TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: why bytes are Bs and not bs From:"Peter Ring, PRC" <prc -at- ISA -dot- DKNET -dot- DK> Date:Thu, 12 Jun 1997 10:06:13 +1
On 11 June 1997 Fred Ridder wrote:
> Not quite right, Peter. ... consider the fact that 1 million grams
> is always referred to as 1000 kilograms and not as "1 megagram".
Not quite right, Fred!
Be careful using the word "always". "1000 kilograms" is OK, but it's
MUCH MORE often referred to as "1 ton" ;-)). We then start all over
again with kiloton (kt), megaton (Mt), etc. THAT's why we don't use
"megagram"!
In some respects we also use for example "1000 million" instead of
"1 billion", because "1 billion" in many languages is 10^12 and not
10^9. It all depends on what's most practical and/or least confusing.
The difference between 10^3=1000 groups in scientific writing and
2^10=1024 groups in computer writing was mentioned in many other
mails. I consequently decided to exclude it, because it wasn't the
core question! But thanks for the information about the more original
source for the kilo, mega, etc. system than mine.
I hope we all agree now, that these symbols (m, k, M, G, etc.) are
really FUNDAMENTAL in our Western technical culture! (To my
knowledge, in some Asian _languages_ they use 10^4 groups instead of
10^3 groups, but that's another story.)
The basic purpose here was however not to tease each other, but to
make sure nobody sells me a harddisk of 4096 mb any more (that's .5
Byte = 4 bits!) when I want a 4 GB one - or other confusing or even
ridiculous (ab)uses of the system.
I *_DON'T_* want to start a huge emotional discussion for/against
metrification, but I have wondered if the real problem for many
British and American people is your tradition for non-metric units.
In continental Europe, the use of these symbols was something we
learned properly in school around 5th-6th grade, and not something
we had to learn - or maybe pick-up more or less by chance - later on.
Greetings from Denmark
Peter Ring
PRC (Peter Ring Consultants)
- specialists in user friendly manuals and audits on manuals.
prc -at- isa -dot- dknet -dot- dk http://isa.dknet.dk/~prc/index.html
- the "User Friendly Manuals" website with links, bibliography, list
of prof. associations, and tips for technical writers.
TECHWR-L (Technical Communication) List Information: To send a message
to 2500+ readers, e-mail to TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot- Send commands
to LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU (e.g. HELP or SIGNOFF TECHWR-L).
Search the archives at http://www.documentation.com/ or search and
browse the archives at http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html
