Stanford researchers look to rebuild Internet

Sure, the Internet is just one notch down from the air we breathe on the list of things we can't do without these days, but Stanford University researchers say the 'Net could be a whole lot better.

''How should the Internet look in 15 years?'' asks team leader Nick McKeown, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science, in a statement. ''We should be able to answer that question by saying we created exactly what we need, not just that we patched some more holes, made some new tweaks or came up with some more work-arounds. Let's invent the car instead of giving the same horse better hay.'

Stanford researchers will present their ideas for a more secure and application-friendly network at an event called Clean Slate Design for the Internet at the school on March 21.