Google might have wasted its cash on a quantum computer

Stefan Mileschin · 5th February 2014, 06:52

Last year boffins were shocked when Google wrote a cheque for $15 million for a quantum computer system called DWave.

Now it turns out that the device may not be all it's cracked up to be and it might not be a quantum computer after all and Google was not the only one to fall for it.

Aerospace giant Lockheed Martin paid a cool $10 million for the world's first commercial quantum computer from a Canadian start up called D-Wave Systems. Last year, Google and NASA bought a second generation device for about $15 million with Lockheed upgrading its own machine for a further $10 million.

At the time, the move was heralded as a new era for quantum computation. Particularly when last year Cathy McGeoch at Amherst College in Massachusetts said she'd clocked the D-Wave device solving a certain class of problem some 3600 times faster than a conventional computer.

But now, according to Medium.com, D-Wave has undergone a dramatic change in fortune.

http://news.techeye.net/science/goog...antum-computer

5th February 2014, 06:52	#1
Stefan Mileschin [M] Reviewer Join Date: May 2010 Location: Romania Posts: 148,578	Google might have wasted its cash on a quantum computer Last year boffins were shocked when Google wrote a cheque for $15 million for a quantum computer system called DWave. Now it turns out that the device may not be all it's cracked up to be and it might not be a quantum computer after all and Google was not the only one to fall for it. Aerospace giant Lockheed Martin paid a cool $10 million for the world's first commercial quantum computer from a Canadian start up called D-Wave Systems. Last year, Google and NASA bought a second generation device for about $15 million with Lockheed upgrading its own machine for a further $10 million. At the time, the move was heralded as a new era for quantum computation. Particularly when last year Cathy McGeoch at Amherst College in Massachusetts said she'd clocked the D-Wave device solving a certain class of problem some 3600 times faster than a conventional computer. But now, according to Medium.com, D-Wave has undergone a dramatic change in fortune. http://news.techeye.net/science/goog...antum-computer

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Android Is no Cash Cow for Google	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	17th December 2013 10:51
D-Wave's quantum computer overcomes key math challenge	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	3rd October 2013 12:34
Quantum physicist Erwin Schrödinger gets Google Doodle	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	13th August 2013 07:55
USC finds that D-Wave's quantum computer is real, maybe	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	1st July 2013 06:56
Google and NASA team up for D-Wave-powered Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	17th May 2013 07:10
Microsoft claims Munich's jump to Linux wasted cash	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	24th January 2013 06:21
US Airforce wasted a billion on ERP project	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	16th November 2012 06:53
Diamond Qubits Are A Quantum Computer Enthusiast's Best Friend	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	5th December 2011 06:22
Quantum Computer Works Better Shut Off	jmke	WebNews	0	23rd February 2006 15:32
wasted cpu power : welk project ?	Gamer	Site & Forum Feedback - Folding@Home	96	3rd October 2002 08:13