Submitted via IRC for FatPhil.
In the centre of a cold tiled room sits a monolithic glass cube. Inside, suspended from its upper ceiling, hangs a mercurial cylinder reflecting its surrounds like a monochrome kaleidoscope.
The scene is unmistakably sci-fi, but this dazzling object is not an extraterrestrial that has arrived unannounced, but an earthborn quantum computer, produced by the ever-enduring IBM and dubbed 'Q System One'.
IBM took the wraps off its new "integrated universal approximate" quantum system at CES last night, which Big Blue says is the world's first designed for enterprise and academic use.
Businesses and academics won't be able to (technically) get their hands on the new system however, as IBM will be keeping Q System One tucked away, leasing access only via IBM cloud.
Other quantum companies offer cloud access to their systems, a trend started by IBM several years ago. But by enlisting the company that makes display cases for the Mona Lisa and the crown jewels, IBM evidently thinks one way to attract a critical mass to its quantum cloud service is to produce the most attractive quantum block, on the block.
Source: https://techerati.com/news-hub/ibms-new-quantum-computer-will-have-you-drooling/
(Score: 2) by sjames on Wednesday May 08 2019, @09:01PM
THIS, so much THIS.
The current quantum computers are far more interesting from the standpoint of basic research into quantum computing than they are as a practical tool for anything. To the point that putting one online reads more like a publicity stunt than a serious offering.
They MIGHT one day become practical tools but not today.