Re: 1mb = how many blocks?


"Joe Forster/STA" wrote ...

There are no different definitions for megabytes, only one: 10^6 bytes.
Similarly, kilobyte is 10^3 bytes and gigabyte is 10^9 bytes, not more or
less.

Memory capacity is usually quantified in terms of kilobytes, megabytes, and
gigabytes. Although the prefixes kilo-, mega-, and giga-, are taken from the
metric system, they have a slightly different meaning when applied to
computer memories. In the metric system, kilo- means 1 thousand; mega-, 1
million; and giga-, 1 billion. When applied to computer memory, however, the
prefixes are measured as powers of two, with kilo- meaning 2 raised to the
10th power, or 1,024; mega- meaning 2 raised to the 20th power, or 1,048,576;
and giga- meaning 2 raised to the 30th power, or 1,073,741,824. Thus, a
kilobyte is 1,024 bytes and a megabyte is 1,048,576 bytes. It is easier to
remember that a kilobyte is approximately 1,000 bytes, a megabyte is
approximately 1 million bytes, and a gigabyte is approximately 1 billion
bytes.

What you're talking about are the magnitudes of powers of two. However,
these have different names and prefixes: kibibyte (KiB; why with a capital
"K"?!) is 2^10 bytes, mebibyte (MiB; as in Men in Black ;-) ) is 2^20
bytes, gibibyte (GiB) is 2^30 bytes. ("bi" obviously comes from "binary".)

To most of the computing world it is kilobyte rather than kibibyte, megabyte
rather than mebibyte, and gigabyte rather than gibibyte. What planet did
this strange terminology originate on?

Keep reading the S (Systeme International d'Unites), _that_ is _the_
standard! There's a good excerpt at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mebibyte
(and related pages), as well.

Is wikipedia _really_ a reliable source of information?
--
Best regards,

Sam Gillett

Change is inevitable,
except from vending machines!


.

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