[news] BBC News: Quantum computing is finally here...

[tmcd35]

sticky tape, fairy liquid in a blender...

 

I should click the links and read the articles, but...

 

...The though of putting sticky tape and fairy liquid into a blender at the same time, and switching it on....It's tooo good to be true

[sonofsanta]

I should click the links and read the articles, but...

 

...The though of putting sticky tape and fairy liquid into a blender at the same time, and switching it on....It's tooo good to be true

 

Two different techniques I'm afraid - the sticky tape method was what won the Nobel Prize, but can't be scaled up very effectively; fairy liquid in a blender is a more recent discovery that works better for producing larger sheets. At this rate, the next technique will be tying a pencil to a dishwasher arm and setting it to an intensive wash.

[ICTDirect_Dave]

Still none has answered the question about how a consumer version of a Quantum Computer could ever benefit your general user or even power users such as us for example... it won't unless Microsoft one day decide to bring our a Quantum processor only OS or something similar there would be no need and it would be overkill. It would be very rare you could find use of a QC at a personal user level.

Gaming could be a huge leap forward in the way the QC's can judge physics etc... it could be a revelation but for your general office work (which most computers are used for) they'd be no purpose.

 

I also disagree with your cloud comment, I certainly never store any information in the cloud I don't trust any other bugger with my important data and instead host my own cloud on a server at home, I don't think cloud storage is any good imo and I'm sure there are a lot of people that wouldn't want to store all info in the cloud like myself either!

I will eat my own hat if in the next years in my life time they sell a full functioning QC to personal users and price it competitively with standard machines today. If it ever comes out remember this time and I will happily upload a picture of me eating a hat until thenI don't ever think this could or will happen.

 

Not in our lifetime anyway...

 

It's hard to couch QCs in the same terms as classical computers as they're so damned different. Our current machines work on a logical basis of Yes/No a binary 0 or 1. But Qbits (quantum bits) have have three states, up/down/both or 0/1/0&1. It changes everything.

 

But in terms of everyday use, there's no need right now. But there will be eventually, as has been said, we're already pushing up to the limits of Moore's law, silicone chips will be history in a few decades, and Qcomputing has long been theorised as one of the solutions.

 

Cloud-wise, I think you're failing to look into the future. Just because you don't trust online storage and processing now, doesn't mean that your children won't. We use cloud computing for the most mental of tasks now already (think internet, emails, facebook, spotify, iplayer, dropbox, google docs, iCloud backups). The world is defnitely heading down the route of using remote storage and processing. You may choose not to be part of it, and I'm sure you'll be able to get by in your own tech bubble, but I think your kids, and mine will be immersed in global networks like never before.

[abillybob]

but I think your kids, and mine will be immersed in global networks like never before.

 

WHOA WHOA WHOA! I'm never having children.... too much effort and money

[tmcd35]

It's hard to couch QCs in the same terms as classical computers as they're so damned different. Our current machines work on a logical basis of Yes/No a binary 0 or 1. But Qbits (quantum bits) have have three states, up/down/both or 0/1/0&1. It changes everything.

 

The way I read it was they were using standard binary. They are only in the "both" state until you querie the result, at which point it chooses the right answer!?! I think the idea is to use the ambiguaty of the "both" state to run multiple calculations simultaneously thus making it faster than regular computers - kind of hyper-parallelisation?

[ICTDirect_Dave]

define fairly recently. They had a tablet like device with rounded corners in tng which is getting on for 30 ago

 

TNG is recent to me But I'd say that an iPad would do more than that tablet could. iPads are closer to tricorders (without the medical diagnosis part)

 

WHOA WHOA WHOA! I'm never having children.... too much effort and money

 

haha! Just an example. Someone else's kids then

 

The way I read it was they were using standard binary. They are only in the "both" state until you querie the result, at which point it chooses the right answer!?! I think the idea is to use the ambiguaty of the "both" state to run multiple calculations simultaneously thus making it faster than regular computers - kind of hyper-parallelisation?

 

Yeah that sums it up better than I did. The ability of Qbits to be in both up and down states simultaneously is they key to the whole thing. It's just keeping them entangled that we're finding tricky.