A Report From the Internet2 “Sociotechnical Summit”

Abstract

After viewing demonstrations at the Internet2 “Sociotechnical Summit,” the author observes that the range in capability and infrastructure between that of advanced developers and that of beginning users is widening and that in production environments there are inevitably constraints not found in the laboratory, where these applications work so well. These constraints are not just a matter of the “real world” failing to catch up with the laboratory in terms of bandwidth and technical skills; rather, these constraints are inherent in the nature of the processes of production in a complex, diverse world.