Quantum Computer Arriving 20 Years Early?

Like cold fusion, quantum computing has been "on its way" for years. But unlike cold fusion, quantum computing has shown slow and steady progress, with real products (albeit in the lab) providing real results. Nonetheless, quantum computing is nothing anyone has expected to become a reality in the near future: 10 to 20 years off is a common estimate of its commercial reality, if ever.

Today's shocking news: Quantum computing is becoming "real" much faster than anyone had thought. A company called D-Wave says it will be showing off a real-live quantum computer next week. The computer will allegedly be running "two commercial applications." To date, primitive quantum computers have only done theoretical work under highly controlled conditions.

What is quantum computing? It's a heavy concept to wrap your head around, but the gist is that, with a quantum computer, multiple calculations can be done simultaneously, rather than in sequence. As the complexity of the quantum computer increases, its ability to manipulate data rises exponentially. Problems that would traditionally take years to solve could find solutions quickly or instantaneously with a quantum computer. Typically experts point to encryption codebreaking as a likely use for such a computer.

Is this legit? Like most observers, I'll believe it when I see it. And even then I might not believe it. (We've seen shenanigans in the quantum computing arena in the past...) Then again, just check out that picture of some of D-Wave's hardware. If it doesn't perform computing miracles, maybe they can find a secret agent to vaporize with it.