Quantum Computing and Tech Nostalgia

What A Lot Of Things: Tech talk from a human perspective

Step into a quantum realm of confusion as Ian attempts to explain Google's new Willow chip, a computer so powerful it makes regular supercomputers look like pocket calculators from the 1980s. Listen in amazement as our hosts try to wrap their heads around quantum computing using everything from Schrödinger's cat to hand-waving explanations of mysterious "quantum gates" that may or may not be Bill Gates' cooler brother.

But wait! Just when you thought your brain couldn't take any more, Ash whisks us back to the glory days of rubber keyboards and screeching cassette tapes. Relive the high-stakes drama of typing in magazine code listings where one wrong character could spell DISASTER, and discover why modern gaming just isn't quite the same without the constant threat of losing everything when your RAM pack wobbles.

Plus: Ian's lightning-fast speaking adventures, Ash's suspiciously unopened Christmas present, and the eternal quest to explain why testing isn't just something you do at the end (even when Ian looks really, really attentive).

Links

• Google Blog: Meet Willow, our state-of-the-art quantum chip
• Jill Platts' Medium article: A Quantum Programming Quest for Newbies with 10 Use Cases
• Photo of a quantum computer
• Leeds Testing Atelier, back in 2025!
• Ian's presentation about his podcasting life
• The Guardian: The Spectrum review – a tactile trip to the 1980s
• Metro: Retro video games are a waste of everyone’s time and money – Reader’s Feature
• Capcom Edition Super Pocket with its 12 highly acclaimed arcade games from the Japanese publisher
• Ian's YouTube hit: 3d Monster Maze on the Sinclair Timex ZX81
• DECTalk sings "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" by Tom Lehrer
• Granny's Garden on the BBC Micro, featuring a beepy version of Irish fiddle tune The Rights of Man (this one on an actual fiddle)