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IBM Builds A Limited Quantum Computer

Posted by chrisd on from the soon-your-pgp-key-will-be-useless dept.

phr1 writes "IBM has announced and Yahoo has noted that the first working implementation of Shor's factoring algorithm. Using NMR techniques they built a seven-qubit quantum computer and factored the number 15 into the factors 3 and 5. This is by far the most complicated quantum computation ever done. It's quite an amazing feat--many people thought quantum computing was just a theoretical curiosity and Shor's algorithm could never be implemented in practice."

20 of 316 comments (clear)

  1. OS by geekoid · · Score: 3, Funny

    Now all I need to do is write a proprietary OS for it, and convince IBM to let me keep the rights!

    I'm thinking of calling my company "Quantumsoft"

    And my software would be able to slow the quantum computer to a crawl!

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    1. Re:OS by mj01nir · · Score: 2, Funny

      Now all I need to do is write a proprietary OS for it, and convince IBM to let me keep the rights!

      Write your own? Who the hell would do that? Just buy someone else's, slap your label on it, and then start bundling everything under the sun along with it.

      So you want 1,000 copies of the Quantumsoft Ion OS? OK, we'll give you a great deal if you also buy 1,000 copies of Quantumsoft Cubix office suite and 1,000 copies of Quantumsoft Visual Q++.

      --
      the no .sig .sig
  2. anyone got a patch... by merlyn · · Score: 3, Funny

    ... for GnuPG to have 100000 bit keys? Quickly?

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  3. but... by klocwerk · · Score: 1, Funny

    What kind of tea did they use????

    --

    "You worthless post!"
    -Shakespeare, 2 Gentlemen of Verona, 1. 1. 147
  4. IBM's largest computer ever by charon_on_acheron · · Score: 4, Funny

    From the Yahoo article:
    "Previously the largest computer IBM had built was based on five atoms."

    So what about the 2 ton behemoths everyone's been buying for years? ;-)

    1. Re:IBM's largest computer ever by Hank+Reardon · · Score: 5, Funny
      So what about the 2 ton behemoths everyone's been buying for years? ;-)
      Big fucking atoms...
      --
      There's so little difference between politics and jihad lately...
    2. Re:IBM's largest computer ever by iabervon · · Score: 3, Funny

      Those were based on only five atoms. The 2 tons were for the case, the power supply, the monitor, the fans, those sturdy IBM keyboards, the user manual, and so forth. But all of the really clever design was in those five atoms.

  5. Crud! by Pathos78 · · Score: 5, Funny

    And I thought my 4-bit key's were safe!
    Damn the relentless progress of computing!

  6. Nonsense! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Just send in Robert Redford and his team of lovable misfits to get the black box out of the answering machine!

  7. My boss says ... by benedict · · Score: 3, Funny

    ... "They should have asked me to do it. They could
    have saved a lot of money."

    --
    Ben "You have your mind on computers, it seems."
  8. Meow by KarmaBlackballed · · Score: 5, Funny

    If you put a cat inside this computer, will it die?

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    --- -- - -
    Give me LIBERTY, or give me a check.
    1. Re:Meow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

      Yes and no.

  9. Almost there! by Black+Parrot · · Score: 5, Funny


    7 Qbits already? That's great! No one should ever need more than 640 Qbits.

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  10. Time to call the DMCA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I based my personal encryption technology on mutiplying the two primes 3 and 5. Now that IBM has broken my encryption, I'm going to go Adobe on their asses!

  11. Downsides.... by dh003i · · Score: 1, Funny

    The downsides of the possible onset of quantum computers are:

    (1) Any government agent could crack your encryption...after all, a quantum computer could crack a fifteen thousand letter password in like two seconds. (of course, not for PGP, since it is based on unsolvable algaebraic formuli)

    (2) This means that programmers will take this as an excuse to write even sloppier code and put in even more unnecessary features that we don't want and don't need.

    --
    social sciences can never use experience to verify their statemen
  12. Old news by sharkey · · Score: 5, Funny

    7 qubits!?!? Sheesh, Noah's Ark was 300 qubits long, by 50 wide, by 30 high. And seven is supposed to be impressive thousands of years later?

    --

    --
    "Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
  13. that's not much of an upshot then... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
    ...since all NP-complete problems are currently possible to solve. You can solve any NP-complete problem on a deterministic computer, just not in polynomial time.

    More generally (and more interestingly), there is absolutely NOTHING that a quantum computer, or any mythical non-deterministic computer, can do that a deterministic one can't. DTM's are just a bit slow is all.

  14. Re:You Heard It Here First... by Traa · · Score: 4, Funny

    please tell us you heard some important dude at IBM claim this growth patern first....

    because I'm not looking forward to calling it cybrpnk's law

  15. Fool! by Jebediah21 · · Score: 3, Funny

    You should have used 5-bit keys like me.

    --

    Everytime you look at porn a devil gets their horns.
  16. Re:The End of Asymmetric Key Distribution by zCyl · · Score: 3, Funny

    I think that most current crypto algorithms are based on factoring primes

    When you factor your first prime, I recommend publishing the result...