Microsoft Teams With Alphabet's X and Brilliant For Online Quantum Computing Class (engadget.com) 39
"Learn to build quantum algorithms from the ground up with a quantum computer simulated in your browser," suggests a new online course.
"The very concept of a quantum computer can be daunting, let alone programming it, but Microsoft thinks it can offer a helping hand," reports Engadget: Microsoft is partnering with Alphabet's X and Brilliant on an online curriculum for quantum computing. The course starts with basic concepts and gradually introduces you to Microsoft's Q# language, teaching you how to write 'simple' quantum algorithms before moving on to truly complicated scenarios. You can handle everything on the web (including quantum circuit puzzles), and there's a simulator to verify that you're on the right track.
The course "features Q# programming exercises with Python as the host language," explains Microsoft's press release.
The course's web page promises that by the end of the course, "you'll know your way around the world of quantum information, have experimented with the ins and outs of quantum circuits, and have written your first 100 lines of quantum code -- while remaining blissfully ignorant about detailed quantum physics."
"The very concept of a quantum computer can be daunting, let alone programming it, but Microsoft thinks it can offer a helping hand," reports Engadget: Microsoft is partnering with Alphabet's X and Brilliant on an online curriculum for quantum computing. The course starts with basic concepts and gradually introduces you to Microsoft's Q# language, teaching you how to write 'simple' quantum algorithms before moving on to truly complicated scenarios. You can handle everything on the web (including quantum circuit puzzles), and there's a simulator to verify that you're on the right track.
The course "features Q# programming exercises with Python as the host language," explains Microsoft's press release.
The course's web page promises that by the end of the course, "you'll know your way around the world of quantum information, have experimented with the ins and outs of quantum circuits, and have written your first 100 lines of quantum code -- while remaining blissfully ignorant about detailed quantum physics."
Re: What the hell is this? (Score:1)
It's really just a Quantum computing simulator running on a Tandy 2000.
Re: Another ad for Microsoft? (Score:1)
Unacceptable and a huge net negative to computing. Might a well be swabbing decks and reading prisoner bios
Re: (Score:2)
Well, Microsoft does know quantum, as every web site you visit and keystroke you make is entangled with their servers.
Obligatory XK - I mean, SMBC (Score:3, Informative)
SMBC has ya covered. [smbc-comics.com]
Re: (Score:3)
what the fuck? no one says that; at best it's a ridiculously dumbed-down way to describe a superposition (for which there is, of course, plenty of evidence). also it's not even "the really important part" about a quantum computer.
Re: (Score:1)
Here, read this: It's in comic format, so you might understand it better [smbc-comics.com].
Re: (Score:2)
no, you're just an ignorant asshole. offending people into teaching you things does work for things like scripts and one-liners. it's not going to work for quantum computation. why don't you take the Microsoft class rather than irritate people into feeding your unwarranted sense of superiority?
Re: (Score:2)
okay, go ahead and write a "trivial" classical simulation of Shor's algorithm (that doesn't run in exponential time).
Re: (Score:1)
given the resource overhead of classically simulating a quantum system in the first place, it sorta makes any argument about further inefficiencies moot.
also, it's a very short course so probably they just want to provide a simpler interface in a generally familiar language, to make it easier to teach.
Re: (Score:2)
i'm not familiar with exactly what "IBM, Rigetti and Google" use (and you've been less than forthcoming yourself). but since you're talking about using tensorflow to manipulate linear algebra structures, it's probably because QSharp directly exposes more fundamental operators for entanglement, which makes it better for teaching basics.
and i honestly don't see the point of that; a QC can do a handful of well-understood (well, by some anyway) things better than a classical computer, and it's not like some Mic
Re: How does Python come in? (Score:1)
Question ... (Score:2)
Maybe wait until they work? (Score:2)
Which will presumably be "never", but is certainly "not anytime soon". This is a complete waste of time and money.
Pointless... for now. (Score:2)
At the risk of being shown to been a greatest fool to ever lived by historians, unless you are working on a very specific type of problem then working with quantum computing serves little purpose. Right now, quantum computers are still in very early development and ye olde warehouse-sized electro-mechanical computers that broke down all the time is about where we are in their development. I look forward to great strides being made in their development but it seems that anything remotely practical is decad
Why are there so many educational services now? (Score:2)
Anyone else notice that there are many heavily promoted educational websites around nowadays? Brilliant, CuriosityStream, MasterClasses, etc.?
They seem to be a relatively new, and all appeared almost at the same time.
Anyone have a theory why?