McNealy discusses the increasing demands for network computing and datacenter resources and the energy impact it is having.

---

In my role, I have the opportunity to spend a lot of time with people running companies of all shapes and sizes. Some of these companies offer things like phone service, while others aim to make the world's information available through the Internet. The CEOs and CIOs at these outfits, as you would expect, don't rattle easily.

But talk to them about the realities of the next two years and you'll hear the term "cautiously optimistic" a lot. Translation: I'm giddy with anticipation but there are lots of things that keep me up at night.

The good news: 350 million people are expected to come online in the next two years because the Internet is making it cheaper and easier to interact and share things — from pictures to textbooks — around the globe.

The bad news: 350 million people are expected to come online in the next two years in the face of skyrocketing energy costs.

These points come to a head in the data center, that not-so-miniature metropolis of server computers that process network transactions.