Science and technology news blog

A Vancouver-area company is set to publicly demonstrate its new quantum computer next week in what may be the first time the paradigm-shifting technology leaves the research laboratory.

D-Wave Systems Inc. of Burnaby, B.C. plans to show off its commercial quantum computers at the Computer History Museum on Feb. 13 and at the Telus World of Science museum in Vancouver on Feb. 15.

Quantum technology could revolutionize the computer industry by allowing systems to simultaneously perform multiple calculations where traditional computers would have to perform them one at a time.

Such a system would be governed by the rules of quantum physics, as opposed to classical physics laws such as mechanics, gravity and Einstein’s theory of relativity. Quantum mechanics rule particle interactions below the atomic scale, where the conventional laws of physics break down.

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The PCI Special Interest Group announced Monday (Jan. 15) they have completed work on the base spec for PCI Express 2.0, doubling serial signaling rates on the interconnect from 2.5 to 5GHz.

The base spec should pave the way for silicon support for Express 2.0 as early as this fall by companies including Advanced Micro Devices, Intel Corp and NVidia. Because the SIG chose 5 GHz signaling, chip makers are generally able to use serializer/deserializers (serdes) that have already been proven in communications applications up to 6.25 GHz.

However, the SIG did not mention work on a separate electro-mechanical spec for adapter cards and motherboards. That effort seeks to ensure that existing PC boards will support the higher signaling rates, a potentially bigger challenge for the PC industry that runs on tight margins and lean costs. The board standard was running a few months behind the base spec in completion when the PCI SIG held its annual meeting here in June.

The 5GHz version of Express will initially be adopted for graphics whose performance is typically limited by I/O throughput. Some graphics designers may use the fast channels for unified memory systems that use one pool of DRAM to support both system and graphics memory.

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Since its release in January, Apples MacBook Pro has been a hot item. Now that an updated version with a new processor is shipping, Mac users are hoping that the laptop is a little less hot in one area in particulartheir laps.

The new MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo models generally run cooler than their predecessorsthough not enough for users to notice. Testing by Macworld Lab found that the switch from the Core Duo processor to Intels next-generation Core 2 Duo offering slightly reduced the 2.16GHz MacBook Pros persistent fever. However, the 2.33GHz model got just as hot as its Core Duo counterparts. Still, considering the Core 2 Duos superior speed and power, these results show improvement in the MacBook Pros system-cooling technology.

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VIA Technologies, in partnership with two UK-based computer makers, has launched world’s first Carbon-free personal computers (PCs) under its global programme designed to reduce the environmental impact of PCs.

Under VIA technologies global initiative to reduce carbon dioxide, UK-based Evesham Technology and Tranquil PC, will both produce systems based on Via’s C-7D processor, commented Richard Brown, vice president, marketing, VIA Technologies. Billed as a carbon-free processor, the low-power C-7D is available in version that run at clock speeds of 1.5GHz and 1.8GHz.

Evesham’s Crusader Carbon 3 PC includes a C-7D processor, 256MB of memory, a 40GB hard disk, and a 15.4in widescreen LCD monitor. The system runs Windows XP Home Edition. Specifications and pricing of Tranquil’s C7-D system were not immediately available.

VIA measures the environmental impact of a processor by its TreeMark rating system, which is based on the amount of carbon dioxide that is produced to generate the power needed by the processor. This figure is then divided by the rate of carbon sequestration to determine how many trees are required to offset the carbon dioxide produced over the life of the tree. The formula that Via uses to calculate this rating can be found online (click here to see the formulae).

The processors are sold with a commitment by VIA to offset their environmental impact through a partnership with Carbon Footprint, a UK group that offers to plant trees and undertake other measures intended to offset the production of carbon dioxide by industry.