A super-fast, new global network’s controllers will turn it on sometime this year, but exactly when it will be available to you and me, in the same way the Internet we know is today… only time will tell.

As is practically always the case, the new technology driving the “Grid” network was borne out of need. The Times Online published an article discussing the new network:

“Cern, based near Geneva, started the grid computing project seven years ago when researchers realised the LHC would generate annual data equivalent to 56m CDs — enough to make a stack 40 miles high.

“This meant that scientists at Cern - where Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the Web in 1989 — would no longer be able to use his creation for fear of causing a global collapse.

“This is because the internet has evolved by linking together a hotchpotch of cables and routing equipment, much of which was originally designed for telephone calls and therefore lacks the capacity for high-speed data transmission.

“By contrast, the grid has been built with dedicated fibre optic cables and modern routing centres, meaning there are no outdated components to slow the deluge of data. The 55,000 servers already installed are expected to rise to 200,000 within the next two years.”

Imagine high-definition holographic video conferencing, or downloading movies and other massive pieces of data (well, massive by today’s standards anyhow) in a couple seconds or less. Even if the Grid network is never made available to the public and is used solely by researchers, the technologies that are created and used to drive it can be used in the public space to drive change for everyone.

Let’s just hope people seriously think about security this time around, during design rather than after the fact.

(One of several interesting links found via Warner Crocker.)