Google does Sneakernet

The BBC are reporting that Google have reinvented sneakernet to move terabytes of data between groups of researchers. Rather using fast networks or datagrid technology, they have a project shipping Hard Drives back and forth to move large academic datasets. As the old saying goes:

Never underestimate the bandwidth of a truck full of tapes hurtling down the highway.

Interestingly, it was a Humanities imaging project that started Google's interest in the idea. Oh and by the way, they keep a copy of the data for themselves while they're busy distributing it.