
IBM Q System One - lainon
https://www.research.ibm.com/ibm-q/system-one/
======
michaelhoffman
Maybe this will do for quantum computing what Watson has done for machine
learning.

~~~
currymj
I cannot tell if this is intended as a very dry joke or not.

~~~
MR4D
Neither can Watson.

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sailfast
Their Q-Experience FAQs are a much more substantive way to approach what
exactly this thing will deliver:
[https://quantumexperience.ng.bluemix.net/qx/tutorial?section...](https://quantumexperience.ng.bluemix.net/qx/tutorial?sectionId=full-
user-guide&page=000-FAQ~2F000-Frequently_Asked_Questions)

Beginner's guide to working with System Q:
[https://quantumexperience.ng.bluemix.net/qx/tutorial?section...](https://quantumexperience.ng.bluemix.net/qx/tutorial?sectionId=beginners-
guide&page=introduction)

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fipple
The number of words here talking about the eye catching design is proof that
this is a decorative item that does nothing.

~~~
threeseed
Design != Aesthetics.

The design is pretty important for a quantum computer.

~~~
white-flame
> _eye-catching design_

> _To design IBM Q System One, IBM assembled a world-class team of industrial
> designers, architects, and manufacturers_

> _...industrial and interior design studios..._

> _...manufacturer of high-end museum display cases..._

They are absolutely talking about the aesthetic housing design, not the actual
quantum engineering designs. About the closest they get in the Design section
is talking about it being airtight and accessible for maintenance.

~~~
dwd
As far as the housing design: The way it is cylindrical, suspended from above
and half lit in a dark room instantly made me think of the Poop Machine at
MOMA.

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Rebelgecko
The description talks a lot about commercial uses. Are there problems that the
quantum computers of today are actually better at solving than traditional
computers? I realize that for many things they're better in a theoretical
big-O sense, but does that translate to better wall-clock speed? Presumably
you could get a lot of AWS computing for the same cost as one of these.

~~~
mschaef
> Are there problems that the quantum computers of today are actually better
> at solving than traditional computers?

When the first hard disk (IBM RAMAC) was developed, people drew the same sorts
of conclusions. The difference there was that they weren't convinced that the
disk would be faster than a secretarial pool. The net was that IBM invented
hashing and made it definitively the case that the disk WAS faster.

Hopefully, sixty years later, they are able to address your similar concern in
a similar way.

~~~
nickpsecurity
People keep bringing this up. There was at least a theory about what the early
computers would be good at that prior methods wouldn't. Then, they hoped they
could improve them with research to do more. Even the ENIAC in the 1940's got
used as a large calculator for defense applications:

[https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-the-eniac-
computer-1991...](https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-the-eniac-
computer-1991601)

Similarly, you could say what value ARPAnet would provide, disks, email,
telephone, and so on. Whereas, using this argument for quantum computers
(here) or blockchains (another thread) makes no sense given they aren't doing
anything better than existing techniques. They're actually a step back on most
metrics. Q is both a research tool and a commercial waste of money until it
proves to be better than a classical computer at some practical job. An
example where quantum tech was theoretically better from the start was Quantum
Key Exchange with modifications on the line detected. Even that goal was
easier to solve without quantum methods, though.

~~~
mschaef
> People keep bringing this up.

I think the idea that a new technology takes work to provide demonstrable
value shouldn't be so surprising. That had to happen with RAMAC and may or may
not happen here (or with Blockchain, etc.)

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mepian
Does it have enough error-corrected qubits to actually do something useful, or
is it a high-tech piece of luxury furniture?

~~~
jebej
The latter.

More seriously though, there won't be a true error corrected quantum computer
for a long time. People are hoping that there can be useful applications with
imperfect physical qubits.

~~~
wahern
At the very least the machines are being used to experimentally verify quantum
correction algorithms. See, e.g.,
[https://arxiv.org/abs/1708.02297](https://arxiv.org/abs/1708.02297) and
[https://arxiv.org/abs/1709.01866](https://arxiv.org/abs/1709.01866) and
[https://arxiv.org/pdf/1709.00990.pdf](https://arxiv.org/pdf/1709.00990.pdf)

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rbanffy
I _love_ that product design. It's not since the Cray 2 and the CM-2 that I
see such a striking piece of big iron.

~~~
friday99
Not to burst your bubble, but that is just the vacuum can on the dilution
refrigerator and is a standard piece of hardware you will see in many physics
labs. There wasn't really any product design beyond slapping the IBM logo on
there.

~~~
lozaning
Of course there was. Deciding what not to add is just as much of a design
decision as what to add. I spend no time in physics labs, and like the parent
i too find the aesthetic quite striking.

~~~
reaperducer
That's a lot of glass for the cleaning crew to wipe down each night. I wonder
if it takes special training, or if someone just sticks a "Do not touch" Post-
It note to the thing.

~~~
mschaef
Or "Do Not Erase!"

~~~
rbanffy
Now I imagined replacing the glass panes with transparent LCDs or LED displays
that would give an idea of system status at a glance.

These machines are, like the supercomputers I mentioned, meant to be displayed
as a status symbol.

~~~
mschaef
> replacing the glass panes with transparent LCDs or LED displays

I guess the CM-1/2/200 machines are the quintessential example of this. The
Cray-2's cooling system isn't an active display, but it gets style points too
(IMHO).

(But...I've worked in a few places that used glass windows (or other glass
surfaces) as whiteboards... That's really what I was thinking of. :-) )

~~~
rbanffy
The Cray-2 had some indicator lights on the top of each lobe. I'm not sure how
helpful they were to gain an understanding of what the computer was doing. I
can't tell how much work my home cluster is doing by looking at the ethernet
switch LEDs.

The LCD would nicely replicate the window-as-whiteboard experience though, at
the sacrifice of some readability, because the object behind the glass is so
interesting.

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skywhopper
Reminds me of this announcement from AWS nine years ago:
[https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/introducing-qc2-the-
quantum...](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/introducing-qc2-the-quantum-
compute-cloud/)

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tmvphil
Did they just put the refrigerator in a glass box and call it "System One"??

~~~
etrautmann
Why is this entirely focused on what amounts to case-modding for an alleged
supercomputer? Quantum computing advances are presumably not an industrial
design challenge...

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emusan
>Quantum computing advances are presumably not an industrial design
challenge...

Perhaps not, but getting laypeople to care enough about quantum computing to
fund its development could very well be.

~~~
etrautmann
my bias would be towards achieving that goal with a demo of quantum computing
:)

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Tehchops
> In the second half of 2019, IBM will open the IBM Q Quantum Computation
> Center, located in Poughkeepsie, New York to expand IBM’s commercial quantum
> computing program, which already includes systems at the Thomas J. Watson
> Research Center in Yorktown, New York.

Does this mean, in true IBM fashion, the older, remote one will be terminated?

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reaperducer
So is this the first quantum computer available for a company to buy?

How does one interface with it? VT100 terminal?

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CyberDildonics
No, there have been quantum computers sold commercially for many years now. I
think D-Wave was the first.

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todd8
It looks like they are engineering one of those glass enclosed elevators,
common in shopping malls, not a computer. Why the focus on outward appearance
without explaining its capabilities?

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jazzyjackson
Can someone enlighten me as to why these are always hung from the ceiling?

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mlevental
thermal and mechanical isolation

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dralley
Good lord is that website slow to load/respond. Too many hero videos.

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CyberDildonics
Maybe it was made by IBM's consulting division.

