Bladewatch.com

http://www.dwavesys.com/

D-Wave is pioneering the development of a new class of high performance computing system. These systems are architected around an innovative processor that uses a computational model known as adiabatic quantum computing (AQC). These processors are fabricated using superconducting metals instead of semiconductors and are operated at ultra-low temperatures in a magnetic vacuum. They are designed explicitly to harness quantum mechanical effects to fundamentally and dramatically reduce the time and memory requirements for computation.

A company which has more recently been introduced to me, it will be interesting to see what innovations they can bring to high performance computing solutions? We’ll have to wait and see, as with any innovators out there we award the concept, offer our assistance, appreciation and support to their efforts.

Let’s not forget that re-coding or adjusting the application is not necessarily world ending if we can see specific benefits to performance, the challenge has always been the performance improvements real or perceived, 20% might be 20% but you need to offset that against the longevity of the platform as well as the ‘internal cost’ of updating or re-writing an application.

The prime example I always use is the client that I met years ago, it was £5 million to re-code their application from their main frame to a generic x86 one, or a fixed operating support cost of about £1.5 million which failed about three times a year. However:

• The client (IT) – could tell effectively when it was all getting too much for their server – when it was getting ready for an outage
• The users knew the constraints of the application code, the application and the functionality – it was binary, “it doesn’t do that” – if they recoded what would suddenly needed added in?
  
• Users accepted the service, as long as it worked most of the time, an hour or so downtime wasn’t really significant unless it was during and end of day, and even then they’d be reminded of the upgrade cost and there would be brief pro-longed silence followed by questions when it would be back up.
• It was sustained, stable and expected, (comfortable like my Barbour jacket) – in essence no surprises so to this day, they’re mainframe continues to serve their requirements.
  

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