I have recently set a goal for myself to understand more about what's called "Quantum Computing". The end-goal I have in mind is to understand how such computers can be programmed, and get an idea of what we'll be able to do once we have that technology working.

What would be good to understand also is the type of problems that are currently out of reach of current computer technology will become tractable.

Being a Software Engineer what I'm really interested is not necessarily how such computers work at the lowest level (although some understanding is obviously required), but rather what programming them will "feel" like.

Also what I would like to understand is what a large scale Quantum Computer would look like. There are some examples given of small quantum computers (5 qubits), but no idea of what these computers will look like once the technology is well under control and Moore law starts to kick in for this technology.

So far I have found the following:

• Introduction to Quantum Computing from IBM developerWorks
• QCL A programming language for Quantum Computers, complete with a Quantum Computer simulator.

Pointers and hints to good reference materials on the topic are appreciated. Please direct these to laurentgauthier on Twitter.

Long time no diary...

Trying out Twitter, still unsure how useful and/or addictive this can be. Let's say I'm a bit skeptical, but willing to experiment .

Looks like I manage to write an entry in this diary every three years. Not bad!!! :-)

Very long time without a diary update.

Since my last update (Jan 2001) I have moved to Montreal and worked there for three years. I really enjoyed the experience! (hub: I hope you'll like it as much as we did :-)

In just a few days I'll be moving back in France with my wife and kids. I'm going to work on the french riviera, and hopefully we'll like that.

LTND.

Happy new year to you all!

I've been quite busy lately. My son has been growing (he is now almost one year old now, and already walking all around the house), I've changed job in July and I'll move to Montreal in the beginning of April (I finally got my permanent visa).

On the free software front I've done almost nothing, except rewriting the geometric engine of Dr. Geo in Python (50% done, the basic functionnality is in there with full undo/redo support). This is just for fun!

I've noticed that quite a few people here are working/living in Montreal. I'm currently living in France and I would be really happy to hear about specific issues that I should think of before the move there... (feedback to lolo at seul dot org).