A long-term trend in computing platform innovation is the appearance of a new class of platform every 15 years or so, that drastically reduces barriers and expands user base. We have seen this trend in computer’s 60-year history several times, with inventions like mainframe, personal computer (PC), Internet, and Web. To explore opportunities brought about by the new net infrastructure, we present a new computing paradigm called Personal Grid (PG). PG allows an individual user to own, control and use a personal server on the net, just as he owns 1a PC today. However, such a virtualized, net-centric server not only enables the user to utilize resources on the net, but also empower the user to contribute to the net and to share and collaborate with other users. We discuss the related emerging workloads and usage modes, the opportunity to lower barriers, the scientific and technical challenges, and research progress made by our Vega Grid Team.