Re: Hard Disk sizes (was: New Member needs mass storage)

["Peter W. Borders" <TCBORDP@vbbusnw1.tc.cc.va.us>]

> Date sent:      Thu, 16 May 96 20:13:58 EDT
> From:           dewar@gnat.com (Robert Dewar)
> To:             bivanovi@flash.lakeheadu.ca, steverod@cs.berkeley.edu
> Subject:        Re: Hard Disk sizes (was: New Member needs mass storage)
> Copies to:      thinkpad@cs.utk.edu

> "This is a general scam on the part of disk manufacturers; IBM is merely
> following everyone else's lead. My 420MB drive magically became 405, my
> 1.6GB is 1525 MB, or about 1.49GB in reality. This is the Way Things
> Are Done, like it or not.
> "
> 
> I don't find this a scam, it is well defined, and more convenient than
> blindly folowing the usual 1024 = 1000 method (whichis after all
> the non-standard definition!)
> 
Since when is the definition K = 2^10 (1024) non-standard IN RELATION 
TO COMPUTERS? Do you measure your computer's memory in powers of 10? 
All the harddisk manufacturers are doing is confusing the general 
public by using one value for K for harddisks and another for 
anything else to do with a computer. My .02 worth.

Pete