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D-Wave Announces Commercially Available Quantum Computer
New submitter peetm writes "Computing company D-Wave has announced they're selling a quantum computing system commercially, which they're calling the D-Wave One. The D-Wave system comes equipped with a 128-qubit processor designed to perform discrete optimization operations. A qubit is the basic unit of quantum information – analogous to a bit in conventional computing. For a broader understanding of how qubits work, check out Ars Technica's excellent guide."
I'm being serious by the way. :p Whats the performance like on these things?
The name "quantum computer" is a bit misleading, since this thing as far as I understood is a classical computer that performs quickly an algorithm called quantum annealing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_annealing). If I understand correctly, the "128 qubits" part is snake oil, and it has nothing to do with the explanation of qubits given by Ars Technica in the other link.
My first program:
Hell Segmentation fault
old news!
128qubits? That should be enough for everybody!
Imagine a beowulf cluster? Anyone... ahh.. at least I'm Anonymous.
"I'm completely operational, and all my circuits are functioning perfectly"
-- By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.
This has the same central problem as before. D-Wave's computers haven't demonstrated that their commercial bits are entangled. There's no way to really distinguish what they are doing from essentially classical simulated annealing. And the set of problems which their machines can supposedly works on is an NP-hard problem minimization problem involving Ising spin where it isn't even clear that from a complexity standpoint that the the problem can be more quickly solved in general by a quantum system. (Essentially we don't know the relationship between BQP, the set of problems reliably solvable on a quantum computer in polynomial time http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BQP and NP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NP_(complexity). Recommended reading that is skeptical of D-Wave's claims is much of what Scott Aaronson has wrote about them. See for example http://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=639, http://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=198 although interestingly after he visited D-Wave's labs in person his views changed slightly and became slightly more sympathetic to them http://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=954.
did you paste an old troll article because it's the article is old?
problem remains about these apparently that it's not really answered if they're more useful than your laptop for even the only thing they do.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
I'll buy one .... in universes where this uranium atom breaks down in the next 10 minutes. Now you will need a quantum computer to bill me!
In at least an infinite subset of the infinite number of universes it straddles, yes - but most likely not this one.
"Place me in the company of those who seek Truth, but deliver me from those who believe to have found it."
Dear Sir, I am a Nigerian Professor of great fame, and I will make this one-time offer to You only ..........
for a ridiculous price of $100$ only!
My excellent quantum computer is cleverly disguised as an old Nike sneaker box,
so You can use it without fear of authorirties.
For further information, please send $10 to the following account for mail processing costs
and attach your credit card number for billing.
You need to find a better translator, because I have no clue what you just said.
-- By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.
http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/~banach/COMP39112.Info/index.html A course at University of Manchester on Quantum Computing. The lecture notes are all there. It's a course I took myself as an undergraduate.
Nah, it makes perfect sense:
One issue with these is that neither the random parent statement or the article in question actually answer if a so called quantum drive is actually more useful than your laptop for that thing they do.
I don't know about you, but I personally love Liv Tyler, Steve Zahn, Tom Hanks, Charlize Theron, Obba Babatundé, Giovanni Ribisi, and PETER FREAKING SCOLARI. Talk about an ALL STAR CAST!!!!
You see... you quantum computer is not fast enough yet.
All - author of the piece speaking here. Yes, I'm aware of the D-Wave controversies, and talked with Scott Aaronson in a later piece at the time of the announcement. I'm cringing a little bit as I re-read this post because I know a heck of a lot more about quantum computing now than I did then. My take on D-Wave's computer now is that it's probably not a 'true' quantum computer in the sense that it involves any quantum speedup or entanglement. That said, I think that their annealing process is interesting in and of itself. I see their quantum computing tag as being akin to calling something '4G' in the wireless world. For those more interested in quantum computing, I updated the post to include some of the Q&A's I did about D-Wave at the time, as well as some of the quantum computing research I've covered since then, including some conversations with quantum computing researchers.
FTFY : D-Wave has announced that they're selling a quantum computing system comically
Unsorted data.
<xml><I><am><so><damn>Web 2.0</damn></so></am></I></xml>
No, this processor uses Xzibitz...
For those who would like a gentle introduction to quantum computing take a look at: A Smidgen of Quantum Computing
HPC for Primates. Read Cluster Monkey
I can't decide if this is funny or scary, when trolls seem eloquent but are otherwise just nutjobs. Reminds me of some politicians :)
True, first the virtual highway system will need to be completed. And then you won't live to be able to afford one - look at the Moller Skycar, it was over a half-million dollars and that price was probably optimistic. Then there's the legal shitstorm of allowing VTOL flying cars to take off and land in random places if you actually want to use it like a car and not a conventional small aircraft.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
I'm not impatient to have a flying car crash through my roof or office window.
Stop giving the Jetson era terrorists ideas! Do you want the TSA to grope you every time you need to run to the corner store for milk?
Here's previous comments about what quantum computing really is: Informative!
D-Wave has always been known to be full of $#!+ when it comes to quantum computers. They've never demonstrated entanglement in their QCs which pretty much makes this a classical computer with a different medium for pushing information around. That's not to say that their research is complete shit. They are pioneering better ways to control qubits. But actual quantum computers are a major threat to modern day cryptography, and this "quantum computer" doesn't concern me at all.
...I'm always sorry later when I buy the first gen...
Au contraire!
Anyone with a basic knowledge of binary maths can see that First_post & !First_post equals !First_post, so in a roundabout (and almost certainly unintended) way, he's correct to not be the first post.
+1 IDisagreeSoHeMustBeATrollOrAnAstroturferOrAShill
Since when is a phone book unsorted data?
Apparently, a quantum computer allows slashdot editors to see backwards in time.
Since this article was posted.....
5/17/2011 @ 2:34PM
Right, that's almost a year ago that this "announcement" took place.
Whoops!
well actually i doesn't really matter, you have mergesort (nlogn) and binarysearch(nlogn) for classic logarithmic search. So, yes, for an unsorted dataset the sort&search time would be 2nlogn
Because at some point you have to translate the solution to a binary format in order to realize it. Also, it's still easier to lay out the circuits that way, basically all of the tools are optimized for binary layouts.
"Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
Binary search is O(log n), not O(n log n). Searching unsorted values is O( n ).
http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20081210004854/marveldatabase/images/2/25/Qubit_(Earth-616).jpg
...they're only available in alternative universes.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
Can't we just agree to ignore all announcements about quantum computers that aren't accompanied by both (a) the system reference manual pages for the instructions that manipulate the quantum hardware, and (b) performance numbers for a completely specified problem?
yet
---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.
how do i know your real? I've never heard of a Nigerian Professor, i though everyone over there was a Prince
'...if only "Jumping to a Conclusion" was an event in the Olympics.'
Feel free to provide some contrary evidence.
"Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
"I have a terrible pain down all the diodes in my left leg."
Free Martian Whores!
This is the big flaw in people's desire to have flying cars. Why would I want a flying car if I can't fly it anywhere I want? That defeats the purpose.
Well some searches are O(1)
>Your troll would work much better at the Yahoo news forums
It worked on you.
--
BMO
My quantum computer is full of cats. maybe.
No, it doesn't.
First_post & !First_post equals false, which is a boolean. If ! is the same as !First_Post , then you must be defining "First_post" as "True".
That would lead to some odd conversations.
"Honey, did you let the cat out? "
"First Post"
http://slashdot.org/submission/1062723/Cheap-mobile-data-plan?art_pos=2
Perhaps! But ! is a binary operation as well, so !First_post will evaluate as either true or false, meaning it is entirely possible for false to equal !First_post.
+1 IDisagreeSoHeMustBeATrollOrAnAstroturferOrAShill
How hard would it be to put a really fast classical computer into a black box and trick people into believing it is a quantum computer?
3D is pig disgusting anyway, so I don't want a flying car!
Wake me up when someone has the entanglement implemented.
Until then, it's just buzzwords and useless for the vast majority of problems that could be solved by a real quantum computer.
This may prove to be a viable accelerator node for the few cases where the particular algorithm that this box computes is needed, but I really can't see that as being a widespread problem requiring a solution of this expense.
I also believe a real quantum computer will prove significantly faster at solving even that one algorithm than this box will be.
This box is "quantum" in the same sense that fast-food ground grease is "meat".
I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
Read about how a quantum computer works in the literature and then look at what this machine does. Two totally different things. Interesting, promising, a worthy endeavor - yes. Maybe a new use for the word, a new type of quantum computer. But not what you probably think.
This is quantum logic, so it is both the same time, until we measure it. I'm pretty sure that means that quantum mechanics figured out that we would respond and thus made !First_post == false;
Or something.
Is there anything better than clicking through Microsoft ads on Slashdot?
5 quantum computers
Yes and No
-- no sig today
Are you saying that this linux can run on a computer without windows underneath it, at all ?
Yes. It is a complete replacement for Windows; like Windows it's the operating system that runs everything else. It has its own drivers, boot sequence, and services. You can buy a blank, unformatted hard drive, install it in your computer, put a Linux CD in and format the drive and install the OS and apps (most of the apps you'll need are likewise free and are on the Linux installation CD or DVD) without Windows ever touching it.
Likewise, Apples don't have Windows either, although you can install Linux and/or Windows on an Apple PC. Apple has its own operating system, which is Unix-like as is Linux.
Windows apps won't run in Linux or Apple, and Linux and Apple apps won't run in Windows. Unix apps will generally work on Apple or Linux, although they may need to be recompiled.
If it were true (and I doubt it), then companies would be selling computers without a windows. This clearly is not happening, so there must be some error in your calculations.
You are the one calculating, and making errors in those calculations. Microsoft charges PC manufacturers a pittance for Windows, which the manufacturers more than make up for by charging folks like McAffee and Yahoo and other makers of crapware to put them on the computers. Those icons on the desktop of your brand new Windows PC? All but the Recycle Bin were paid for by their publishers to have them installed. That's why you get a "free" copy of Windows on your computer. It's also one reason Apples cost more -- they're not getting subsidized by crapware companies like Dell and HP are.
I hope you realise that windows is more than just Office ?
Holy crap, kid, do you know what site you're on? Office is NOT Windows. Office runs IN Windows. And it won't run in Linux; there are open source alternatives to office for Linux, just like every other program.
Microsoft just spent $9 billion and many years to create Vista, so it does not sound reasonable that some new alternative could just snap into existence overnight like that
It didn't snap into existance overnight, thousands of independant programmers have been contributing to it since 1985. Linux is actually what is known as a kernel, the lowest level of the OS. The part that faces you, the user, is a desktop, and there are several varieties, most notably KDE and GNOME.
And it has been a massive effort, with far more programmers contrinuting to it than Microsoft could ever have. Not only individuals, but companies contribute as well. Novell, Red hat, Sun, Oracle, IBM, all have made massive contributions.
Apple tried to create their own system for years, but finally gave up recently and moved to Intel and Microsoft.
You can't possibly be that ignorant. Apple had a windowed OS long before MS did. They do not use MS software, although MS does sell programs like MS Office that will run under Apple's OS.
I think you need to re-examine your assumptions.
I've made no assumptions. You might want to educate yourself.
Linux
Apple
OS
Free Martian Whores!
I think you need to read this.
The text has been rot-11'ed to protect the guilty.
dog --rot 11 reply.txt
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Jzf lcp yzh ty zy esp dpncpe.
Dxtwp rzoolxyte.
--
MXZ
Umad
Deal with it.
--
BMO
Coward.