Grid promises to take cyberworld to next level – by Robert S. Boyd -- correspondent Knight Ridder Tribunr News – Washington – First came the Internet in the late 1960s, electronically linking computers around the world. The 90s brought the World Wide Web, making it possible to exchange words, pictures, music, videos and information of every sort. Now comes the Grid, a third wave in the evolution of the cyberworld that promises to give users access to unprecedented computing power, services and data no matter where they are located. Ultimately, supporters say, the Grid will be like having a super computer at your fingertips . Astronomers in Massachussetts and California share the same telescope in Hawaii without leaving their offices. A travel agent could give customers a live video tour of a resort in Cancun so they can watch sunbathers frolic on the beach in real time . “Consumers are about to be touched, influenced and benefited by grid computing in ways they can’t even imagine,’ said Thomas Hawk, manager of grid computing for IBM in Somers, N.Y. “Advances in medicine, improvements in homeland defense, more advanced video games are right around the corner.” Grid computing will “put us into a new realm – a new way of doing science,” said Daniel Atkins, chairman of a National Science Foundation committee that’s pressing for a drastic enhancement of the nation’s “cyberinfrastructure,” to help the Grid grow. Cyberinfrastructure is a clunky term for the vast assemblage of computers, networks, databanks and tools that support the information age. The Grid is more than just physical infrastructure – computers, storage devices and the networks connecting them the way roads, pipelines and powerlines connect cities. Grid computing also requires highly sophisticated software programs that enable a user at point A to draw on the computational resources located at points B, C, D and so forth. The Internet lets computers talk together – grid computing lets computers work together.” Hawk said. The Grid will be “ the next level of cyberinfrastructure,” Atkins said. “It includes all the resources you need – data, digital libraries, online instruments, collaborative tools and so on. It’s the total set of stuff you need to do whatever you do – a way to pull these all together into a comprehensive environment.” Aperson sitting at his or her home PC is not likely to use grid computing directly. The benefits will come indirectly, through better, faster and possibly cheaper services from organizations, both public and private, that are linked to the Grid. Hawk suggested five industries where grid computing will have an early impact: 1. Financial services, such as iinvestment risk analysis; 2. Medicine, for cancer research and new drug discovery; 3. Energy, for oil exploration; 4. Manufacturing, for complex mechanical design; 5. Entertainment, for the creation of artful digital characters. Scattered pieces of the Grid already are in operation. The Department of Energy has a Science Grid connecting its farflung laboratories. NASA operates its own Information Power Grid. The National Science Foundation is constructing the TeraGrid to link major U.S. computing centers. Europr and Japan are building their versions of the Grid, which in some cases will be more advanced than the United States’ own. NOTE: What’s an Exabyte? Your desktop PC deals with megabytes(million of bytes) and gigabytes (billions of bytes) of data. But scientists and engineers need machines that can handle terabytes, petabytes and soon exabytes of data. Here’s what those fancy terms mean: Terabyte(a thousand gigabytes or 1 trillion bytes): One terabyte would hold all the words printed on paper from 50,000 trees. Ten terabytes would store the entire collection of the Library of Concgress, the world’s largest library. Petabyte (a million gigabytes): One petabyte would contain three years of data collected by NASA’s Earth Observation System. Eight petabytes equal all the information on the World Wide Web. Exabyte (a billion gigabytes): Two exabytes match the total volume of information generated worldwide in a year. Five exabytes would list all the words ever spoken by human beings.