As we look back and try to make sense of all the new developments in the world of technology this year, it helps to start with a few notable numbers. Here are some crucial digits behind some of the most compelling technology-related storylines of 2015.
100,000,000x: How much faster Google says its controversial “quantum computer” is at solving a specific type of computational problem. That’s proof, say the search giant’s researchers, that the machine can use quantum physics to solve certain kinds of math problems in a way conventional processors can’t. Google’s engineers are apparently already running into problems in the area of machine learning that a practical version of computer could solve (see “Google’s Quantum Dream Machine”).
