In debate

While some believe grid computing has the answers, others are more skeptical. What do you believe? What do you think of questions like those below?

"Isn't grid computing just an excuse for computer scientists to get more research grants?"

Is grid computing just a marketing ploy to convince funding agencies to give computer scientists more money? Perhaps some people think so. While this is a very extreme view, many ideas behind the ideal "Grid" may never be fulfilled by current grid technology; this tends to happen when a topic gets a lot of attention from the scientific community.

"Don't people work better face-to-face than virtually?"

Effective use of grid computing relies on effective human relationships, not just computers. Virtual organizations are a nice concept, but often the people in such organizations may find themselves in competition or in conflict. But let's not forget: this kind of office politics happens all the time in real organizations, so there is no reason to expect any exceptions in virtual organizations.

"What if we're barking up completely the wrong tree?"

You can't write a computer program that will remove "human error", but such errors are a very real concern. Human error can fatally wound emerging technologies. For example:

• Virtual Local Area Networks In the mid 90s, VLANS (Virtual Local Area Networks) were all the rage. The idea was to create a LAN for people working on a common project; however, it was practically impossible to manage information about who was in and who was out. VLANS today are no longer viewed as technology of the future.
   
• The OSI standard for internet communication  The OSI standard for internet communication was developed by ISO and backed by governments and big industry; however, it never really took off. People thought too much time was spent defining the standard and not enough time implementing it. Instead, TCP/IP - which was considered a poor man's standard for the Internet, but which worked and was used by scientists - basically took over. (Fortunately, implementation is top of mind for many working on creating grid standards, so this is unlikely to happen in grid computing).
   
• The "Linux effect" A real possibility for grid computing is the spontaneous evolution of a new standard developed by some super-geek working out of his apartment in Helsinki or Honolulu. Already, some researchers are "going it alone" and developing grid-like solutions that could seriously challenge more mainstream grid development.