Posts tagged internet

Unwarranted government surveillance is an intrusion on basic human rights that threatens the very foundations of a democratic society. I call on all web users to demand better legal protection and due process safeguards for the privacy of their online communications, including their right to be informed when someone requests or stores their data.
Tim Berners-Lee, speaking at the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year competition in Monte Carlo. The Telegraph, Web inventor Berners-Lee warns forces are ‘trying to take control’.
The Internet’s Effects on The Porn Industry The popularity of porn is at an all-time high thanks to the Internet. Slate cites an estimate that says there are almost 25 million adult sites worldwide which make up 12 percent of all websites total. Daily Infographic reports that 28, 258 people are looking at Internet porn every second and 40 million Americans are regular adult website visitors.  Aside from being a great distribution tool, the Internet also brings greater recognition to individual adult performers. Porn star couple James Deen and Stoya are what The Village Voice calls “The Jay-Z and Beyonce” of porn — and the two of them owe a lot of their fame to online activity. Net-followers refer to themselves as “Deenagers” and “Stoyanauts,” and they dedicate their time to tracking the couple’s every social media move (see Stoya’s Tumblr and James Deen’s Twitter.) Even established porn stars like Nina Hartley and Alexis Texas amp up their fame with their own websites dedicated exclusively to their individual work. But even though porn popularity is at an all time high, profits are dippin’ low. 72-year-old porn actor, Dave Cummings, told The Huffington Post that piracy has “killed the industry.” Theo Sapoutzis, CEO and Chairman of Adult Video News (AVN), estimates that porn made $13 to $15 billion during its peak in the early 2000s, but now DVD sales have dropped by 50 percent since 2007 due to illegal uploads. (Note:”Estimates” is the keyword here. Because so many porn businesses are privately owned, it’s impossible to determine the exact gross income of the industry.) FJP: Despite the blows to profits, the porn industry hasn’t totally deflated yet. Sherri Shaulis, an editor at AVN, says that video companies are now creating their own sex toys and lingerie to make up for losing money on DVD sales. Also, The Institute of Network Cultures notes that even though free porn sites make up 70-80 percent of adult content online, they usually function as “bait” to lure people to pay-to-watch, premium websites with better quality content. So, people who want that classy, story-driven, Hollywood-lit coitus have to pay their dues. And hey, that’s fair. (And all is always fair… in love, and German Whore Fare.) — Krissy Sort of Related: Speaking of premium pornographic material, artist, Jonathan Harris, created I Love Your Work, a clickable, interactive documentary on nine women who work in lesbian porn (here’s the trailer). The project is limited to 10 viewers per day and it costs $10 for 24 hours of access to six hours of material. In the FAQ section of the project’s website, Harris says he only allows 10 viewers per day because it’s “an experiment in delayed gratification.” He says that “Internet porn is abundant, and most websites attempt to accumulate as many viewers as possible. It seemed interesting to do the opposite.” Check it out.  Image: 2Space.net

The Internet’s Effects on The Porn Industry

The popularity of porn is at an all-time high thanks to the Internet. Slate cites an estimate that says there are almost 25 million adult sites worldwide which make up 12 percent of all websites total. Daily Infographic reports that 28, 258 people are looking at Internet porn every second and 40 million Americans are regular adult website visitors. 

Aside from being a great distribution tool, the Internet also brings greater recognition to individual adult performers. Porn star couple James Deen and Stoya are what The Village Voice calls “The Jay-Z and Beyonce” of porn — and the two of them owe a lot of their fame to online activity. Net-followers refer to themselves as “Deenagers” and “Stoyanauts,” and they dedicate their time to tracking the couple’s every social media move (see Stoya’s Tumblr and James Deen’s Twitter.) Even established porn stars like Nina Hartley and Alexis Texas amp up their fame with their own websites dedicated exclusively to their individual work.

But even though porn popularity is at an all time high, profits are dippin’ low. 72-year-old porn actor, Dave Cummings, told The Huffington Post that piracy has “killed the industry.” Theo Sapoutzis, CEO and Chairman of Adult Video News (AVN), estimates that porn made $13 to $15 billion during its peak in the early 2000s, but now DVD sales have dropped by 50 percent since 2007 due to illegal uploads. (Note:”Estimates” is the keyword here. Because so many porn businesses are privately owned, it’s impossible to determine the exact gross income of the industry.)

FJP: Despite the blows to profits, the porn industry hasn’t totally deflated yet. Sherri Shaulis, an editor at AVN, says that video companies are now creating their own sex toys and lingerie to make up for losing money on DVD sales. Also, The Institute of Network Cultures notes that even though free porn sites make up 70-80 percent of adult content online, they usually function as “bait” to lure people to pay-to-watch, premium websites with better quality content.

So, people who want that classy, story-driven, Hollywood-lit coitus have to pay their dues. And hey, that’s fair. (And all is always fair… in love, and German Whore Fare.) — Krissy

Sort of Related: Speaking of premium pornographic material, artist, Jonathan Harris, created I Love Your Work, a clickable, interactive documentary on nine women who work in lesbian porn (here’s the trailer). The project is limited to 10 viewers per day and it costs $10 for 24 hours of access to six hours of material. In the FAQ section of the project’s website, Harris says he only allows 10 viewers per day because it’s “an experiment in delayed gratification.” He says that “Internet porn is abundant, and most websites attempt to accumulate as many viewers as possible. It seemed interesting to do the opposite.” Check it out. 

Image: 2Space.net

Banning Porn According to Smithsonian, the desire to ban porn exists all over the world. The UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, wants all porn to be blocked from public spaces to maintain “clean Wifi.” There are websites exclusively dedicated to banishing porn in the U.S. And Iceland has even proposed to get rid of Internet porn altogether.  Despite these efforts, The Economist points out that porn is impossible to eliminate from the Web. Algorithms can’t catch everything, which means to totally get rid of porn, humans would need to scour the Internet all day for inappropriate content.  Slate writes that when Yahoo CEO, Marissa Mayer, was met with suggestions to restrict porn on Tumblr for the sake of Yahoo’s reputation, she refused. The “Not Safe For Work” (NSFW) tag that Tumblr already offers is sufficient enough at filtering pornography, and Mayer wants Tumblr to maintain the “richness and breadth of content” that it’s known for.  And that richness and breadth is going to be hard to beat back. An infographic by Paintbottle shows that 70 percent of men and 30 percent of women watch porn — with the average viewer visiting porn sites 7.5 times per month for an average of 12 minutes at a time. Smithsonian says that one of the driving forces behind this porn paranoia is that children are learning about sex through porn and not sex education classes. Parents are afraid of porn’s influence on minors who aren’t properly educated on intercourse. Apparently, this concern isn’t without merit. Aside from kids accidentally stumbling upon porn while web-surfing, porn shows up in public places. In Slate’s Manners For The Digital Age podcast, a woman explains that a passenger had been watching porn on his portable DVD player in close proximity to herself, her daughter, and her young and impressionable granddaughter during their flight. FJP: In an attempt to make porn more “appropriate,” L.A. County passed Measure B — a law forcing porn actors to use condoms in their scenes and to receive STD training before performing. The law also forces adult film producers to pay a fee for Department of Public Health inspections.  So should your child stumble upon some pre-marital, raunchy, no-holds barred Internet sex, at least there will be a thin layer of latex to shield them from that silly strain of death-gonorrhea. — Krissy Image: Found down in the NSFW, dirty depths of Tumblr. 

Banning Porn

According to Smithsonian, the desire to ban porn exists all over the world. The UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, wants all porn to be blocked from public spaces to maintain “clean Wifi.” There are websites exclusively dedicated to banishing porn in the U.S. And Iceland has even proposed to get rid of Internet porn altogether. 

Despite these efforts, The Economist points out that porn is impossible to eliminate from the Web. Algorithms can’t catch everything, which means to totally get rid of porn, humans would need to scour the Internet all day for inappropriate content. 

Slate writes that when Yahoo CEO, Marissa Mayer, was met with suggestions to restrict porn on Tumblr for the sake of Yahoo’s reputation, she refused. The “Not Safe For Work” (NSFW) tag that Tumblr already offers is sufficient enough at filtering pornography, and Mayer wants Tumblr to maintain the “richness and breadth of content” that it’s known for. 

And that richness and breadth is going to be hard to beat back. An infographic by Paintbottle shows that 70 percent of men and 30 percent of women watch porn — with the average viewer visiting porn sites 7.5 times per month for an average of 12 minutes at a time.

Smithsonian says that one of the driving forces behind this porn paranoia is that children are learning about sex through porn and not sex education classes. Parents are afraid of porn’s influence on minors who aren’t properly educated on intercourse.

Apparently, this concern isn’t without merit. Aside from kids accidentally stumbling upon porn while web-surfing, porn shows up in public places. In Slate’s Manners For The Digital Age podcast, a woman explains that a passenger had been watching porn on his portable DVD player in close proximity to herself, her daughter, and her young and impressionable granddaughter during their flight.

FJP: In an attempt to make porn more “appropriate,” L.A. County passed Measure B — a law forcing porn actors to use condoms in their scenes and to receive STD training before performing. The law also forces adult film producers to pay a fee for Department of Public Health inspections. 

So should your child stumble upon some pre-marital, raunchy, no-holds barred Internet sex, at least there will be a thin layer of latex to shield them from that silly strain of death-gonorrhea. — Krissy

Image: Found down in the NSFW, dirty depths of Tumblr. 

When People Are Likable in Person, But Not Online

Blimey Cow’s I Like You in Real Life But Not on The Internet describes how people can seem pleasant in real life, while being totally obnoxious online. Some behaviors that contribute to a person’s annoying Net-personality include bombarding social media sites with “selfies,” posting live sports updates when nobody cares about a game, and “compragging” (complain-bragging) about your life in status updates.

FJP: If you can relate and just can’t bear reading another one of your friend’s  tweets about how she’s watching the third season of Mad Men for the eighth time, you might consider trying 35 Activities That Don’t Involve Staring at a Screen. 

Bing Now Translates Klingon Language  Bing has just added Klingon, the language spoken by the Klingon warrior race of the Star Trek universe, to its language translator. Via Mashable:  Bing worked with the linguistics Ph. D. Marc Okrand who developed the language for the series. It also turned to 10 people who are fluent in the language to train the systems, as well as the Klingon Language Institute who assisted in the process. Bing users can now even translate entire websites into Klingon. FJP: I think I speak for everyone when I say: HIja’ tlhuchtlh! — Krissy Image: Today I Found Out

Bing Now Translates Klingon Language 

Bing has just added Klingon, the language spoken by the Klingon warrior race of the Star Trek universe, to its language translator.

Via Mashable: 

Bing worked with the linguistics Ph. D. Marc Okrand who developed the language for the series. It also turned to 10 people who are fluent in the language to train the systems, as well as the Klingon Language Institute who assisted in the process.

Bing users can now even translate entire websites into Klingon.

FJP: I think I speak for everyone when I say: HIja’ tlhuchtlh! — Krissy

Image: Today I Found Out

Since <Blink> won’t blink in Blink, Firefox would be the only remaining browser that allows text to actually flash using the <Blink> element.

Vijit Assar, The Evolution of the Web, In a Blink, The New Yorker.

FJP: It must have been really fun to write that sentence. The whole piece is worth a read if you want an easy enough 101 on the history of internet browsers and what’s coming next. Which, if you use a web browser, you should. And it’s in The New Yorker, so you can show this to your grandma and maybe she’ll read it too.

Syria Goes Dark Via the Electronic Frontier Foundation: According to Dan Hubbard of Umbrella Security Labs: “At around 18:45 UTC OpenDNS resolvers saw a significant drop in traffic from Syria. On closer inspection it seems Syria has largely disappeared from the Internet.” Hubbart notes that the two top-level domain servers for Syria (ns1.tld.sy and ns2.tld.s) were unreachable earlier today. Matthew Prince at Cloudflare published a video demonstrating just how the routes into and out of Syria&#8217;s Internet were withdrawn. This is not the first time Syria has suffered an Internet shut down. In November 2012, Syria suffered a severe Internet black out.  And as the violence in the region has escalated, we’ve documented campaigns of targeted malware attacks against Syrian activists… …Yet during this time the Internet has largely remained available. While heavily censored, monitored, and compromised, the Internet has served as an important window connecting the world at large to Syria, and one way that international observers could connect with individuals on the ground in that country. A number of activists on the ground in Syria have access to  Internet via satellite links, which can connect them to the Internet but carries a high risk for detection, which can be life threatening. The Syrian government blames the blackout on &#8220;terrorists&#8221;, according to the BBC, but security experts and activists believe the regime shut down the Web to interfere with rebel communications, possibly in advance of an a major offensive. Image: Google Transparency Report shows Syrian Internet blackout May 7, 2013, via the EFF.

Syria Goes Dark

Via the Electronic Frontier Foundation:

According to Dan Hubbard of Umbrella Security Labs: “At around 18:45 UTC OpenDNS resolvers saw a significant drop in traffic from Syria. On closer inspection it seems Syria has largely disappeared from the Internet.” Hubbart notes that the two top-level domain servers for Syria (ns1.tld.sy and ns2.tld.s) were unreachable earlier today. Matthew Prince at Cloudflare published a video demonstrating just how the routes into and out of Syria’s Internet were withdrawn.

This is not the first time Syria has suffered an Internet shut down. In November 2012, Syria suffered a severe Internet black out.  And as the violence in the region has escalated, we’ve documented campaigns of targeted malware attacks against Syrian activists…

…Yet during this time the Internet has largely remained available. While heavily censored, monitored, and compromised, the Internet has served as an important window connecting the world at large to Syria, and one way that international observers could connect with individuals on the ground in that country. A number of activists on the ground in Syria have access to  Internet via satellite links, which can connect them to the Internet but carries a high risk for detection, which can be life threatening.

The Syrian government blames the blackout on “terrorists”, according to the BBC, but security experts and activists believe the regime shut down the Web to interfere with rebel communications, possibly in advance of an a major offensive.

Image: Google Transparency Report shows Syrian Internet blackout May 7, 2013, via the EFF.

This Day in History: The First Web Site shaneguiter: First ever website brought back to life at its original URL | The Verge FJP &#8212; Via The Verge: April 30th may seem as ordinary as any other date, but in 1993 it marked an important milestone in the development of global communications: it was on that day that the World Wide Web entered the public domain. CERN, the same research group that&#8217;s presently busy smashing protons together using the Large Hadron Collider, made World Wide Web technologies available to everyone on a royalty-free basis. Without that enlightened decision, backed by web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee, we might never have enjoyed the glories of GIFs, ubiquitous social networking, and instant music streaming.

This Day in History: The First Web Site

shaneguiter:

First ever website brought back to life at its original URL | The Verge

FJP — Via The Verge:

April 30th may seem as ordinary as any other date, but in 1993 it marked an important milestone in the development of global communications: it was on that day that the World Wide Web entered the public domain. CERN, the same research group that’s presently busy smashing protons together using the Large Hadron Collider, made World Wide Web technologies available to everyone on a royalty-free basis. Without that enlightened decision, backed by web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee, we might never have enjoyed the glories of GIFs, ubiquitous social networking, and instant music streaming.

When the Government Comes Knocking, Who Has Your Back?

Hat tip to Josh Stearns for making us aware of this 2012 report.

Via the Electronic Frontier Foundation:

When you use the Internet, you entrust your online conversations, thoughts, experiences, locations, photos, and more to companies like Google, AT&T and Facebook. But what happens when the government demands that these companies to hand over your private information? Will the company stand with you? Will it tell you that the government is looking for your data so that you can take steps to protect yourself?

The Electronic Frontier Foundation examined the policies of 18 major Internet companies — including email providers, ISPs, cloud storage providers, and social networking sites — to assess whether they publicly commit to standing with users when the government seeks access to user data. We looked at their terms of service, privacy policies, and published law enforcement guides, if any. We also examined their track record of fighting for user privacy in the courts and whether they’re members of the Digital Due Process coalition, which works to improve outdated communications law. Finally, we contacted each of the companies with our conclusions and gave them an opportunity to respond and provide us evidence of improved policies and practices. These categories are not the only ways that a company can stand up for users, of course, but they are important and publicly verifiable.

While some Internet companies have stepped up for users in particular situations, it’s time for all companies that hold private user data to make public commitments to defend their users against government overreach. The purpose of this report is to incentivize companies to be transparent about what data flows to the government and encourage them to take a stand for user privacy when it is possible to do so.

Read through for the report’s findings.

Only A Third of the World&#8217;s Population is Online Via Statista. Select to embiggen.

Only A Third of the World’s Population is Online

Via Statista. Select to embiggen.

The Web is your CV and social networks are your references.

The New Résumé: It’s 140 Characters  (via courtenaybird)

FJP: Exactly, and speaking of which, we have summer internships available.

The Wall Street Journal

The Bitcoin Bubble&#8217;s Bursting Earlier this month people began noticing that Bitcoin, the digital currency, was exploding in value. This isn&#8217;t the first time. As the Wall Street Journal explained back in 2011, Bitcoin at that time was the world&#8217;s fastest-gaining currency. They also provided a good explainer about how Bitcoin actually works: If returns like those seem otherworldly, perhaps its because Bitcoin is a world unto itself. To recap, it&#8217;s is a purely online currency with no intrinsic value; its worth is based solely on the willingness of holders and merchants to accept it in trade. In that respect, it&#8217;s not so different from fiat currencies like the dollar or Euro, but whereas governments back such money, Bitcoins lack central control. In another way, the appeal of the Bitcoin echoes the appeal of gold. Istead of a central bank, a computer algorithm dictates their supply. Today there are six million Bitcoins, a number that will grow at a steadily slowing rate until it approaches 21 million, but no more. As with gold, some see such limited supply as built-in protection against inflation that could result from runaway government budget deficits. Gold, of course, has been a store of value for thousands of years and has at least some industrial use, whereas Bitcoins are brand new and exist only on the Internet. Back when the WSJ wrote this article, a bitcoin was worth $30. Yesterday, it hit $250. Today, people are cashing in their chips and it&#8217;s tumbled (as of early this afternoon) back down to $190. But let&#8217;s get to some good Bitcoin reading. Here are items that have crossed my radar over the last few days: MIT Technology Review: Cryptocurrency — The bitcoin, a virtual medium of exchange, could be a real alternative to government-issued money—but only if it survives hoarding by speculators. James Surowiecki dips into the currency&#8217;s background and history. See also Joshua Davis&#8217; New Yorker article, The Crypto-Currency, about the mystery behind Bitcoin&#8217;s creator Satoshi Nakamoto… if there really is, or was, a Satoshi Nakamoto. Slate: Will Bitcoins Make Me Rich? — A dispatch from inside the digital currency bubble. Farhad Manjoo withdraws $1,027.51 to buy himself a couple of coins. Felix Salmon, The Bitcoin Bubble and the Future of Currency. Written just last week, Salmon notes that although the value of all bitcoins surged past $1 billion for the first time, it is/was a classic bubble, but still had &#8220;fascinating implications for anybody who cares about payments, or currencies, or trust.&#8221; Business Insider: There&#8217;s Someone Called &#8216;The Bitcoin Billionaire&#8217; Who&#8217;s Randomly Giving Out Thousands Of Dollars On Reddit. Quartz: Why Bitcoin “millionaires” could accidentally become tax felons. Hint: capital gains. Image: Screenshot, Real Time Bitcoin Market Data, by Clark Moody.

The Bitcoin Bubble’s Bursting

Earlier this month people began noticing that Bitcoin, the digital currency, was exploding in value. This isn’t the first time. As the Wall Street Journal explained back in 2011, Bitcoin at that time was the world’s fastest-gaining currency. They also provided a good explainer about how Bitcoin actually works:

If returns like those seem otherworldly, perhaps its because Bitcoin is a world unto itself. To recap, it’s is a purely online currency with no intrinsic value; its worth is based solely on the willingness of holders and merchants to accept it in trade. In that respect, it’s not so different from fiat currencies like the dollar or Euro, but whereas governments back such money, Bitcoins lack central control.

In another way, the appeal of the Bitcoin echoes the appeal of gold. Istead of a central bank, a computer algorithm dictates their supply. Today there are six million Bitcoins, a number that will grow at a steadily slowing rate until it approaches 21 million, but no more. As with gold, some see such limited supply as built-in protection against inflation that could result from runaway government budget deficits. Gold, of course, has been a store of value for thousands of years and has at least some industrial use, whereas Bitcoins are brand new and exist only on the Internet.

Back when the WSJ wrote this article, a bitcoin was worth $30. Yesterday, it hit $250.

Today, people are cashing in their chips and it’s tumbled (as of early this afternoon) back down to $190.

But let’s get to some good Bitcoin reading. Here are items that have crossed my radar over the last few days:

Image: Screenshot, Real Time Bitcoin Market Data, by Clark Moody.

On Your Posthumous Internet Life

Rumor has it that online presence is everything. The image of who you are on the Internet is who people assume you are in real life, and you get to own and craft that image yourself. But, what happens if you surrender that image to someone (or something) else, and how you’re represented is at the mercy of the executor? 

DeadSocial, _LivesOn, and IfIDie are services that post social media messages on your behalf after you croak — with post-options ranging from personally written notes to messages generated by algorithms based on your social media habits. You can even select a trusted executor, like a member of your family or a close friend, to monitor the posts.

But what happens if that executor is in fact a family member, and he or she dies? Does the permission to control your online personality go to some dude hunched over a computer in a cubicle at _LivesOn? And by the time that happens, will it be a hundred years in the future, after everyone you knew personally is dead, and there’s no chance of the person or algorithm responsible for your posthumous personality to accurately represent you?  Will the online-you eventually just become this character that’s been invented by Joe Shmoe? 

If you’re sitting there thinking, “No corporation will be allowed to use me like that. Cyber-me or real-me, I’m still a person, not property,” then consider the current Myriad Genetics case — where the Supreme Court is contemplating whether or not it will be okay to patent human genes.

Via The New York Review of Books:

Can genes be patented? This spring, the Supreme Court will hear a case that may well decide the question, and the consequences for American biomedicine could be huge. Over three years ago, in May 2009, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Public Patent Foundation (PPF) filed a lawsuit in the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York seeking to overturn the patents on DNA isolated from two human genes. Called BRCA1 and BRCA2, the genes significantly increase a woman’s risk of breast and ovarian cancer. The main defendant was the Myriad Genetics Corporation, a biotechnology firm in Utah that controls the patents—and is legally entitled for the life of the patent (now twenty years) to exclude all others from using these genes in breast cancer research, diagnostics, and treatment. Other defendants were the University of Utah Research Foundation, which had come to own the patents, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), which had granted them.

If courts are actually considering patenting genes, would it be so farfetched to assume that a company would want to patent our online presence if we gave them access to our social media accounts?

And if we did grant them this access, should we consider the option to patent our online brands so corporations can’t do whatever they want with those brands after we die? How long will these patents last? Is it inevitable that our social media selves will have no choice but to be cyber-enslaved?

Sure, when you’re dead, you’re dead, so why should your web presence matter to you if you’re not around? Because even though you’ll be gone, your legacy will live on, and future generations of your family will bear witness to its possible Internet-manifestation. How will you feel if some cubicle troll is making you out to be some Taylor-Swift-Loving-Protestant when you were really a Chris-Rock-Quoting-Porn-Freak? How will that affect your great-great-granddaughter when she realizes she’s always wanted to be a vulgar, black comedian? — Krissy

P.S. My sincerest apologies for any sudden deaths that this FJP post may have caused; my thoughts have been known to blow a mind. I hope you’ve gotten your posthumous personality in order. 
And this gets to the fundamental problem with Google Fiber: It’s totally awesome, and totally unnecessary. During my time in Kansas City, I spoke to several local businesspeople, aspiring startup founders, and a few city boosters. They were all thrilled that Google had come to town, and the few who’d gotten access to the Google pipe said they really loved it. But I couldn’t find a single person who’d found a way to use Google Fiber to anywhere near its potential—or even a half or quarter of what it can do. It was even difficult to find people who could fully utilize Google Fiber in their imaginations. As hard as people tried, few could even think up ways to do something truly amazing with the world’s fastest Internet.

Slate’s Farhad Manjoo in What Do You Do With the World’s Fastest Internet Service?

Background:

In March of 2010, Google announced its intention to build super-fast fiber-optic Internet service in “a small number of trial locations across the United States.” A year later, after receiving more than 1,000 applications from cities and towns across the country, Google chose Kansas City as its first location. Last November, Google began installing service in people’s homes. For $70 a month, the company offers Kansas City residents a 1-gigabit Internet line—the fastest home Internet service available anywhere in the world, about 150 times faster than the average American broadband speed of 6.7 Mbps. (You also get 1 terabyte of online storage as part of the deal, something Google normally sells for $50 a month.) For $120 a month, you get the 1-Gb line plus cable-like TV service, as well as a Nexus 7 tablet that you can use as your remote. There’s also a “free” plan: After you pay a $300 construction fee—which you can split into 12 payments of $25—Google will provide your home with a 5-Mbps Internet line for “at least seven years,” and probably indefinitely. (Legally, the company needed to provide an end date for service.)

Besides stream and download really fast, Manjoo can’t conceive much else to do with it and finds Google’s “do anything you want” answer singularly unhelpful. Thoughts?