Umwelt "requires you to be empathetic with technology," Geiger said. "You put yourself in someone's or something's place by just thinking of what kind of sensory inputs and outputs they have."

Geiger is not the first to substitute an unusual technology at the base of a networking stack. In 2001, the Bergen Linux User Group used homing pigeons to network two computers located three miles apart. Another group used bongo drums to beat out a rhythm of 1's and 0's. And like these other whimsical approaches, IPoXP shows off the strengths of the Internet's design.

"I don't think I realized how robust and modular the OSI model is," Geiger said. "The Internet was designed for much more primitive technologies, but we haven't been able to improve on it, because it is such a brilliant model."

The IDG News Service