One skeptical view is that grid computing will be just another Web service: the ability to share computer power will merge into the wider spectrum of all the other things computers can do.

"ISN'T GRID COMPUTING IS JUST AN EXCUSE FOR COMPUTER SCIENTISTS TO GET MORE RESEARCH GRANTS?"

A hyper-skeptical view is that grid computing is just a marketing ploy to get funding agencies to give computer scientists more money. While this is very extreme, grid computing does attract a lot of hype and many promises that may never be fulfilled by the technology; this tends to happen when a topic gets a lot of attention from the scientific community.

"CAN PEOPLE WORK WELL TOGETHER IN VIRTUAL ORGANIZATIONS?"

A more realistic concern is that effective grids rely 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. This kind of thing happens all the time in real organizations, so there is no reason to expect any exceptions in virtual organizations.

"WHAT ABOUT HUMAN ERROR?"

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.