Shopsmith Forums

Amazing what one can get enlightened about when things go slightly off topic!

Now if only the IEC were located elsewhere!

Then there is the Octal System.

dusty wrote: ↑Thu Nov 26, 2020 9:34 am Then there is the Octal System.

And BCD.

OOOOHHHHHHH a hybrid! So a GhB?

This perfectly illustrates that there are 10 types of people.

And then we have the Oil and Gas folk. Where MCF and MBBL mean 1000 cubic feet and 1000 barrels. Yes, a thousand and not a million. Allegedly based on the Roman Numeral M. But then they really step on it and use MMCF and MMBBL for millions. Any reasonable person would know that MM actually means two thousand in Roman Numerals, not a thousand times a thousand.

Perhaps this indicates that there are at least 11 types of people?

- David

But is my trusty tape measure still going to work

I'm an EE by training. The definition of a "byte" originates in the 2 state digital systems we have, either on or off of a memory position- like a light switch-theres no in-between. Until we have 3-state or N-state digital systems, there is only 1 correct definition of a kilobyte..and thats 1024 bytes.

b

A few may recall from earlier discussions that I became a computer geek (OK, I don''t recall us ever using that term back then ) back through the last half of the 1960's. The big advantage then was that there were only about 40 things you had to learn to know more than everybody else.
One of the hardest things to do back then was answer peoples questions, which were constant, because no one ever understood your answers. Unlike today the language just wasn't part of folk's vocabulary. All they had was the crap out of science fiction movies which was almost voodoo.

Today I tend to avoid close dimensions. I mostly use terms like smidgen, smite, hair, dab, speck, crumb, sliver and so on all modifiable by the suffix "ish" or the prefixes of tiny, middling or fat.

bainin wrote: ↑Thu Nov 26, 2020 1:20 pm I'm an EE by training. The definition of a "byte" originates in the 2 state digital systems we have, either on or off of a memory position- like a light switch-theres no in-between. Until we have 3-state or N-state digital systems, there is only 1 correct definition of a kilobyte..and thats 1024 bytes.

b

You are referring to bits.

There are 8 bits in a byte.

There are 4 bits in a nibble.

There is one bit in a shannon.

You just described a Kibibyte.


Old habits and perceptions do die hard don;t they.

bainin wrote: ↑Thu Nov 26, 2020 1:20 pm I'm an EE by training. The definition of a "byte" originates in the 2 state digital systems we have, either on or off of a memory position- like a light switch-theres no in-between. Until we have 3-state or N-state digital systems, there is only 1 correct definition of a kilobyte..and thats 1024 bytes.

b

Agreed! If you are working with binary there is no other correct way to describe a kbyte and a nibble is 512 bits.