
Quantum computing is almost ready for business, startup says - seancaptain
https://www.fastcompany.com/90232670/quantum-computing-is-almost-ready-for-business-startup-says
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z3phyr
Quantum computers are fine. What we also need to focus on are different
kinds/models of computing on a traditional computer. The industry is very very
young and there are so many untested, postponed or unfinished ideas that were
left in limbo (pun kinda intended) because of the market.

What I would really love to see are some of these computing models brought
back to life. Alan Kay's idea of computing looks very interesting albeit very
scattered; Exokernels is another interesting thought, which could lead up to
very interesting distributed computing model (like an irc, but c stands for
computing); Transactional Memory is another. There are a lot of them, and I
think they are best served by an organisation in lieu with Bell Labs or Xerox
Research..

~~~
twtw
On a related note, modern GPUs are basically Connection Machines on a chip
without the interconnection network.

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z3phyr
Missing just a lisp* system on GPU, which is a very interesting project for
thesis

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pjmlp
Have a look at
[https://clojurecuda.uncomplicate.org/](https://clojurecuda.uncomplicate.org/)

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jackconnor
They're creating a cloud SaaS platform, yet haven't actually solved the
quantum issue, which will be solved in: "My guess is this could happen anytime
from six to 36 months".

This company has built the easy part first (the web app and database), and now
just needs to do the the insanely hard problem at the core of their business
which nobody knows is possible to solve.

I would probably not invest, is what I'm saying.

~~~
reikonomusha
This is inaccurate. The first thing this company built was a programmable
quantum computer. The second thing they did was build a quantum integrated
circuit fabrication facility. 4 or 5 years in they started doing access models
with software (“web app”, a term that’s also inaccurate, and DB).

Having a quantum integrated circuit without a way to access it (a cloud
platform, in Rigetti’s case), is like having a CPU without a motherboard. How
might you expect to program the integrated circuit if it has no infrastructure
to allow it to be programmed? This is a key ingredient to quantum advantage,
not just the hard science of manufacturing scalable and fault-tolerant
integrated circuits, especially since the notion of _programming_ such a
circuit is already a woefully nascent field.

~~~
jackconnor
So, what's the "6 - 36 months" piece then, if they already have a workable
quantum computer? Answer: they don't, and they don't know if they ever will,
otherwise the time to completion would not have a totally arbitrary made up
timeline. No?

~~~
reikonomusha
Quantum computers are analog devices that operate at varying levels of
fidelity. Timelines usually refer to how long it takes to get to the next
performance node, _not_ how long it takes for a quantum computer to exist at
all. They exist, are programmable, and are often accessible to third-parties.
Plenty of sources conclude that independently. Many institutions, Rigetti
Computing included, have built functional quantum computers.

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CodeSheikh
The title is helluva misleading. AWS cloud became "The AWS" because there was
already a huge tried and tested market of traditional computers (literally
99.9999% of modern computing is 2 bit computing). They sure can become the
pioneers of offering large scale subscription based quantum computing. It is
annoying how marketers will go above and beyond to generalize terms just to
convey their point. I wish them best of luck and hopefully they will introduce
quantum computing to an average joe programmer.

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locrelite
Like Kickstarter almost ready or Python 3 almost ready?

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ericand
Anyone have tips for getting up on the waitlist? I wonder if they are
prioritizing researchers.

~~~
joshlegs
You can sign up now and be able to use a form of cloud quantum computing. I
think to get actual access to the quantum computer, though, you have to
explain what you want to use it for. So i'd imagine they are focusing on
research projects or other interesting uses.

I went to a presentation by Gwen at SciPy2018 and got to talk to her a little
later. They're doing some really cool things with this stuff. I think they're
also trying to just get people more used to quantum programming in general. If
you haven't looked up their PyQuil language yet, it's definitely worth
checking out.
[https://pyquil.readthedocs.io/en/stable/](https://pyquil.readthedocs.io/en/stable/)

~~~
tedmiston
Beta invite request link -
[http://forest.rigetti.com/](http://forest.rigetti.com/)

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m3kw9
Did I just hear “almost”?

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codekilla
I'm a little worried about these companies over-hyping the current state of
capability. For sure, this is an exciting time though, and I am certainly
optimistic about the long-term prospects. Anyone interested would do well to
read [0]

[0] [https://arxiv.org/abs/1801.00862](https://arxiv.org/abs/1801.00862)

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hannob
So we're not yet at a point where we can show that a quantum computer can do
anything at all faster than a classical computer - and this guy already plans
his datacenter for the upcoming quantum AWS.

I'd say he's confusing step 20 with step 2 or something...

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QuinnyPig
Normally I'd agree with you, but some of the breakthroughs in this space over
the last 18 month make it clear that it's not an "if," but a "when." They're
positioning to be right there when the moment happens.

~~~
kryogen1c
Got any sources? I have not seen anything that promises anything.

This reminds me of the carbon nanotube hype, when they we're going to be the
best at everything from batteries to bulletproof vests. There are currently 0
CN products on the market, and it is not clear there ever will be.

Betting on an undiscovered technology that isn't proven to exist is far form a
sure thing.

~~~
dplavery92
Research in carbon nanotubes only really matured from fundamental to applied
in the past 15 years, so I don't think it's that surprising that the market
isn't flooded with them yet.

We're already seeing some of the first commercially available CNT products,
though. Take Vantablack[0] as an example. Or for non-commercial applications
of CNT tech, see the CNT-reinforced bicycle frame that Floyd Landis used to
win the Tour de France in 2006.[1]

When you consider that Bakelite was invented in 1907, but didn't see major
manufacture until the 1940s, or that PVC was discovered in the 1870s, but
didn't see commercial production until almost the same time, it doesn't seem
like CNT are much behind the timeline for plastics. The entire chemical and
plastics revolution didn't really take swing until the 1960s.

CNT probably aren't vaporware, and even if they were I don't know if that'd be
too damning a story for Quantum Computers. Quantum Computing _isn 't_
"undiscovered" or "[not] proven to exist." Plenty of labs have produced
physical quantum logic gates, and IBM even makes access to some of their real
5- and 16-qubit machines available online through the cloud.[2]

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vantablack](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vantablack)

[1]
[https://archive.fo/20120713061226/http://news.cnet.com/Carbo...](https://archive.fo/20120713061226/http://news.cnet.com/Carbon-
nanotubes-enter-Tour-de-France/2100-11395_3-6091347.html)

[2]
[https://quantumexperience.ng.bluemix.net/qx](https://quantumexperience.ng.bluemix.net/qx)

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caseymarquis
Powered by fusion reactors?

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volkadav
A quantum datacenter? I hope they've got a healthy budget for speeding
tickets. "We know exactly where it is, but have no idea how fast it's going!"
XD

