I remember the first time I saw e-mail. I guess it would be around 1988, when my dad first set up a computer with a modem in our house. He explained that he was sending information and receiving information from another university. I think I would have been more impressed I could have seen what he was talking about, but as it was, it was just words on the screen.

It's clear that the internet will be a continued presence in our lives and while Loon seems like it will be helpful in erasing the line between online/offline, I can't help but wonder how infrastructure will have to change. I live in an area of America with a lot of trees and the power often goes out when it gets really stormy or even just really windy. I've lived in other parts of the world where power outages were even more common. For the online/offline division to disappear completely, I'd think that we'd first need to address the robustness of our power supply on at least a local municipal level. However, I haven't heard of any advances in that area, or even ideas on how that might be explored, much less solved.

Also, if people, societies, businesses and governments are all set to become more reliant on the internet, how can we move forward without being vulnerable to any potential unforeseen disruptions of the internet, say from a natural disaster or other event outside of our control?