Monday, February 11, 2008

Quantum Computers



Canadian startup company D-Wave demonstrated a 16-qubit quantum computer. The computer solved a sudoku puzzle and other pattern matching problems. The company claims it will produce practical systems by 2008. Skeptics believe practical quantum computers are still decades away, that the system D-Wave has created isn't scaleable, and that many of the claims on D-Wave's Web site are simply impossible (or at least impossible to know for certain given our understanding of quantum mechanics).

If functional quantum computers can be built, they will be valuable in factoring large numbers, and therefore extremely useful for decoding and encoding secret information. If one were to be built today, no information on the Internet would be safe. Our current methods of encryption are simple compared to the complicated methods possible in quantum computers. Quantum computers could also be used to search large databases in a fraction of the time that it would take a conventional computer. Other applications could include using quantum computers to study quantum mechanics, or even to design other quantum computers.

But quantum computing is still in its early stages of development, and many computer scientists believe the technology needed to create a practical quantum computer is years away. Quantum computers must have at least several dozen qubits to be able to solve real-world problems, and thus serve as a viable computing method.

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/quantum-computer2.htm

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Differently abled people - II

In a night, I met a blind poor person on a street… He had an injury on his leg too . So he was walking with a stick. He heard my foot sounds, he asked : “Sir, could you help me” and then he asked that “I need to buy some hoppers”. So what I did is, I just hold his hand and asked him to stay a place and then I went to buy some hoppers. Time was 9.00 pm pass... almost all the shops were closed. So took 20 minutes to buy hoppers… But I was not sure that whether the man will wait this much time for the hoppers at the place I asked to be…
When I go there, he was waiting… Then I gave the hoppers… He gave money, but I didn’t get it. So he said that he will put that money in a temple on my name  These people have self respect than normal people… isn’t it 
If I was him, I won’t wait that much time for hoppers… So I asked him, how do u believe that I will bring hoppers and waited more than 20 mins? He said : “Sir, you know… you touched my hand and asked me to stay here… From that touched I got to know that definitely you will come with hoppers” .
Hmm… Compare to their abilities, we have nothing…. Self respect... Sound sensitivity… Touch sensitivity….

Friday, February 1, 2008

Differently abled people

One day we had a meeting on the topic ‘differently abled people’. One Greek Prof. (Whose first language is not Greek!) also was there and he is fortunately / unfortunately blind. I know, the word blind is politically not correct. But I am using here because the Prof. was not like the word ‘differently abled’. He said that, they are obviously blind… the word ‘differently abled’ make them different and separate them and its hurts than word ‘blind’. In that meeting he also talked computers and their functionalities… wow… how this man can talk about button and their colors…  This is his intellectual part of life.
The other part of his life is : 
During the break, we had tea… the Prof wanted have a sugarless tea.. So the one who served tea went to bring one… But during that time other people were having tea… while they having their cup and soccer were touched and made sounds… the Prof. thought that, someone has waiting to give him a tea and he just prepared his hands to get the tea cup… He waited a bit, and then realized that the tea is not for him… So took the hands back… I didn’t see any reaction on his face at that time. I don’t know how to tell my feeling I had that time… Each and every sound is matters for them… I don’t know how these people are living with many failures… they do face this kind of thing in each and everyday… oh... They are really great…