This special issue, "VR and the Net," focuses on supercomputing-to-VR and VR-to-VR communications over high-speed networks, enabling researchers to investigate solutions to complex problems over distance. Specifically, some of the applications featured in the Global Information Infrastructure (GII) Testbed event at the ACM/IEEE Supercomputing '95 (SC'95) conference in San Diego in December 1995 are described. Tom DeFanti, as SC'95 Information Architect was responsible for all conference networking, audio/visual support, and the GII Testbed. Maxine Brown co-chaired the GII Testbed and Rick Stevens was chief architect of the experimental networking activities.