Re: Bad Metric ... 1k = 1024 or 1000?

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

Jeff Blakeney writes ...
> 
 ....
> 
> Why create a new term for something that is so close?  Besides, it
> only applies to computer related stuff anyways and all the computer
> people back then knew about the difference.  The only reason this is
> coming up as a problem now is that there are so many people who know
> nothing about how computers work using computers.
>
 ....

     The whole point of GUI and associated OS's is to make the computer a
'natural', transparent medium. The user is not supposed to need to know
computer nuts & bolts in order to do research, write papers, create graphics,
... _or_ manage files. An OS which reports file size in 1024 "k" units is
clearly out of step with the primary mission of any general user interface.

     Only in computer slang do we automatically assume that 1k of something
(specifically bytes, bits, words, ...) is 1024. 1k revolutions of a disk drive
per minute would be taken as 1000 rpm. When you sell 1k 6502's or 1k feet of
heat shrinkable tubing you do not ship 1024 chips or 1024 feet of tubing.

     Whether some computer types like it or not, "k" means "1000" to millions
of computer users and practically everyone else on Earth. When Windows or GS/OS
or whatever tells a user how big a file is, "k" should mean 1000.



Rubywand