Re: patch for sd.c: fix MB vs. GB

Meelis Roos (mroos@tartu.cyber.ee)
Fri, 25 Dec 1998 17:33:41 +0200

GD> With disks it is otherwise. So, I think the best patch would not
GD> be to introduce more occurrences of 1024, but to replace the
GD> remaining 1024's by 1000's and give real SI MB and GB figures.

Please no! kB, MB, GB etc get their meaning from the contents not the
representation. K, M, G etc are used just as a convenience to say
1024, 1024*1024 etc in computer terms.

People have used decimal system because they have 10 fingers.
Comupters are digital instruments, it's natural to use base 2 numbers
inside. It's inevitable that powers of 2 do not end with a line of
zeroes. If we want to describe the internals of computers, it's natural
to use powers of 2.

-- 
Meelis Roos (mroos@tartu.cyber.ee)


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