Throw high-speed Internet, peer-to-peer networking and a couple of computers into a bowl, give it a good stir. Bake with standards, and a pinch of scientific ambition, and the result is a scrumptious cake of grid computing.

Grid computing, often simply referred to as “the grid” by those working on it, is seen by many as the next obvious step for the Internet. A relatively new concept, the grid describes a world of interconnected computers freely sharing resources such as storage and processing power in a seamless manner. The adage “the network is the computer” takes on a whole new meaning. Each desktop`s potential power is practically infinite. The cumulative clout of every machine connected to the Net is there for the taking.

The essence of the grid theorem is the possibility of collaboration. Once multiple machines are acting as a single unit, applications and information can be shared as if the users were sharing one computer. The combination of power and collaboration has captured the minds and hearts of the same folk who brought us the Internet – like the guys at CERN and the usual plethora of forward-thinking universities.