16 petaflops IBM Supercomputer Wins Speed Record – WSJ.com

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IBM Supercomputer Wins Speed Record – WSJ.com.

“IBM’s Sequoia system was able to carry out 16 quadrillion calculations a second, or petaflops, according to a benchmark used to compile a semiannual list of the world’s 500 most powerful computers”

“IBM’s system at Lawrence Livermore, by contrast [to x86-based systems], is based on a design called Blue Gene/Q that uses new chips the company designed itself to boost performance while saving energy. Each has 16 processors, based on a technology called Power that long has been used in the company’s servers.”

IBM Supercomputing infographic

 

New Start Date for Australian Electrical Equipment Safety System (EESS), and ACMA RCM Adoption

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ERAC members have confirmed that 1 July 2012 is no longer a viable date for implementation, as some States need more time to pass legislation through their respective Parliaments.  ERAC has announced that the new system will commence from 01 March 2013 (excluding New South Wales). The ERAC website has been updated to reflect the new commencement date.

Also ACMA has announced that the commencement of the new ACMA labelling arrangements to replace the C-Tick and A-Tick marks with the regulatory compliance mark (RCM)Image has been postponed until 01 March 2013 to align with the revised commencement date for the ERAC EESS. Existing suppliers will have 3 years to register on the new database, and all devices labelled from 1 March 2016 will be required to bear the RCM. A device that has been labelled with the A-Tick or C-Tick prior to 1 March 2016 can still be supplied to the market. The current ACMA labelling arrangements apply until the commencement date.

Australian Mandatory reporting for service agents and technicians

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Link to full article:

Mandatory reporting for service agents and technicians – Supplier bulletin.

“Suppliers of consumer goods and related services, including service agents and technicians, are required to report serious injury, illness or death associated with consumer goods. This requirement is known as ‘mandatory reporting’.” …

“Serious illness or injury means an acute physical injury or illness requiring medical or surgical treatment by, or under the supervision of, a qualified doctor or nurse.”

Product safety in Australia – fact sheet

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See the following Fact sheet for details:

Product safety in Australia – fact sheet.

“Under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), which took effect on 1 January 2011, Australia now has a national product safety system.

The Australian Government is able to:
•    issue safety warning notices
•    ban products, either temporarily or permanently
•    impose mandatory safety standards
•    issue compulsory recall notices, requiring businesses to recall a product
•    impose information standards, requiring that certain information about a product be provided to consumers before or at the time of purchase.
The national product safety system covers consumer goods, which are intended to be or are likely to be for personal, domestic or household use. It also covers product-related services including the installation, maintenance, repair, cleaning, assembly or delivery of consumer goods.
It’s important to note that suppliers are responsible for ensuring the safety of their products.”

 

Sydney scientist helps design tiny super computer

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Sydney scientist helps design tiny super computer.

“The system we have developed has the potential to perform calculations that would require a supercomputer larger than the size of the known universe. And it does it all in a diameter of less than a millimetre,” Dr Biercuk, of the University of Sydney, said.

IBM News room – 2012-04-02 From Big Bang to Big Data: ASTRON and IBM Collaborate to Explore Origins of the Universe – United States

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ASTRON, the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced an initial 32.9 million EURO, five-year collaboration to research extremely fast, but low-power exascale computer systems targeted for the international Square Kilometre Array (SKA).

via IBM News room – 2012-04-02 From Big Bang to Big Data: ASTRON and IBM Collaborate to Explore Origins of the Universe – United States.

Apple drops ‘thermonuclear’ patent bombshell • The Register

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The first entry among the patent’s Claims describes “A quadrilateral having all four interior angles of 90°, opposite sides that are parallel, and congruent diagonals that bisect each other.”

Yes, Apple is asserting a patent on the rectangle.

via Apple drops ‘thermonuclear’ patent bombshell • The Register.

ERAC – EESS Web Site Now Available

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ERAC – EESS.

ERAC has now published some material about the EESS (electrical equipment safety system) on their Web site. You can see their official information at www.erac.gov.au 

(when you get to that link, click on the EESS Tab at the top of the page to get to the EESS page, then click on the + sign at the left for full navigation)

… Please note that some parts of the site are still under development, and will be edited and/or added to in time.

IBM Press room – 2012-03-08 Made in IBM Labs: Holey Optochip First to Transfer One Trillion Bits of Information per Second Using the Power of Light – United Kingdom

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IBM Press room – 2012-03-08 Made in IBM Labs: Holey Optochip First to Transfer One Trillion Bits of Information per Second Using the Power of Light – United Kingdom.

ACMA: C-Tick and A-Tick marks to be phased out for RCM, from 1 July 2012

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Official ACMA Web page: http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_410297

  • The current arrangements apply until 1 July 2012,
  • The new arrangements apply to new suppliers, not already on the ACMA supplier database, from 1 July 2012,
  • From 1 July 2015, the arrangements will apply to all suppliers

Australia’s Electrical Equipment Safety System (EESS), and RCM for March 2013 (revision 6b)

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Australian and New Zealand electrical safety regulators have combined to produce a unified product safety compliance system for electrical equipment. The attached paper describes the new system in some detail, from an ICT equipment supplier’s perspective. This is based on a range of source material which may be subject to change. It also covers application of the regulatory compliance mark (RCM) under the telecommunications, radiocommunications and EMC regulatory frameworks.

EESS-RCM-2012(ANZ)V6b

PWR

2012-07-04 Revision 6 Update

  • Incorporates new start date of 1 March 2013
  • Incorporates formal publication of the new RCM standards AS/NZS 4417.1 & .2 :2012
  • Added a new section 3, discussion on how to use the RCM prior to new start date.
  • Sundry consequential edits.
  • Revision 6a: minor edits.
  • Revision 6b: corrections to Section 3 based on new expert feedback.

2012-03-08 revision 5 update:

  • Added registration fee details, and mention of authorised representatives (in 1.3)
  • Added term of certificates and certification bodies placing on the database (in 1.4.3).
  • Added some details about certification bodies and test lab qualifications and requirements (in 1.5).
  • Added section on audits and enforcement (1.10).
  • Added RCM discussion on NZ EMC & radiocommunications (2.3).
  • Added Document Control section (4).
  • General reformatting, editorials & clause renumbering throughout.

2012-03-05 Update: Version 4 includes new details of ACMA’s adoption of the RCM into their regulations.