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Scientists Make Breakthrough With First Programmable Quantum Processor
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MaQ
11/18/09

In reply to Scientists Make Breakthrough With First Programmable Quantum Processor
Didn't quite understand how useful is it gonna be, the whole quantum thing, when you need a fortune teller to read the results.

Seams we are headed to the dark ages again. I'll keep all my P III processors, seams they can work fine for me.

^__^
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nutbastard
11/18/09

In reply to Scientists Make Breakthrough With First Programmable Quantum Processor
and yet, do you think this guy gets even close to all the poonanny he deserves? NO.

you'd think being a brilliant scientist on the cutting edge of quantum physics/computing that will likely usher in a new era of exponential crunching power that will save millions of lives through protein simulation and genetic analysis would get you some, but no. for that you need $500 sunglasses, a disposition of imposing, brutish ignorance, a german car, and huge lats. also, you have to dance and pluck your eyebrows.
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Newton's Law
11/18/09

@nutbastard: I'm not sure where you've been hanging out, but there are plenty of nerd-loving chicks in the Pacific Northwest. Thanks to Microsoft for that little culture shift.
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nutbastard
11/18/09

@Newton's Law:

careful, that works on a bell curve.

im in san jose, where not only is the population 6:4 men to women, every other guy here is an engineer like myself - though usually better paid and with a college degree.

if i moved to alabama they'd herald me as a god damn genius. here in the valley, im just slightly under par.
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Pope John Peeps II
11/18/09

In reply to Scientists Make Breakthrough With First Programmable Quantum Processor
That's nothing. I was telling Qberts what to do back in 1983.

NOW GET OFF MY LAWN.
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OCEntertainment
11/18/09

In reply to Scientists Make Breakthrough With First Programmable Quantum Processor
This time next year, there will be a Java JVM for it and the Linux community will have made drivers to connect their peripherals. The interface will be clumsy and clunky until Apple comes in and makes it look great. Microsoft/Google will make cheaper versions that are just as good but slightly less pretty. Then, in about ten years, when the tech just starts to become truly ubiquitous, Giz will write an article declaring the tech "dead", and ushering in the rise of the next new tech that only a few early adopters are using.

Analysts refer to this phenomenon as "the circle of tech".
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aikiwolfie
11/18/09

@OCEntertainment: Correction!

Apple will charge a kidney and a cornea for what is basically Linux.

Linux it's self will be compatible with more hardware only geeks use. But it will still get the best performance from the technology. Canonical will colour it all brown.

Microsoft will build a version that crashes constantly. Their EULA will also require your soul.

Google will re-brand the Linux version and use it to whore you to advertisers.
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MaQ
11/18/09

@OCEntertainment: So obvious, that you are right.

^__^
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Hello Mister Walrus
11/18/09

In reply to Scientists Make Breakthrough With First Programmable Quantum Processor
The guy in that photo is a post doc, so he probably gets paid like $40k/year. Way to reward scientific research, America!
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elementary
11/18/09

In reply to Scientists Make Breakthrough With First Programmable Quantum Processor
Is that picture really the quantumn processor? I mean really? With all the shock absorbers, pressure gauges, hydraulics, and dials and such, really?
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che-che
11/18/09

@elementary: havent you seen primer.
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Hello Mister Walrus
11/18/09

@elementary: Apparently, those are a bunch of lasers. Pew Pew!
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OW-Holmes:Bringer of Fear
11/18/09

@elementary: You've got to make it look sexy. When you think science you think pressure gauges, hydraulics and dials.

I am a little disappointed in the lack of giant switches.
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TheSonOfKrypton
11/10/09

In reply to The History of Computing Video Shows Why We Are Doomed
Wow. Awesome video. #trillions
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Digo
11/09/09

In reply to The History of Computing Video Shows Why We Are Doomed
These guys should deliver all bad news, they made it awesome.

So, you are about to die. People have been dying for thousands of years. Before people, others creatures were dying as well. To understand how many beings have died you first have to understand how many have lived... #trillions
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Gary_7vn
08/20/09

In reply to Giz Explains: Why Quantum Computing Is the Future (But a Distant One)
I can't wait for the iQuantum!
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clarketelecom
08/20/09

In reply to Giz Explains: Why Quantum Computing Is the Future (But a Distant One)
I hate when I get super strings all stuck up in my qubits. When they tie a knot it's like dividing by 0 in 25 dimensions.

Oh yeah, and Crysis freezes.
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FurySamurai72
08/20/09

@clarketelecom: crysis freezes?! NOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooo... *dies*
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TheWerewolf - Sotto voce
08/19/09

In reply to Giz Explains: Why Quantum Computing Is the Future (But a Distant One)
It should also be noted that not every kind of computational problem can be solved efficiently using quantum computers.

It's even been shown that for certain classes of problems, *emulating* quantum computing on a regular processor is faster.

As with most things - it's not an either/or situation, it's an also/and situation. Current technology (or some future analogy of it) will be with us for a LONG time.
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Edited by TheWerewolf - Sotto voce at 08/19/09 4:27 PM

XandraMuses
08/19/09

In reply to Giz Explains: Why Quantum Computing Is the Future (But a Distant One)
Quantum computers really aren't fundamentally much better at solving the problems your computer spends the vast majority of its time working on. Without getting into a discussion of computational complexity theory, where quantum computers really shine is in a class of problems called Nondeterministic Polynomial time (NP). Basically, these are problems where the only possible way to solve them in an ordinary computer is to check every possible answer one by one until you find one that fits.
Ordinary computers solve problems by breaking them down into tiny pieces and working on each piece one at a time. There is no problem they can't solve given enough time- bigger, harder problems just get turned into more pieces and take more time to finish.
Quantum computers, on the other hand, work best when you don't break down the problems. If you have a computer with enough qubits to describe the entire problem, then it can check every possible answer at the same time. This only works if the computer has enough qubits for the entire problem, but its a lot faster than trying each answer one-by-one.
For NP problems, this can mean the difference between being done in an instant versus waiting a few billion years. But for most problems, there are much better ways to solve them with ordinary computers, and quantum computers don't really offer a lot of advantage.
I expect when quantum computers start getting into the hundreds of reliable qubits, the government will take up an intense interest in the research and keeping it away from everybody else. Many billions will be spent so that the NSA can easily break everybody's codes, and nobody else can. Codebreaking is really the only obvious application for quantum computers under 100K qubits. After that breaks down and we get into the millions of qubits, certain major corporations will start getting one or two- Google for search algorithms, UPS for route planning (no, really), etc. Maybe someday (not in the next 25 years) we'll see them as secondary processors (a QPU?). I doubt if they will ever primary means of computation, though. For non-NP problems, they're just not worth the trouble.
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anexanhume
08/19/09

@XandraMuses: Nicely explained, as NP problems are everywhere. For those who don't understand, NP problems are ones that can't be described by a polynomial time relation, such as x^2 + 3x + 1. They deal more with permutations and combinations. For example, say you have to assign 300 students to 300 lockers with stipulating conditions such as certain students can't be by each other, some must be in a certain number range, etc. The only way computers can solve these is by guessing and checking, there's no efficient way to do it, and moreover, guaranteeing an optimal solution is even worse.
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OMG! Ponies!
08/19/09

In reply to Giz Explains: Why Quantum Computing Is the Future (But a Distant One)

My cats are wondering why quantum physics is so predisposed to locking felines in boxes with uranium atoms and poison gas.
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kinda.loopy88
08/19/09

@OMG! Ponies!: Yo can Blame shrodinger, and his cat for that one...

i wonder if his cat survived, who could stand the curiosity of not knowing if his cat was alive or dead...
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nonpareil
08/19/09

In reply to Giz Explains: Why Quantum Computing Is the Future (But a Distant One)
What about photonic computing? Much easier, faster, and within reach TODAY.
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Durrr
08/19/09

In reply to Giz Explains: Why Quantum Computing Is the Future (But a Distant One)
I was into quantum computing before it was cool.
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Greg Lloyd
08/19/09

@Durrr: Correction: You were into quantum computing before, during, and after it was cool - all at the same time.
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