imp@dancer.Solbourne.COM (Warner Losh) (08/24/90)
There are two conventions for "Mega" and "Kilo". Mega in everything except computer memory means 1,000,000. It is an international standard. This is why you have Mega-ton missils aimed at the whole world. In computer memeory, 1M is 1024*1024 (2^20) = 1,048,576. When it comes to hard disks, however, there seems to be two usages for Mega. One of them is the same way that computer memory is measured, while the other is how everything else is measured. Talking with the hardware types here confirmed that a 100M hard disk will most probably have on it 10^8 byes of storage. However, that number can be up to 104,857,600, however, that is realitively rare. Smaller hard disks (like the 5Meg or 10Meg or even the 32Meg) tend to use the compuer memory measures, while larger ones almost always use the more universal meaning. Same thing goes for Kilo, but in floppy disks 1K almost always is 1024. Warner Losh imp@Solbourne.COM Me? I'm the onion rings.