Beyond the Internet

The Internet is evolving, there's no doubt about that. We have Internet 2.0(and now 3.0), Wikis, picture perfect global maps, and numerous developments everyday. Despite all the progress, the future of the internet as we know it is up in the air, as companies battle over content control and argue over which rights should be granted and kept from users. The danger that free and equal use of the internet might be lost is imminent.

I find it ironic that by the time this perverted internet does manifest, it may already be obsolete. The entire Internet could soon be replaced by what is known simply as "The Grid".

The developers of the Internet have already begun networking supercomputers for the further posterity of virtual collaboration. The new network has been said to achieve "speeds about 10,000 times faster than a typical broadband connection(times online)." IBM's Brian Carpenter said of The Grid's future potential, "The Grid will open up ... storage and transaction power in the same way that the Web opened up content."

By installing a completely new infrastructure, they can avoid many problems the Internet has faced already. Still, this total switch will be difficult because of it's large scale. Group's of the world's elite scientists have been meeting to discuss issues of compatibility, security, accounting, and other important issues to consider before initiating the project to full tilt.

Douglas Heingartner explains potential uses:

"Other potential Grid components include creating a virtual observatory, and doctors performing simulations of blood flows. While some of these applications have existed for years, the Grid will make them routine rather than exceptional."

The future of the internet and the grid do share a common characteristic: uncertainty.