On Thu, 2009-06-25 at 12:22 +1000, Ben Finney wrote:
> Russ Allbery <rra@debian.org> writes:
>
> > Bill Allombert <Bill.Allombert@math.u-bordeaux1.fr> writes:
> >
> > > I would prefer if the word kibibyte was not used in policy, so I
> > > would strike '(in other words, the size in kibibytes)'.
> >
> > I don't much like the word either, but at this point it's an IEEE and
> > ISO standard (IEEE 1541-2002). My feeling is that standards are more
> > important than aesthetics and we should generally follow established
> > standards in areas like this unless there's some compelling reason not
> > to.
>
> +1. The unit being discussed (number of bytes divided by 1024) has an
> internationally-accepted standard term, and even if we find the term
> ugly we should acknowledge that term in our use of that unit to clarify
> the intent.
/AOL
While a 'kilobyte' was a close enough approximation of a 'kibibyte', the
percentage difference gets much more significant as we increase disk
size.
1000
1024
102.40%
1000000
1048576
104.86%
1000000000
1073741824
107.37%
1000000000000
1099511627776
109.95%
1000000000000000
1125899906842620
112.59%
We should just use the right term, and we should collectively get over
any dislike of it.
Cheers,
Andrew.
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andrew (AT) morphoss (DOT) com +64(272)DEBIAN
Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from
the cup of bitterness and hatred. -- Martin luther King Jr.
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