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Coming soon: superfast internet
TimesOnline ^ | 4/5/08 | Jonathan Leake

Posted on 04/05/2008 5:16:05 PM PDT by xtinct

THE internet could soon be made obsolete. The scientists who pioneered it have now built a lightning-fast replacement capable of downloading entire feature films within seconds.

At speeds about 10,000 times faster than a typical broadband connection, “the grid” will be able to send the entire Rolling Stones back catalogue from Britain to Japan in less than two seconds.

The latest spin-off from Cern, the particle physics centre that created the web, the grid could also provide the kind of power needed to transmit holographic images; allow instant online gaming with hundreds of thousands of players; and offer high-definition video telephony for the price of a local call.

David Britton, professor of physics at Glasgow University and a leading figure in the grid project, believes grid technologies could “revolutionise” society. “With this kind of computing power, future generations will have the ability to collaborate and communicate in ways older people like me cannot even imagine,” he said.

The power of the grid will become apparent this summer after what scientists at Cern have termed their “red button” day - the switching-on of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the new particle accelerator built to probe the origin of the universe. The grid will be activated at the same time to capture the data it generates.

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.

(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: hitech; internet; science; technology

1 posted on 04/05/2008 5:16:05 PM PDT by xtinct
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To: xtinct

Al Gore won’t be happy.

On a side note, I hope Sega makes a comeback. It would be great if they could capitalize on the ‘Internet II’, and offer games on a much larger scale than Sony or Microsoft can offer.

Along with that, it would be great if a a FReep AAR page loads in a second.


2 posted on 04/05/2008 5:19:28 PM PDT by wastedyears (The US Military is what goes Bump in the night.)
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To: xtinct

I have 54 Mbps. Is that good? (As you may realize, I’m not a techie)


3 posted on 04/05/2008 5:20:18 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (Knowledge for Battle!)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Its plenty for now, most websites will barely allow you to use a tenth of your internet speeds potential.


4 posted on 04/05/2008 5:28:22 PM PDT by aft_lizard (born conservative...I chose to be a republican)
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To: xtinct

But they still can’t make a machine that will dispense a cup of hot coffee that tastes good and half of it isn’t spilled over the edge.


5 posted on 04/05/2008 5:30:07 PM PDT by jwparkerjr (Sigh . . .)
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To: aft_lizard

I have that brand-new AT&T U-Verse set-up. http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=5838


6 posted on 04/05/2008 5:31:57 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (Knowledge for Battle!)
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To: xtinct
The grid will be activated


7 posted on 04/05/2008 5:35:48 PM PDT by visualops (artlife.us nature wallpapers)
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To: xtinct

38 kbps here. Plenty fast.


8 posted on 04/05/2008 5:37:46 PM PDT by RightWhale (Clam down! avoid ataque de nervosa)
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To: xtinct; Lil'freeper

As predicted by some sage individual....the end of TV as we know it.


9 posted on 04/05/2008 6:00:47 PM PDT by big'ol_freeper ("Preach the Gospel always, and when necessary use words". ~ St. Francis of Assisi)
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To: jwparkerjr
The guy on the right made the coffee....


10 posted on 04/05/2008 6:06:06 PM PDT by Lancey Howard
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To: xtinct
I still have 56k dino-dialup and it totally sux! I can't get highspeed where I'm at.

I have the need, the need for speed!! I hope this new grid gets me turbo charged.

11 posted on 04/05/2008 6:13:21 PM PDT by sirchtruth (No one has the RIGHT not to be offended...)
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To: visualops

Resistance is futile.

12 posted on 04/05/2008 6:23:58 PM PDT by Free Vulcan (Fight back or STFU!!!)
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To: xtinct

I’m gonna need a lot more DVD’s.


13 posted on 04/05/2008 7:55:59 PM PDT by Tainan (Talk is cheap. Silence is golden. All I got is brass...lotsa brass.)
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To: big'ol_freeper

.the end of TV as we know it.

I’m sixty four years of age and, no computer geek. I have been saying this for two years now, however, I had no idea we were this close to this new tech?


14 posted on 04/06/2008 6:13:16 AM PDT by buck61
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

So it’s Fiber almost to the home?

That would be some good bandwidth.


15 posted on 04/06/2008 11:44:56 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (No Burkas for my Grandaughters!)
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To: xtinct

...capable of downloading entire feature films within seconds... send the entire Rolling Stones back catalogue from Britain to Japan in less than two seconds...transmit holographic images; allow instant online gaming with hundreds of thousands of players; and offer high-definition video telephony for the price of a local call.

And allow cars to fly?


16 posted on 04/06/2008 10:43:02 PM PDT by Jeff Chandler (It takes a father to raise a child.)
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To: visualops

They were going to call it SkyNet but thought it might cause a problem.
I heard algore will get Pre-IPO shares because he did invent it.


17 posted on 04/07/2008 12:06:25 PM PDT by Holicheese (Hillary deserves the CMoH for her time in Tuzla!)
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