Your Own Personal Google

The Burning Man vibe was intentional. For Google I/O this year -- its annual developer conference, typically held in San Francisco's antiseptic Moscone convention center -- the company stayed in Mountain View, camping out at Shoreline Amphitheatre, a grassy concert hall just a short bike ride away from its headquarters. The keynote kicked off with a wink to the libertine festival. From control booths in the back of the theater, a woman in a leather vest and a man in a collarless blazer strummed a supersized string instrument made from cords that hung in the air high above the audience -- an Earth Harp that previously made an appearance in Black Rock City. Google parked a massive "art car" shaped like a ship and festooned with Burning Man bumper stickers in the middle of its sandbox playground for new software and hardware.