In the News...The Internet—a Thing of the Past?
Cern, the organization that pioneered the Internet, has developed an updated Internet that will be 10,000 times faster than current broadband connections. Called "the grid," it will allow entire films to be downloaded in seconds, rather than hours and make possible video conferencing with holographic images. Currently used as a tool of scientific research, it is based on a grid of fiber-optic cables and powerful, updated servers allowing far greater computing than the existing Internet. The creators of the grid predict that it will also allow "cloud computing," where computer users will store all of their information and documents online rather than in the far smaller memory available on personal computers (Jonathan Leake, "Coming Soon: Superfast Internet," The Sunday Times, April 6, 2008).