Re: PROBLEM: KB->KiB, MB -> MiB, ... (IEC 60027-2)

[linux-os \(Dick Johnson\)]

On Mon, 22 Jan 2007, Lennart Sorensen wrote:

> On Mon, Jan 22, 2007 at 06:36:19PM +0000, Alan wrote:
>> K is Kelvin, k is kilo-
>
> K is a unit is Kelvin, k/K as a prefix is kilo.
>
>> See ISO 31. There is a standard for this stuff which is used worldwide
>> and only bits of the computing industry appear incapable of following it.
>
> --
> Len Sorensen

Perhaps. However, in the days of kilomegacycles (KMC), micromicrofarads
(MMFD), and megohms (MEG), few misunderstood what was being read. Now,
with the international symbols (http://www.bipm.org/si/si_brochure/)
many seem downright confounded because it has turned out be be more
politics than engineering. I well remember an early chart being published
with cycles-per-second as the ordinate and hertz as the abscissa.

There are now "advertising units" where a gigabyte is something greater
than what's really on the drive, where power consumption, clock speeds,
transfer rates, acoustic noise, and other technical specifications
do not have any basis in reality.

It is probably caused by the relegation of computers to "consumer goods."
Such goods brought out such hype as IHF audio power ratings, and EPA
mileage, which have nothing whatsoever to do with reality. It's not just
the specs. In the United States, check out your telephone bill. What
is supposed to be a US$29.95 service, bills out at nearly US$40.00.
"There are lies --and damned lies..."

Cheers,
Dick Johnson
Penguin : Linux version 2.6.16.24 on an i686 machine (5592.59 BogoMips).
New book: http://www.AbominableFirebug.com/
_


****************************************************************
The information transmitted in this message is confidential and may be privileged.  Any review, retransmission, dissemination, or other use of this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited.  If you are not the intended recipient, please notify Analogic Corporation immediately - by replying to this message or by sending an email to DeliveryErrors@xxxxxxxxxxxx - and destroy all copies of this information, including any attachments, without reading or disclosing them.

Thank you.
-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
the body of a message to majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
Please read the FAQ at  http://www.tux.org/lkml/