It seems to me that clustering quantum computers is likely to have the same effect as clustering classical computers, since there is no quantum effect involved in the clustering.

It'll be interesting to see what consequences this result will have on quantum computing. If the tipping point between the quantum and the classical world is something fundamental to physics and cannot be overcome, that means there is a limit to how big quantum computers can be. And if there is such a limit, will the largest possible quantum computers be any useful or does it mean that the whole field of quantum computing amounted to nothing?

In the real world, as opposed to whatever fantasy or corner-case scenario you have in mind, a task of significance will involve dealing with people outside a specialist's specialism. I want my brain surgeon to listen to the anaesthetist because the drugs s/he is using may affect the bloodflow in the brain, for example. I also want my brain surgeon to listen to me because there might something in my family history which makes my brain unusual and isn't picked up on an MRI scan.

Primadonnas are a pain the rear when people want to do something of significance.

This article is ignorant and misleading. The "new technology" is nothing to do with Linux, iptables rules are already dynamic, it's the Fedora management tooling that no longer wipes the entire set of rules and loads them afresh.

The truth is here: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Features/DynamicFirewall

I'm thinking my shotgun is a little more dangerous than my station wagon.

Best slashdot comment I've ever read, thank you!

I know who I am. I am an individual who has experience of the motorbike kill switch scenario you describe. OK don't cite me but you can count me.

How is a child going to throw a kill switch placed under the dash to the door-side of the driver, like where the bonnet/hood release lever is normally positioned?

If your child is unruly enough to reach there while you're driving, and you are incompetent to prevent them, you already have a serious safety issue.

You can cite me. A kill switch can easily be designed and positioned so that it's difficult to accidentally throw, and easy to spot that it has been thrown.

The real argument against a kill switch is a marketing one, if a manufacturer's safety people wanted to introduce them then the marketing people would complain that it would give the impression something was wrong with their cars that they required one. Obviously a poor argument from a safety perspective and a good one from a marketing perspective! Maybe regulation has it's place here, i.e. make them mandatory.

But no wonder, most people only use photocopiers once every few weeks, if that. Yet their interfaces are quite arcane if you want to do anything beyond copying your documents at whatever their current settings are. Worst are the multifunction devices, people stand staring at them for a minute or two just working out what state they are in.

At the office where I'm working there is a regular episode where a lady who knows how the fax machine works talks developers and other skilled techies through sending their timesheets to payroll. It's amusing as she has to go quite slowly for these people who work with and create quite sophisticated software systems!

No, in both cases the experience is the product. Get with it.

So you were looking to profit (in karma) from a USED blog post! You are as bad as those you rail against!

Don't be so hasty. Software is something that can be made for love of the art. Cars require significant capital investment in fabrication equipment and materials, capital most people do not have.

While not denying they can make good money, many in the caring professions do count the benefit they bring to others as a significant factor in their motivations, and I would indeed prefer it if my doctor had my best interest in mind rather than getting through his "caseload". I don't see why you put forward examples about making one's own tools or medicines by way of ridicule as this was not the GP's thrust. Free Software developers are well known for sharing code which implies using others, they call it "libraries", fucknuts, and the idea is to avoid as much DIY as possible.