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Dave Bacon is a theoretical ski bum who is also a pseudo 
Dan Reed has a brief note up about a new group at Microsoft the extreme computing group (XCG) which includes among its subject areas quantum computing:
XCG was formed in June 2009 with the goal of developing radical new approaches to ultrascale and high-performance computing hardware and software. The group's research activities include work in computer security, cryptography, operating system design, parallel programming models, cloud software, data center architectures, specialty hardware accelerators and quantum computing.Also in the news here. Microsoft, of course, has long had a toe in quantum computing, with Microsoft station Q in Santa Barbara investigating topological quantum computing and related models. Hopefully this bodes well for continued Microsoft investing in that most extreme of computational models (okay computing with closed timelike curves is probably even more extreme!), quantum computing.
Physical Science
Comments
Ohhh, the subtext... that you follow up the post about dark projects, black holes if you will, with a post referring to closed-timelike curves. You and your durnfangled subliminal mind control.
Posted by: David | June 15, 2009 4:31 PM
If the gov is working on building a closed timelike computer, I want in :)
Posted by: Dave Bacon | June 15, 2009 4:35 PM
I hope Microsoft is working on closed timelike curves. Then they can patch their software before it goes to market.
(He shoots, he scores...)
Posted by: Pieter Kok | June 15, 2009 6:47 PM
Is that like computing to do with skateboarding, snowboarding, and jumping out of aeroplanes or something?
Will their motto be: "If you want the ultimate, you've got to be willing to pay the ultimate price. It's not tragic to die doing what you love."?
(Eternal respect to those who know what movie that quote comes from within 30 seconds without googling it - and who have the guts to admit to that fact :-) )
Posted by: mick | June 15, 2009 6:50 PM
Just imagine how worthless a quantum computer made/supported by *Microsoft* would be. What's the quantum replacement for the blue screen of death? or the constant updates? Someone more clever than I needs to come up with a good answer...Maybe something about a blue screen of Schrodinger's cat?
Posted by: Michael J. Biercuk | June 18, 2009 10:17 AM
What's the quantum replacement for the blue screen of death?
Easy --- it's any quantum computation that can be simulated with PSPACE/PTIME classical resources.
Posted by: John Sidles | June 18, 2009 12:18 PM
Global replace "Microsoft's extreme computing group" with "Microsoft's extreme computing quantum group" -- and "Blue Screen of Death" with "Blue Screen of Hopf."
http://sbseminar.wordpress.com/2007/10/07/group-hopf-algebra/
Posted by: Jonathan Vos Post | June 19, 2009 1:49 PM