Submission + - Researchers Create First General-Purpose Programmable Quantum Computer (gizmag.com)
Zothecula writes: To date, quantum computers have been implemented so that programming their operation was, in essence, hardwired into their essential structure. Although many useful demonstrations of quantum computing have resulted from such special-purpose devices, they are basically one-problem computers which cannot easily be reprogrammed or scaled to attack larger problems. As early models of practical quantum computers, they don't make the grade. Recently, however, John Martinis' research group at the University of California at Santa Barbara has created the first general-purpose programmable quantum computer.