The basic premise is that instead of having a bunch of binary digits (bits) in storage, you have "quantum bits" or qubits which are in a quantum superposition state. That is, they are both 0 and 1 at the same time. (If you haven't studied quantum mechanics -- diffraction of photons through two slits, Schroedinger's Cat, etc. -- then you'll be lost.)

Anyway, you take a whole bunch of these qubits and subject the system to manipulations which alter their state, all without ever "peeking" at the qubits to see what their state is. Once you "peek", you've Observed The System, and the superpositions all collapse into 0s or 1s. So you have to be patient, and don't "peek" until you're all done with your calculation.

A large-scale quantum computer would be a massively parallel computer for certain kinds of problems. One of those problems is factoring. Currently, the best known algorithms for factoring are basically half a step removed from brute force. Factoring is considered a Hard Problem, and there is no known algorithm to do it efficiently on a classical (Turing) computer. But a quantum computer can factor numbers in essentially linear (O(n)) time.

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Originally posted by greycat:
A quantum computer is a mostly-theoretical device (but they've made some recent breakthroughs, and have even factored 15 into 3*5 using one in real life).

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Oh! this is gggooooddd! Finally the thread is going "Quantum for The Rest of Us(tm)"

Hope the MacSlashers are getting the idea....

More quantum-physics in this thread, lets see what the "Next Great Thing, As If(tm)" discussion leads us to, my sub-atomic units are sizzling!

All your desktops belong to us, indeed... the idea of QuantumPorting all HyperQubes in existence- world(universe!)wide - would yield The Mother of All Clusters, Think Beyond the Speed of Light... Seti? before yesterday...

Throw in some next-gen cryptosmology and you're in for the utlimate hyper-conscious AI freakware...

The very accurate sentients who came up with the correct references to Peta (not pico) are forever adoubed to the knighthood of the heart-shaped table!

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Originally posted by Aaron:
Hey flyermoney what program do you use to do all these lovely mock-ups? I might need to do some stuff like this for a class project.

Aaron

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You'll do fine Aaorta Computers with Bryce 3D, given you want to paste primitive shapes together in complex boolean rendered nested groups...

You might want to try other 3D apps with more serious modeling tools... Maxxon's Cinema 4D line of programs should do the trick, with 3 flavors depending on your disposable cash amount... A simple upgrade path is possible if you start low-end and want to go full-blown GollyWood style later (GollyWood: any near-broadcast to industry-level entertaiment piece on a G3/G4 equipped Macintosh, hope the term will catch...)

Other than the obvious LightWave 3D, Maya and other $5K+ studio powerhouses, there's a nice selection of affordable 3D modelers/renderers: the Strata 3D line, Eovia's products (they're the original MetaCreations Carrara team), ElectricImage (not sure who holds and distributes that program nowadays) and the sorts...

Try www.mab3d.com, Mark Bana created the original "Luxo Redux" clip, before the new Pixar-made Luxo homages. He's a Strata3D man, and he's posted a selection of tutorials, you should check it out.

A not-so-well-known 3D suite (at least in the western hemisphere) is a popular Japanes package called Shade (http://www.expressiontools.com/), you might want to check this article where applele.com's Mr Sanada mentions it as he uses Shade to create his awesome New Apple Species:

http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,49918,00.html

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Originally posted by jonas:
The Ullman Mouse is a very interesting alternative to the mouse. Check it out!
http://www.ullmanmouse.com/home/

.jonas

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Very interesting indeed! Still considering chucking away my ContourDesign Mouse (good mouse, bad tendons, no good!) and this unit looks real nice!

Tack s� mycket, Jonas (assuming you're a swede)