And if hedging your bets on a untested service has you wary of signing on the dotted line, the search giant's also arranged for prospective subs to demo its fiber optic wares at the appropriately dubbed Fiber Space.

ENGADGET: Google selects five additional Kansas City markets for Fiber rollout

Photoelectric cells and lasers, nuclear power and fiber optics, space travel, and even semiconductors all trace back to his theories.

NPR: Einstein: Relatively Speaking, a Complicated Life

They are the fingers and eyes and noses of the computer, bringing the world (be it a car crash, pressure in a fuel line, or light in a fiber-optic network) into the boxed, insular space that sits quietly on desktops.

FORBES: MicroMachines: They're Huge

To understand how onerous these rules are, consider the decision of Google, a recent entrant to the broadband space, not to offer voice service as part of its Google Fiber offering in Kansas City.

FORBES: It's Time to Modernize Communications Policy