 Quantum computers are not yet creating business value, but CIOs should nonetheless lose no time in getting involved. Supermarket aisles filled with fresh produce are probably not where you would expect to discover some of the first benefits of quantum computing. But Canadian grocery chain Save-On-Foods has become an unlikely pioneer, using quantum technology to improve the management of in-store logistics. In collaboration with quantum computing company D-Wave, Save-On-Foods is using a new type of computing, which is based on the downright weird behavior of matter at the quantum level. And it's already seeing promising results. The company's engineers approached D-Wave with a logistics problem that classical computers were incapable of solving. Within two months, the concept had translated into a hybrid quantum algorithm that was running in one of the supermarket stores, reducing the computing time for some tasks from 25 hours per week down to mere seconds. Save-On-Foods is now looking at expanding the technology to other stores and exploring new ways that quantum could help with other issues. "We now have the capability to run tests and simulations by adjusting variables and see the results, so we can optimize performance, which simply isn't feasible using traditional methods," a Save-On-Foods spokesperson tells ZDNet. "While the results are outstanding, the two most important things from this are that we were able to use quantum computing to attack our most complex problems across the organization, and can do it on an ongoing basis." The remarkable properties of quantum computing boil down to the behavior of qubits -- the quantum equivalent of classical bits that encode information for today's computers in strings of 0s and 1s. But contrary to bits, which can be represented by either 0 or 1, qubits can take on a state that is quantum-specific, in which they exist as 0 and 1 in parallel or superposition. Qubits, therefore, enable quantum algorithms to run various calculations at the same time, and at an exponential scale: the more qubits, the more variables can be explored, and all in parallel. Some of the largest problems, which would take classical computers tens of thousands of years to explore with single-state bits, could be harnessed by qubits in minutes. The challenge lies in building quantum computers that contain enough qubits for useful calculations to be carried out. Qubits are temperamental: they are error-prone, hard to control, and always on the verge of falling out of their quantum state. Typically, scientists have to encase quantum computers in extremely cold, large-scale refrigerators, just to make sure that qubits remain stable. That's impractical, to say the least. This is, in essence, why quantum computing is still in its infancy. Most quantum computers currently work with less than 100 qubits, and tech giants such as IBM and Google are racing to increase that number in order to build a meaningful quantum computer as early as possible. Recently, IBM ambitiously unveiled a roadmap to a million-qubit system and said that it expects a fault-tolerant quantum computer to be an achievable goal during the next ten years. Although it's early days for quantum computing, there is still plenty of interest from businesses willing to experiment with what could prove to be a significant development. "Multiple companies are conducting learning experiments to help quantum computing move from the experimentation phase to commercial use at scale," Ivan Ostojic, partner at consultant McKinsey, tells ZDNet. Certainly, tech companies are racing to be seen as early leaders. IBM's Q Network started running in 2016 to provide developers and industry professionals with access to the company's quantum processors, the latest of which, a 65-qubit device called Hummingbird, was released on the platform last month. Recently, US multinational Honeywell took its first steps on the quantum stage, making the company's trapped-ion quantum computer available to customers over the cloud. Rigetti Computing, which has been operating since 2017, is also providing cloud-based access to a 31-qubit quantum computer. Complete details are posted on OUR FORUM.  There are times when corporations lose their temper. Well, they're people too. In Microsoft's case, it's people and politics that are driving the company crazy. I'm quite used to hearing that Microsoft has annoyed someone. Usually, it's a Windows user who's angry about Redmond's keenness to slip unwanted products onto their screens. I was rather moved, then, to hear that Microsoft itself is enduring conniptions of the most fundamental kind. You see, the company recently commissioned research company YouGov to ask 5,000 registered voters about their innermost feelings. One or two deeply felt highlights emerged. 90% of respondents admitted they're worried every time they share their information online. 70% privately pointed their fingers at the US government. They said it isn't doing enough to protect their personal data. A similar 70% said they'd like to see the next administration enact privacy legislation. How do I know this made Microsoft angry? Well, these details come from a bracingly seething blog post -- published this week -- from the company's "Corporate Vice-President For Global Privacy and Regulatory Affairs and Chief Privacy Officer." Extraordinarily, we're talking about just one person with all those titles, Julie Brill. She doesn't think the US government is doing brilliantly. Brill tried to rein in her irksome. She began by talking about the importance of data in our new, more domestically confined world. She said: "Data is critical not just in rebuilding our economy but in helping us understand societal inequalities that have contributed to dramatically higher rates of sickness and death among Black communities and other communities of color due to COVID-19. Data can also help us focus resources on rebuilding a more just, fair, and equitable economy that benefits all." A fundamental problem said Brill is the lack of trust in society today. In bold letters, she declared: "The United States has fallen far behind the rest of the world in privacy protection." I can't imagine it's fallen behind Russia, but how poetic if that was true. Still, Brill really isn't happy with our government: "In total, over 130 countries and jurisdictions have enacted privacy laws. Yet, one country has not done so yet: the United States." Brill worries our isolation isn't too splendid. She mused: "In contrast to the role our country has traditionally played on global issues, the US is not leading, or even participating in, the discussion over common privacy norms." That's like Microsoft not participating in the creation of excellent smartphones. It's not too smart. Brill fears other parts of the world will continue to lead in privacy, while the US continues to lead in inaction and chaos. It sounds like the whole company is mad as hell and isn't going to take it anymore. Yet it's not as if Microsoft has truly spent the last 20 years championing privacy much more than most other big tech companies. In common with its west coast brethren, it's been too busy making money. Brill is undeterred. She tried to offer good news. Some states are taking the matter of privacy into their own jurisdictions. And then she offers words of hope that, to this reader at least, swim in baths of sarcasm: "There are also signs of real interest among some members of Congress." Real interest among members of Congress can often feel like real sincerity. You hope it's there, but you suspect it's not. Yet I sense Brill doesn't have too much hope in governmental action. So, spurred again by the company's research, she turned to the corporate world. "The YouGov study found that significantly more people believe companies bear the primary responsibility for protecting data privacy -- not the government," she said. Yet what do those companies do? They make privacy controls your responsibility, dear citizen. Full details are posted on OUR FORUM.  This underappreciated Android gem can protect your privacy and make your phone significantly more secure, but it's up to you to dust it off and use it. It's amazing how many useful Android features get buried in the operating system and then forgotten over time. When you stop and think about it, it's also kind of inevitable: With every passing year, Android grows increasingly robust and complex, as more advanced options make their way into the software. So it's only logical that certain elements will become out of sight and out of mind and get lost in the shuffle somewhere along the way. One such item jumped out at me the other day, triggering an immediate "AHAH!" in this rusty ol' noggin of mine as I remembered its existence and then scolded myself for forgetting to use it all this time. It's a little somethin' called Android Guest Mode, and it first showed up way back in the Android 5.0 (Lollipop) era of 2014. Guest Mode, in case you've also forgotten, does exactly what you'd expect: It gives you an on-demand way to switch your phone into a blank-slate-like state, where your personal apps, accounts, and data are all securely tucked away and you instead get an out-of-the-box-like experience, with only the basic preinstalled system apps in place. It's almost like an incognito mode of sorts, applied to your entire phone: All your regular stuff is gone, and nothing done in that environment has any impact on your standard smartphone setup. The implications for that are enormous. The biggest realistic threat with smartphone security, after all, isn't the coming invasion of scary-sounding malware monsters (which, as we've discussed to death 'round these parts, are more about sensationalism and security software sales than any pressing, practical danger). Nope — it's your own negligence and occasional lapse in judgment. And even if you take every possible step to protect your privacy and strengthen your phone's security, all it takes is a single, brief pass-off of your device to the wrong person to send all your best-laid efforts swirling down the drain. Whether we're talking about sensitive company data or your own personal photos, messages, and maybe even browsing history, it doesn't take long for the wrong set of eyes to see something they shouldn't — whether it's deliberate or by mistake. That's exactly the sort of slip-up Android's Guest Mode can prevent — and best of all? Once you remember that it's there, it's simple as can be to deploy. First things first, we need to make sure your phone is set up properly to support the feature, as it's often disabled by default these days. If you have a Samsung phone, unfortunately, you're out of luck here, as Samsung has for no apparent reason opted to remove this standard operating system element from its software. When you're ready to exit out of Guest Mode and get back to normal, just repeat the same first two steps from above — opening the Quick Settings panel and tapping the user profile picture — and this time, select "Remove guest" from the menu that comes up. That'll completely erase and reset everything that was done in that temporary profile and, once you put in your PIN, pattern, or password (or use biometric authentication), take you back to your own standard Android setup. A pretty useful possibility, right? The power's been right there at your fingertips all along — and now that you've got it activated and in the back of your mind, you can tap into it anytime the need arises. Visit OUR FORUM for more details and a guide on how to enable this privacy measure.
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