So-called "dead drops"--ninja-installed, offline file storage for uploading and downloading–--are showing up in at least one major city in the US. While this could go national--global, even--without much of a hitch, I think the main article's right in that there are two big barriers to this kind of "service" being reliable: the first being black hats who’d upload virii to the drives just for kicks, and the second being electronics exposed to weather.
Still. Think of the possibilities. Tap a panel in a library and have it recess and expose the data port. Coffeehouses with USBs glued at the base to the bottoms of counters. And why not make this semi-mobile, too? Work in letterboxing to the drop system, make them more 'treasure hunt' oriented, give people good, solid reasons--beyond simply eyes-free uploads and downloads--to maintain them and maintain access to them.
Fascinating idea, however it goes.
