amount of time outside, so I’m pretty hard on phones. And by hard on phones, I mean my current one has a burn hole. I’m not even joking.
Having said that, I’ve been looking more and more at a smart phone recently, with very frustrating results. Now, truth be told, I’m a bit of an Apple fanboy. I like their products, and will continue to use (and purchase) them regularly.
Ok, cool, so why don’t I have an iPhone, right? Because, frankly, AT&T is full of fail. Their network sucks, their support sucks, and their coverage sucks. Combine that with the fact that almost all of my friends are on the Verizon network, and that’s why I haven’t changed over (killer hardware, but not quite that killer).
Probably the biggest problem I have with Verizon is that it has a bomber network, but the phone choices suck. I want a smartphone with WiFi, that has an intelligent design, and doesn’t have all of the stupid Verizon software bundled up with it. Which is why I don’t have a cool phone yet.
And which is where my ramblings end, and I’m actually going to talk about the Droid. Originally called the Motorola Sholes, this thing is going to (probably) be launched at the end of this month, for a price (probably) of around $200. Oh, yeah, and it’s going to be running Google Android. From Wikipedia:
Android is a mobile operating system running on the Linux kernel. It was initially developed by Google and later the Open Handset Alliance. It allows developers to write managed code in the Java language, controlling the device via Google-developed Java libraries.
Now I may be an Apple fanboy, but I am definitely a Google fanboy, and the Android Platform rocks by sox, as it were. And from the rumors I’ve been reading, this phone was a combined Google/Motorola/Verizon project. And when I say combined, I mean Google dictated, and Motorola build. In order for this phone to be Android powered, Verizon has to open it up to all of the features, or they don’t get to use it, so hello intelligent design. Add in the fact that it has build in WiFi, and I want one, and would be willing to step up to the data plan needed.
My complaints at this point are that frankly, the phone looks kinda fugly, like a Razor throwback. Hopefully the exterior design isn’t finalized? I’m also wary of Motorola, but since this will become Verizon’s flagship phone, and Google had such a heavy hand on the design, hopefully we’ll see a solid product.
I’m not particularly concerned about the lack of the iPhone’s app library, my (made up) research shows that of the 8,768,757,646 (approximate) applications available, around 95% (roughly) of them are either fart simulators or tower defense games, and I really don’t have much of a need for either.
- It’s running Android 2.0. Duh.
- It’s thin. Just slightly thicker than an iPhone 3GS and the thinnest QWERTY-slider we’ve ever seen.
- It is the fastest Android device we’ve ever used. (It’s running a TI OMAP3430 processor)
- The feel of the device is very reminiscent of the OQO 02 model computer. Just smaller. It’s metal with a non-spring-assisted slide, very sturdy, and half soft-touch plastic.
- Awesome capacitive display. Plus it’s huge. Easily the best screen we’ve ever seen on an Android handset, and an amazing screen overall.
- The QWERTY keyboard is actually pretty usable and has a soft-touch rubberized finish. We’ve been told the keyboard design isn’t final on this unit, thus the two no-shows.
- Have we mentioned this phone flies? It’s the Android device to beat, and easily the most impressive. From what we’ve been told, Google had a direct hand in the Motorola Droid. Something to the point of almost dictating every move Motorola made when designing and making the phone. Interesting, huh?
So is this thing going to be the iPhone killer Verizon is pegging it as? Probably not, but it’s as close as I’m going to get, and I’m planning on picking one up as soon as they come out.
Apple Tablet Rumors
A response to Tablet Rumors Getting Pretty Specific as posted on MacLife
Fatigued of tablet rumors yet? Some of us are. Then something comes along that really jazzes us up.
At first these whispers started out rather vague, with conflicting sizes and hardware specs, but as the year closes out specifics are starting to coalesce. Is it a secret too big to keep or is it the bandwagon of rumor-mongering? Only time will tell.
I try pretty hard not to get into the whole follow all the rumors of new stuff that might or might not be in development, but the thought of an Apple made tablet has me drooling. Now to make sure we’re all on the same page, a little Wikipedia:
Generically, tablet PC refers to a laptop or slate-shaped mobile computer, equipped with a touchscreen or graphics tablet/screen hybrid to operate the computer with a stylus or digital pen, or a fingertip, instead of a keyboard or mouse.
Ok, so we’re clear what a tablet is? Cool. Now I’ve never really been a huge fan of the whole tablet idea. Well, I like the idea, but there have always been some major flaws with the ones I have played with.
Input method is the biggest issue that I’ve run into. Anyone ever used one of the older Palm Pilots? Ever tried to write on one with the shorthand? Yeah, it didn’t work very well. If Apple really does come out with a tablet, they are going to have to get around this, somehow.
I can’t see them going the stylus route, they’re easy to lose, and the feel really isn’t that great. Since what I’m picturing, and what several of the articles that I’ve read seem to be pointing towards an oversized iPhone or iPod Touch, this leads me immediately to thinking of the touchscreen on them. Not too shabby for texting and such, but pretty temperamental when it comes to longer strings of text. And could you imagine trying to type quickly on a full size touchscreen? I just don’t see it being efficient at all, since you just lose that whole tactile interaction that you have when using a standard keyboard, making it prone to mistakes. So speaking of tactile, has anyone used the Verizon Blackberry with the clicky touch screen? If you have, it’s pretty much failsagna (related to lasagna, but much more failtastic). They could go with the whole slide out keyboard dealie that a couple of the tablets have, but that’s gonna make the sucker fat, which isn’t the way Apple tends to roll.
The maclife.com article is talking about how this isn’t going to be a netbook, more an eBook reader. I’m not sure how I feel about that. If eBooks where more realistically priced, I’d be more interested. Is there going to be a new eBook store on the iTunes store? I would assume so. What are we talking about price wise, anyway? Apple stuff isn’t cheap, and I really can’t see too many people dropping a G or so to read The Wall Street Journal on their iTab.
In order for me to get one of these suckers, it would have to have WiFi, and it would have to have a pretty banging web browser. I expect it to play music and movies, of course. You up the usability if iWork or MS Office is compatible with it, but this leads to other problems as well.
In the end, we’re all going to have to wait and see, but if anyone can make a tablet that the masses will yearn for, I think Apple is the one to do it (anyone want some Kool-Aid?). This is the type of stuff the makes me wish that IU had an HCI undergrad program, btw Jennifer…
Wired.com’s Beer Robot
A response to How Wired.com Built Beer Robot, Our DIY Kegerator as posted on Wired.com
It started out innocently enough. After work one day at the local brewpub, three Wired.com staffers had a revelation: “What our office really needs is a kegerator!”
We didn’t know this passing idea, the kind you often have after several beers but never follow up on (”Dude, we should totally road trip to Jazzfest this year!”), would culminate in a keg party at that same brewpub to celebrate the public debut of Beer Robot.
But at the next editor’s meeting, we suggested converting a fridge into a kegerator for our How-To Wiki. Who’s going to say no to that? Nobody in that meeting anyway. Soon we had dreamed up a super geeky, tricked-out kegerator that would have all sorts of functions involving everything from a Twitter stream to a Wii.
Now I realize what you’re all thinking here.
“John, this has nothing to do with I101, you’re just blogging about beer.”
And see, that’s where you’re wrong. Well, kind of at least. Look, this thing has an entire side that looks like HAL 9000, therefore it has EVERYTHING to do with Informatics.
Now, the main part of the project I guess may not really be that relevant (but seriously, it’s beer, so of course it’s relevant), but some of the little things they have added to it are what really made it grab my attention. Now I feel like I’ve done a fairly good job of making my views on Twitter known. If there’s one major disadvantage with the internetz, it’s the phenomenon of making otherwise intelligent people turn into loud, obnoxious idiots, and I really feel that Twitter does a wonderful job catering to that group.
With that little rant out of the way, let’s continue. The guys over at wired.com installed a flowmeter into the kegerator, and now the sucker Tweets when it’s running low on beer, when it’s out, and when a new keg has been hooked up. I would much rather read about the adventures of a kegerator then the adventures of an idiot. I’m just sayin’. Now while realistically this has no redeeming social value whatsoever, projects like this open up a whole new world of possibilities.
We’ve all heard about how future houses are going to do all sorts of pretty cool things. You’ll be able to pop online (or text it, or apparently go to Twitter) from the store, and it’ll tell you “Hey, you should probably order some more milk, since you’re about out and this bottle expired like three weeks ago, you bum.” Technology like that used in the Beer Robot is what I think are the foundations of what will become new technology trends. Between RFID tags and wireless dodads that send off Tweets (and their not dumb equivalents), there are some really, really cool possibilities out there, just looking for some geeks to write the idea down on a bar napkin somewhere.
Downsides? Well, I’m sure that somewhere out there, in the sick, sick land of the internet, someone has hooked up their toilet to Tweet every time it’s flushed.
