Some fiction exploring this idea (and more): * Manna, by Marshall Brain, http://marshallbrain.com/manna1.htm http://marshallbrain.com/manna1.htm * Accelerando

Some fiction exploring this idea (and more): * Manna, by Marshall Brain, http://marshallbrain.com/manna1.htm http://marshallbrain.com/manna1.htm * Accelerando, by Charles Stross (goes way farther than Slate.com will ever go), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accelerando_%28novel%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accelerando_%28novel%29 --- note that you can download the full text for free (licensed CC-BY-NC-ND).