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University and college computer network planners and administrators met in Jul 1997 to discuss the network applications that should be developed for the planned Internet upgrade known as Internet 2. Important applications will probably include those that facilitate communication between researchers by transmitting video and audio data instantaneously between desktops. Applications enabling the remote control of complex instruments via the network are being developed. Virtual reality applications that allow widely separated researchers to share a virtual workspace are also being planned.

Many people in government, academe, business and the media are confused about the differing names of three interrelated programs to develop the next generation of the Internet. The US National Science Foundation's Very High Speed Backbone Network Service (VBNS) is the government's project to upgrade the current Internet's backbone network. Internet 2 is a cooperative university project that will use VBNS, but improve on it by upgrading campus networks and developing new software. The Next Generation Internet is a government plan to spend $100 million annually for 3 years to fund advanced networking projects.

For computer scientist Ken Kennedy, the search for high-end performance never ends. As director of the Center for Research in Parallel Computation at Rice University, one of the National Science [...]

The Education Network Australia (EdNA), an initiative of Australia's Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET), will link the country's educational and training organizations and give them access to global resources. EdNA's first phase will involve the development of an educational services directory and an electronic messaging system. DEET has formed the Open Learning Technology Corp to investigate and promote telecommunications technology and other open-learning methods.

The Computer Systems Policy Project urged Pres Bill Clinton to establish a system of information networks similar to the interstate highway system. The group asked that a US-wide 'National Information Infrastructure' be set up within the next 20 years. The proposed system should extend beyond the National Research and Education Network that isbeing put up for academics and scientists. The planned networks would transmit text, video and audio to businesses, factories, schools and households.

In her presentation Jane Ryland reviewed the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) and the National Research and Education Network (NREN), 'two of the most exciting initiatives (she has) been involved […]