"> What if I want to use my webcam? They might make a Linux port of gtalk. I haven't looked at how google gears works, but enabling access to a webcam via gears would be sweet. > Or communicate with a Bluetooth device? I don't think you're going to have a web app need access to a device via bluetooth. However, given that Linux already has tons of support for this already Google doesn't need to reinvent too much of the wheel should they want to enable a netbook running their OS to sync with a cell phone (for example). However (in this example), the phone should be syncing to the cloud, at least in Google's mind. > Or copy files between USB drives? Sneakernet is very 80s. Store your files in the cloud and back them up in one or more locations you control. > Or interact with some other piece of extremely common hardware What hardware do you need access to from a web app that you don't already?" - Sam Levine