The DataGrid Project might not be on your mind, but the implications of this project will affect anyone who uses a computer.

Why Data Matters More Than You Think

While you might not consider yourself a computer nerd (even when others do), you might want to think about the way you use a computer in your life today. From email to photos, chats to social media, you are using a computer to transport data from one place to another. It happens like magic, except for when the network is down. And though you might not quite understand how everything is connected, the understanding that everything is connected helps you understand what might happen if this system wasn’t in place.

Cause for More Connections

Though you might hate your Blackberry or your iPhone for buzzing you with yet another email message, those messages are actually more important than you realize. Just the sheer fact they can get to you is cause for celebration. But this isn’t enough for those who want to see just how far the Internet can take us. When you’re trying to find the cure for cancer, for example, you want to be able to reach out to others in the world as well who are working on the same problem. Without a larger communications network and infrastructure, you won’t be able to connect with the person who might have the answer to the problem you haven’t been able to solve…yet. (You totally would have if you’d just had more time. And coffee.)

The DataGrid Project

Though you might be thinking your communication infrastructure idea is your chance to strike it rich, sorry, but someone else has already thought of it. The DataGrid project has actually been funded already in Europe, yet another reason to move to the other side of the ocean, isn’t it? The HEPCCC Grid Initiative has some longer meaning, but in essence, its goal is merely to create a structure of connections which allow everyone from the everyday person to the nerdy scientist to connect on the network.

It sounds easy, doesn’t it? After all, phones work pretty well, so sending data should be a snap. Not so much. When you are sending data, it can come in a variety of different structures and formats. What this means is that the cables which are attempting to bring information from one side of the world to the next need to be able to transmit that information quickly. This isn’t dialup, after all. The cure for cancer can’t wait for the data to go through. By the time slower data is able to be transmitted, those researchers will be moving on to a new cure or a new disease.

With the help of those involved in the DataGrid project, it seems that there will be a larger network to ensure everyone can connect when they want to. Sort of like Facebook, but smarter. Much smarter.