Buy Your Own Quantum Computer for $10 Million
No, it cannot play Crysis.
A Canadian company in Burnaby, BC is now selling a quantum computer that you can buy for your lab, or even your home if you have the resources and needs of Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark.
D-Wave Systems is offering the D-Wave One as the first commercial quantum computing system available on market. Dr. Geordie Rose, CTO of D-Wave, explained a bit about the D-Wave One's function in a blog post.
"The processor in the D-Wave One – codenamed Rainier – is designed to perform a single mathematical operation called discrete optimization. It is a special purpose processor," Rose wrote. "Rainier solves optimization problems using quantum annealing (QA), which is a class of problem solving approaches that use quantum effects to help get better solutions, faster."
The D-Wave One 129-qubit processor is only meant to tackle optimization problems. The other part of programs still runs on conventional systems.
Rose gave the simplified example of "supervised machine learning" for binary classification, such as yes or no. For example, an algorithm could train a binary classifier to return a response to an input of a first name of whether it is more likely to be a male or female name.
Obviously quantum computing has far greater reaches than just name classification, but artificial intelligence is one of the fields where the technology is going.
D-Wave's website for the machine is devoid of much info, but those who know they need it will know what it's all about. The only sticking point might be price, which Engadget was told is around $10 million. Yowza.
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How fitting it looks like the Monolith from 2001
Quantum Computing, What I expect to be the next major advancement in computing is going on behind our backs while we are all preoccupied with the baby steps of these moronic tablets and mere toys appearing around us.
We still have not yet fully grasped the concept of what to use these for let alone how to use them.
Bargain!
BUT CAN IT RU- damn, beaten!
BUT CAN IT RU- damn, beaten!
Probably won't even run Doom 1 for that mater.
I don't think it is a true quantum computer so much as it has components which utilise quantum effects to solve particular problems. Still, if it works the way they say it does then this is a huge step forward, I hope to see the day someone makes a true working quantum computer!
Is there an OEM version so I can use my own heat-sink and fan?
Doesn't quantum technology stop working if you "look" at it?