zlacker

[return to "1 kilobyte is precisely 1000 bytes?"]
1. kmm+rb[view] [source] 2026-02-03 17:41:38
>>surpri+(OP)
And a megabyte is depending on the context precisely 1000x1000=1,000,000 or 1024x1024=1,048,576 bytes*, except when you're talking about the classic 3.5 inch floppy disks, where "1.44 MB" stands for 1440x1024 bytes, or about 1.47 true MB or 1.41 MiB.

* Yeah, I read the article. Regardless of the IEC's noble attempt, in all my years of working with people and computers I've never heard anyone actually pronounce MiB (or write it out in full) as "mebibyte".

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2. pif+7k[view] [source] 2026-02-03 18:13:51
>>kmm+rb
> I've never heard

It doesn't matter. "kilo" means 1000. People are free to use it wrong if they wish.

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3. burnt-+eT2[view] [source] 2026-02-04 11:43:36
>>pif+7k
Such a myopic view when reality and marketing is messier than dramatic self-righteousness. This unnecessary bikeshedding nonsense has already been solved by using mebi, kibi, etc. to disambiguate sloppy abuse of SI units.
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4. NetMag+Pt3[view] [source] 2026-02-04 15:21:46
>>burnt-+eT2
Fortunately SI doesn’t get to own terms or prefixes and trying to enforce different usage by fiat fails in the real world, exactly as it should.
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