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Albert Schweitzer

Gibi-bytes and mebi-bytes

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If you would go to a shop and ask for a Harddisk with 40 Gibibytes the salesman would probably correct you or smile about you naivety. But in fact you would be right. A 40GB HDD  instead of 40 should have 42.95 Billion Bytes capacity. This is because capacity is calculated in the binary system, and with the binary system not 1000 Bytes are a Kbyte but 1024. So the application of Kilos, Megas and Gigas are distracting.  That is since December we have the totally unknow IEC-Norm 60027-2 which changes Giga into Gibi.  So actually Kilo becomes Kibibytes, Gigabytes becomes Gibibytes and Megabytes  get Mebibytes. It is like with Horsepowers(incorrect) for cars and the recently used substitute kilowatt (correct).

IF you really know about IT then you should be aware whether I am correct or lying. I will tell you later (but google would tell you too)

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Most ppl know this, but know one cares about this as we all know what we mean. Although there has been small issues about this. eg. ISP says 40GB but is 40.billion not 42.95 Billion Bytes. It is only any issue when you are getting you 100GB hard drive. Anyway, if you are getting a beast of a hard drive like that, you would probably know your stuff.

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if i recall right the Kilo-Mega-Giga system is based over latin. hence no change

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</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Albert Schweizer @ Aug. 09 2002,12:53)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">That is since December we have the totally unknow IEC-Norm 60027-2 which changes Giga into Gibi.<span id='postcolor'>

That was back in December 1998. More info at http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/binary.html

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</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Shrikey @ Aug. 09 2002,12:33)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">if i recall right the Kilo-Mega-Giga system is based over latin. hence no change<span id='postcolor'>

No, the problem is not in the prefixes. It is in the number base. A kilobyte = 1024 bytes = 1024 * 8 bit. It is the last 8 bit part that they want to get rid of since it is a relic from the time when we had 8-bit systems. Today that number is usually 32 bit or 64 bit, but we are still using the 8-bit base.

The new system makes sense, but I won't use it because I'm a conservative ass smile.gif

ps. I am having a very strong feeling of Dejavu. Have we not had one of these threads before?

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Not here in the OFP forum, maybe in your "Fly-fishing in Norway" forum! biggrin.gif

(I dont recall one, maybe there was but must have been mohts ago)

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This is still not a good solution, KiloByte must in the end stand for 1000Bytes or 8000bits to be correct, but in the new suggested system we leave Kilo to mean 1024 and add a new meaningless prefix.

It would probably be too hard to change EVERYTHING now, so the new and confusing terminology will have to do.

If you are worried about that... ha... here are more common problems: Almost no one uses KB B Kb b KB/s Kb/s properly.

In general, people don't notice that B is different from b, and kilo is written as K not k, and when giving speeds of a device you should add /s if it's your time divisor.

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</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (bn880 @ Aug. 09 2002,16:06)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">This is still not a good solution, KiloByte must in the end stand for 1000Bytes or 8000bits to be correct, but in the new suggested system we leave Kilo to mean 1024 and add a new meaningless prefix.<span id='postcolor'>

Ermh... the whole point of that definition is that "kilo" still means 1000, but "kibi" means 1024, which should be used instead of kilo (Kibibyte for example)

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I think it's the other way around. If it's not then GREAT!! Forget I said that.

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it'll be a cold day in hell when i start sounding like a pansy-boy asking for a 20 gibi-byte HD.

goddamit at least GIGA, MEGA, and TERA all sound like they should be in the deceptacons, the words have character, power, and a certain intangible evil which all geeks appreciate. this drivel is a free-mason conspiracy so more poor geeks get beaten up in school when a jock catches them gleefully talking about their rad new HD with 200 gibi-bytes. mad.gif

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</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (bn880 @ Aug. 09 2002,16:52)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I think it's the other way around.<span id='postcolor'>

Look at the examples table at the link I posted earlier

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Keygetys I know... so why take the sentence out of context and make it look like an argument? I am not arguing, why don't you look at my whole response.

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Yeah you are right! ROFL! tounge.gif In german you speek Gibi like Gebe but in enlish you probably say somehting like Gaibai (okay, that is Cockney english) which indeed sounds slightly gay! smile.gif

"Hey ashley, did you get your daily gaibai?" tounge.gif

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Giga- is far easier to say, hence thats what i'm staying with wink.gif

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This is totally the biggest pain in the butt when selling computers to people who are less than technologically competent.  I cant tell you how many people called me complaining that I cheated them and gave them a 38.1gb Hard Drive instead of a 40bg.  So eventually I made a little sheet that explained some basics like 1024 bytes = 1 kilobyte etc.

It is confusing, but the whole mebi/gibi thing is just stupid biggrin.gif

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So true so true!  smile.gif

Actually I would love to sell computers but aehmm well I am not allowed to say this but, a friend of mine had an idea to buy old computers (which you can get shipped in containers) and resell them. All you got to do is clean them, repack them and sell them to 3rd world countries. There is an enterprise as well as a non-profit organisation that does it and the buisness runs great. No capital required to start it up and easy improvement (at barely no costs). Wonderfull Idea, but I am a speciallist in the hospitality sector (and paid a hell lot of money for my school) so I cant do it, but why not?

I case you wonder why my grammar in this post sucks, I am realy realy realy slightly drunk tounge.gif !

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</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Albert Schweizer @ Aug. 10 2002,01:40)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">So true so true!  smile.gif

Actually I would love to sell computers but aehmm well I am not allowed to say this but, a friend of mine had an idea to buy old computers (which you can get shipped in containers) and resell them. All you got to do is clean them, repack them and sell them to 3rd world countries. There is an enterprise as well as a non-profit organisation that does it and the buisness runs great. No capital required to start it up and easy improvement (at barely no costs). Wonderfull Idea, but I am a speciallist in the hospitality sector (and paid a hell lot of money for my school) so I cant do it, but why not?

I case you wonder why my grammar in this post sucks, I am realy realy realy slightly drunk  tounge.gif !<span id='postcolor'>

Your grammar is fine (better than usual wow.gif ) but your spelling is slightly off wink.gif

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I will correct it tomorrow when I am sobber biggrin.gif ! But we should get back to the topic since Denoir and the others now see a chance to improve their "I closed a thread/t" scorecard! tounge.gif

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LOL. there is no such thing biggrin.gif

Heh, here's a good one:

I am running windows 98SE. Windows 98SE doesnt recognize HD's over 63gb properly. So I need to use the floppy that Western Digital encloses. But here's where it gets good! I dont have a floppy drive on the machine this Hard Drive is for. So now I get to install it in one machine, partition and format it, then move it to the other. Joy! biggrin.gif

Man, what am I going to do with all that space? I have been running a 13gb drive for two years now...and now I will have 80gb. Mebbe I will try more Flashpoint addons (mmm.. Kegetys Russian Weapons Pack!wink.gif and download more porn and mp3's biggrin.gif

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Damm hell, I know what you mean. I know that in a proper company with computer experts everything runs smoothly.

But in any ordinary office everything fux up. You want to print something over the network, you choose printer 1, but out off ink, you want to choose printer 2, driver not installed! So you put the file on a disk and go to computer B, but Computer B somehow ruins the alignment of the text, borders and font of your word-document. So you go back and want to install the driver, the driver is a CD, but you got no CD-drive...you go to computer B (with CD-drive) and safe the driver on the network and try to access it from computer A. Now you are ready to print but someone now stole the ink from printer B and disappeared mad.giftounge.gifbiggrin.gif

I hate it, 50% of your working time is always lost due to miserable conditions!

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