Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

There's also work being done on single-atom quantum calculations and a variety of other approaches. So you're partly correct - they aren't yet mainstream but they are under test - they're coming.

Note it is unlikely quantum computers will do anything to alter the status quo of AI - their complexity doesn't automatically make them more suitable for consciousness, but once they start chucking qubits around, who knows what might be possible?

But they would be many decades away from people having them in their homes and small businesses, if ever having them at all..

Maybe, or it might be like TV's,cassette tapes, Video players, CD's, DVD's, MP3/4's and computers - all of a sudden, they're everywhere because it's become the 'IN' thing and economies of scale in production cause cost to plummet.

I just want to know where the hell is my flying car that they said we'd have by year 2000?

Basically yes EB.
There is talk of quantum computers and people working on them, etc. But people dont even actually understand how the quantum world works yet.
It will be along time before they exist and there hasnt been a new processor put out for a couple/few years now.... things are slowing.

I did read of a scientist that was working on storing more bits on each electron (currently one per electron i think). this would help but is not compression.

Maybe, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was only 1 (decade).

Also at ANU they are working on photonics, using light instead of electricity, for circuits. Even binary photonic computers would be....um... light speed ahead of electronic computers.

Or instead of waiting for uber compression of the actual data....

You could just opt for uber storage devices...

Like holographic storage.. currently at 3.2 terabits per cubic inch, compared to hard disk at around < 1/3rd that..

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/1679 ... tical-disc

And multi disc units...with petabytes of capacity..

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/ ... f_capacity