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Firstly, I should assure you that the following article is entirely serious. I may have gained a reputation for writing consistently ridiculous pieces on these forums, but this is a genuine attempt to discuss an extremely interesting (and quite complex) concept... so please don't chuff through it all expecting a punch-line at the end, you'll only be disappointed!
I recentley received a magazine (called Edit) from Edinburgh Uni, which I left last year. It was crammed full of the usual irrelevancies and random comments, but amongst the dross, there was a news feature about a new University department being created. This new department is to pioneer what is essentially a better version of the internet, summarised in the following quote:
"Scientists around the world are setting out to create a new information technology, which may change the way we live our lives much more profoundly than the world-wide web. Everyday devices wil be able to use information as freely as electricity, and we will be able to access information as easily as drawing power from a socket. This technology will be known as the Grid, after the power grid, because the information it uses will become a utility.
The Grid will be a secure and flexible infrastructure for sharing geographically-distributed computers, storage, data and software amongst dynamic groups of individuals. Think of it as the 'web on steroids', and think of it being available anywhere, even when you are on the move."
(Professor Richard Kenway, Chairman of the National E-Science Centre)
Having read through the intricacies of the full article, I can assure you that the Grid is a fairly long way off. Not least because its very concept is difficult to grasp, plus the Grid is based on some REALLY complicated scientific theory... I'll try and put across the basic idea e.g:
When you use an Internet Search Engine like Google or Alta Vista, the results provided are calculated 'in real time'... it cross checks your key words and then churns out the matching data. But imagine the answer to those particular criteria had already been calculated and was stored on an instantly accessible database. In other words, the computer can give you the answer before you've even thought of the question. Then imagine that you didn't need to connect to the internet at all, no wait for pages to download and no wait to upload your input. Stuff broadband and ADSL, the only speed limit on the Grid will be determined by your processor power.
That, my friends, is the general idea behind the Grid.
Don't get too excited though, the Grid is still in its conceptual stage: but it is expected to be in actual development by 2006. It's also just the kind of thing that will attract ALOT of investment once the plans are finalised, so it may be here sooner than you think.
GAMING ON THE GRID
... ah, the interesting bit...
It's going to be a while before gamers get their grubby paws on the Grid, but when we do, it's going to be absolutely amazing. Here's a few possible implications:
1)You'll be able to play multi-player games with every other user as if you were all networked onto one big hub... and you'll never be randomly disconnected seconds before you win!
2)You'll be able to play full version games on the Grid without even owning a copy. You wouldn't need a disc and you wouldn't need to download anything. The whole game would be there waiting for you as soon as you connect.
3)If games developers DID want you to 'download' a copy of the game, it would be instant. Obviously that can only happen once the Grid is in full operation and with enough users. But it could spell trouble for traditional games retailers!
4)Games that were developed on the Grid could be continously developed... they could make a game that never ends... Because you wouldn't need to 'own' a copy, the actual computing behind your favourite games need never be finalised.
PS Once the Grid is in development, it is intended to seamlessly integrate into existing internet-systems. Rather than completely replacing the World-Wide Web, the Grid is going to build onto it, so hopefully there won't be too much techno-garble to get to grips with when it finally arrives.
So, there you have it: the future of gaming. I have no doubt that the Grid will play a massive part in determining games' futures, possibly revolutionising them completely. I just hope that I'm still into video-games by the time it's all finally worked out!
I recentley received a magazine (called Edit) from Edinburgh Uni, which I left last year. It was crammed full of the usual irrelevancies and random comments, but amongst the dross, there was a news feature about a new University department being created. This new department is to pioneer what is essentially a better version of the internet, summarised in the following quote:
"Scientists around the world are setting out to create a new information technology, which may change the way we live our lives much more profoundly than the world-wide web. Everyday devices wil be able to use information as freely as electricity, and we will be able to access information as easily as drawing power from a socket. This technology will be known as the Grid, after the power grid, because the information it uses will become a utility.
The Grid will be a secure and flexible infrastructure for sharing geographically-distributed computers, storage, data and software amongst dynamic groups of individuals. Think of it as the 'web on steroids', and think of it being available anywhere, even when you are on the move."
(Professor Richard Kenway, Chairman of the National E-Science Centre)
Having read through the intricacies of the full article, I can assure you that the Grid is a fairly long way off. Not least because its very concept is difficult to grasp, plus the Grid is based on some REALLY complicated scientific theory... I'll try and put across the basic idea e.g:
When you use an Internet Search Engine like Google or Alta Vista, the results provided are calculated 'in real time'... it cross checks your key words and then churns out the matching data. But imagine the answer to those particular criteria had already been calculated and was stored on an instantly accessible database. In other words, the computer can give you the answer before you've even thought of the question. Then imagine that you didn't need to connect to the internet at all, no wait for pages to download and no wait to upload your input. Stuff broadband and ADSL, the only speed limit on the Grid will be determined by your processor power.
That, my friends, is the general idea behind the Grid.
Don't get too excited though, the Grid is still in its conceptual stage: but it is expected to be in actual development by 2006. It's also just the kind of thing that will attract ALOT of investment once the plans are finalised, so it may be here sooner than you think.
GAMING ON THE GRID
... ah, the interesting bit...
It's going to be a while before gamers get their grubby paws on the Grid, but when we do, it's going to be absolutely amazing. Here's a few possible implications:
1)You'll be able to play multi-player games with every other user as if you were all networked onto one big hub... and you'll never be randomly disconnected seconds before you win!
2)You'll be able to play full version games on the Grid without even owning a copy. You wouldn't need a disc and you wouldn't need to download anything. The whole game would be there waiting for you as soon as you connect.
3)If games developers DID want you to 'download' a copy of the game, it would be instant. Obviously that can only happen once the Grid is in full operation and with enough users. But it could spell trouble for traditional games retailers!
4)Games that were developed on the Grid could be continously developed... they could make a game that never ends... Because you wouldn't need to 'own' a copy, the actual computing behind your favourite games need never be finalised.
PS Once the Grid is in development, it is intended to seamlessly integrate into existing internet-systems. Rather than completely replacing the World-Wide Web, the Grid is going to build onto it, so hopefully there won't be too much techno-garble to get to grips with when it finally arrives.
So, there you have it: the future of gaming. I have no doubt that the Grid will play a massive part in determining games' futures, possibly revolutionising them completely. I just hope that I'm still into video-games by the time it's all finally worked out!
Firstly, I should assure you that the following article is entirely serious. I may have gained a reputation for writing consistently ridiculous pieces on these forums, but this is a genuine attempt to discuss an extremely interesting (and quite complex) concept... so please don't chuff through it all expecting a punch-line at the end, you'll only be disappointed!
I recentley received a magazine (called Edit) from Edinburgh Uni, which I left last year. It was crammed full of the usual irrelevancies and random comments, but amongst the dross, there was a news feature about a new University department being created. This new department is to pioneer what is essentially a better version of the internet, summarised in the following quote:
"Scientists around the world are setting out to create a new information technology, which may change the way we live our lives much more profoundly than the world-wide web. Everyday devices wil be able to use information as freely as electricity, and we will be able to access information as easily as drawing power from a socket. This technology will be known as the Grid, after the power grid, because the information it uses will become a utility.
The Grid will be a secure and flexible infrastructure for sharing geographically-distributed computers, storage, data and software amongst dynamic groups of individuals. Think of it as the 'web on steroids', and think of it being available anywhere, even when you are on the move."
(Professor Richard Kenway, Chairman of the National E-Science Centre)
Having read through the intricacies of the full article, I can assure you that the Grid is a fairly long way off. Not least because its very concept is difficult to grasp, plus the Grid is based on some REALLY complicated scientific theory... I'll try and put across the basic idea e.g:
When you use an Internet Search Engine like Google or Alta Vista, the results provided are calculated 'in real time'... it cross checks your key words and then churns out the matching data. But imagine the answer to those particular criteria had already been calculated and was stored on an instantly accessible database. In other words, the computer can give you the answer before you've even thought of the question. Then imagine that you didn't need to connect to the internet at all, no wait for pages to download and no wait to upload your input. Stuff broadband and ADSL, the only speed limit on the Grid will be determined by your processor power.
That, my friends, is the general idea behind the Grid.
Don't get too excited though, the Grid is still in its conceptual stage: but it is expected to be in actual development by 2006. It's also just the kind of thing that will attract ALOT of investment once the plans are finalised, so it may be here sooner than you think.
GAMING ON THE GRID
... ah, the interesting bit...
It's going to be a while before gamers get their grubby paws on the Grid, but when we do, it's going to be absolutely amazing. Here's a few possible implications:
1)You'll be able to play multi-player games with every other user as if you were all networked onto one big hub... and you'll never be randomly disconnected seconds before you win!
2)You'll be able to play full version games on the Grid without even owning a copy. You wouldn't need a disc and you wouldn't need to download anything. The whole game would be there waiting for you as soon as you connect.
3)If games developers DID want you to 'download' a copy of the game, it would be instant. Obviously that can only happen once the Grid is in full operation and with enough users. But it could spell trouble for traditional games retailers!
4)Games that were developed on the Grid could be continously developed... they could make a game that never ends... Because you wouldn't need to 'own' a copy, the actual computing behind your favourite games need never be finalised.
PS Once the Grid is in development, it is intended to seamlessly integrate into existing internet-systems. Rather than completely replacing the World-Wide Web, the Grid is going to build onto it, so hopefully there won't be too much techno-garble to get to grips with when it finally arrives.
So, there you have it: the future of gaming. I have no doubt that the Grid will play a massive part in determining games' futures, possibly revolutionising them completely. I just hope that I'm still into video-games by the time it's all finally worked out!
I recentley received a magazine (called Edit) from Edinburgh Uni, which I left last year. It was crammed full of the usual irrelevancies and random comments, but amongst the dross, there was a news feature about a new University department being created. This new department is to pioneer what is essentially a better version of the internet, summarised in the following quote:
"Scientists around the world are setting out to create a new information technology, which may change the way we live our lives much more profoundly than the world-wide web. Everyday devices wil be able to use information as freely as electricity, and we will be able to access information as easily as drawing power from a socket. This technology will be known as the Grid, after the power grid, because the information it uses will become a utility.
The Grid will be a secure and flexible infrastructure for sharing geographically-distributed computers, storage, data and software amongst dynamic groups of individuals. Think of it as the 'web on steroids', and think of it being available anywhere, even when you are on the move."
(Professor Richard Kenway, Chairman of the National E-Science Centre)
Having read through the intricacies of the full article, I can assure you that the Grid is a fairly long way off. Not least because its very concept is difficult to grasp, plus the Grid is based on some REALLY complicated scientific theory... I'll try and put across the basic idea e.g:
When you use an Internet Search Engine like Google or Alta Vista, the results provided are calculated 'in real time'... it cross checks your key words and then churns out the matching data. But imagine the answer to those particular criteria had already been calculated and was stored on an instantly accessible database. In other words, the computer can give you the answer before you've even thought of the question. Then imagine that you didn't need to connect to the internet at all, no wait for pages to download and no wait to upload your input. Stuff broadband and ADSL, the only speed limit on the Grid will be determined by your processor power.
That, my friends, is the general idea behind the Grid.
Don't get too excited though, the Grid is still in its conceptual stage: but it is expected to be in actual development by 2006. It's also just the kind of thing that will attract ALOT of investment once the plans are finalised, so it may be here sooner than you think.
GAMING ON THE GRID
... ah, the interesting bit...
It's going to be a while before gamers get their grubby paws on the Grid, but when we do, it's going to be absolutely amazing. Here's a few possible implications:
1)You'll be able to play multi-player games with every other user as if you were all networked onto one big hub... and you'll never be randomly disconnected seconds before you win!
2)You'll be able to play full version games on the Grid without even owning a copy. You wouldn't need a disc and you wouldn't need to download anything. The whole game would be there waiting for you as soon as you connect.
3)If games developers DID want you to 'download' a copy of the game, it would be instant. Obviously that can only happen once the Grid is in full operation and with enough users. But it could spell trouble for traditional games retailers!
4)Games that were developed on the Grid could be continously developed... they could make a game that never ends... Because you wouldn't need to 'own' a copy, the actual computing behind your favourite games need never be finalised.
PS Once the Grid is in development, it is intended to seamlessly integrate into existing internet-systems. Rather than completely replacing the World-Wide Web, the Grid is going to build onto it, so hopefully there won't be too much techno-garble to get to grips with when it finally arrives.
So, there you have it: the future of gaming. I have no doubt that the Grid will play a massive part in determining games' futures, possibly revolutionising them completely. I just hope that I'm still into video-games by the time it's all finally worked out!
No-one replied?!
Blimey, it's probably because it was a serious post, about something real.
Anyway, good post, well done for the GAD...someone ought to say it!
Blimey, it's probably because it was a serious post, about something real.
Anyway, good post, well done for the GAD...someone ought to say it!
Quality post mate, and well deserved GAD - you're making a habit out of this, aren't you?
:D
:D
Cheers folks... it's always nice to know someone read it... especially when that includes the GAD-man!
May you all be blessed with the first free user-trials of Grid technology.
: )
May you all be blessed with the first free user-trials of Grid technology.
: )