The Boston Diaries

The ongoing saga of a programmer who doesn't live in Boston, nor does he even like Boston, but yet named his weblog/journal “The Boston Diaries.”

Go figure.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

But it will still save on electricity

Even for the crazy world of quantum mechanics, this one is twisted. A quantum computer program has produced an answer without actually running.

…

This scheme could have an advantage over straightforward quantum computing. “A non-running computer produces fewer errors,” says Hosten. That sentiment should have technophobes nodding enthusiastically.

Via Flares into Darkness, Quantum computer works best switched off

While it's true that a computer turned off produces vast amounts of nothing really fast, so does a burned out light bulb. And the very fact that there's still a program means there are bugs (proof? “Every program has at least one bug and can be shortened by at least one instruction—from which, by induction, one can deduce that every program can be reduced to one instruction which doesn't work.” Q.E.D.”) so it's still far from evident that a non-running quantum computer will have fewer errors than a running quantum computer.

I guess these guys haven't heard of Heisenbugs.

Then again, no two people on any given airplane paid the same amount.

Airplane Tickets

When to Buy: Wednesday morning.
Why: “Most airfare sales are thrown out there on the weekend,” says travel expert Peter Greenberg, a.k.a. The Travel Detective. Other airlines then jump into the game, discounting their own fares and prompting further changes by the first airline. The fares reach their lowest prices late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

Via Flares into Darkness, The Cheapest Days to Buy Certain Items

I know quite a few people who could benefit from this.

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[The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades]

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