The meters CenterPoint is installing store billing information and upload it three times a day to nearby radio receivers that are connected to computers via broadband over power lines.

FORBES: Juicing the System

The network of amateur ham radio operators regularly spring into action during emergencies, such as hurricanes, when other lines of communication are cut.

FORBES: Magazine Article

While opening-day iPhone lines vary by location -- what passes as early enough at a Radio Shack in Nevada may not work for an Apple store in New York -- analysts generally say advance consumer demand for the iPhone 5 is outpacing previous models.

CNN: How to wait in an iPhone 5 line

"I'd learn the lines and say them, hopefully at the right time, " he told BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs.

BBC: Obituary: Richard Briers