When we talk about grid computing, we often talk about bringing computing power to those who need it at a price point they can afford. Nevermind that sharing large data files produced from this computing power still requires wires and often long ones. What if such data sharing could be handled wirelessly? With so much focus on optical networking research, the efforts of the wireless crowd sometimes tend be overlooked. We may be years away from achieving ubiquitous ultra hi-speed, low latency networking using wireless technology, but recent reports make it clear that progress is being made within the mobile telecom/IT industry.

After initial tests in Israel, high speed downlink packet acess (HSDPA), a wireless broadband technology, has just been demonstrated in Japan at the Networld+Interop 2005 in Tokyo. Achieving throughput rates of 14.4 Mbps, which is fast enough for streaming DVD quality video, the demonstration greatly exceeded current commercial-grade wireless capacity. While paltry compared to current wired networks, NASA regularly tests network capabilities, which reveal that

end–to-end file transport from major scientific data repositories to end users laboratories across the shared internet is…typically 50-100 mbps (see the Introduction of the May issue of CTWatch Quarterly)

Technology News Daily has a piece about the Japan demonstration.

Widespread talk of the Semantic Grid seems to have cooled over the last couple of years. However, it is still under active development and moving along nicely. The formal effort began in 2001 as part of the e-Science program in the UK to reach a goal of semantic interoperability with an infrastructure

where all resources, including services, are adequately described in a form that is machine-processable….the Semantic Grid is an extension of the current Grid in which information and services are given well-defined meaning, better enabling computers and people to work in cooperation (from the Semantic Grid website).

Development seems to be gaining considerable speed as a greater number of research initiatives related to grid computing are underway. A good primer on the Semantic Grid effort can be found in this presentation (13 MB) given in Amsterdam in April by Dr. David De Roure, one of the lead researchers. Supercomputing Online also has a short piece about the effort.

Grids take center stage during the Global Grid Challenge according to PhysOrg.com and reported by Slashdot. Successfully transmitting 500 terabytes of data over a 10 day period, a team of eight major computer centers from the US and Europe joined together to form a global computing infrastructure. The purpose of the Challenge tests is to prepare for the massive amounts of data to be generated and shared via the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN due to come online in 2007. Once in operation, the LHC is supposed to produce 1500 MB of data every second for a decade.

The collaborative success demonstrated by this particular service challenge is a seminal issue for the broader impacts of global cyberinfrastructure. The ability to quickly perform massive calculations is only one part of the big picture. Moving large chunks of data around the globe in a timely manner opens new doors of opportunity.

If you’ve heard of Internet2 and wondered what it is but never bothered to check, Forbes.com has published a nice introductory arcticle about it. This advanced Internet initiative serves as a prime testbed for institutions and organizations researching next generation Internet technologies and infrastructure components. Similar in some ways to the government’s Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative from several years ago, Internet2 is a growing consortium of university, government, and commercial entities.

Neil Gershenfeld–director of MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms–will be presenting “From the Library of Information to the Library of Things” on Monday, March 28, as part of the Library of Congress’ “Managing Knowledge and Creativity in a Digital Context” lecture series. Check out his article on the Internet of things in the October 2004 issue of Scientific American. Or stick it to the man and just read a draft of the article from Gershenfeld’s research team’s website.

The lecture will be on C-SPAN (”Television for that other kind of geek”) at 6:30 Eastern. It and other lectures in the series are also available via webcast.

Grid-scape.org was recently launched in Poland as a source for grid computing information. Touting their site as a portal and

to create a home for every grid-oriented geek. Place where he or she can share his or her opinions on any grid-related topic and freely discuss with others.

It includes a blog similar to CTWatch. The site is obviously still in its infancy but as it grows it might serve as a nice stopping-off point for those interested in grid-related information from a European perspective.

The site is sponsored by Gridwise Technologies, which lists The Globus Alliance as one of several partners.