initialise or initialize?

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Kojack
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Re: initialise or initialize?

Post by Kojack »

After 40+ years of programmers successfully using the word kilobyte to mean 1024 bytes (because powers of 2 are rather computer friendly), the IEEE decided that 1024 is just too difficult for average people to understand and we should dumb down our units so everybody is happy. But since 1024 is still important, we can use new names instead: Kibibyte, Mebibyte, Gibibyte, Tebibyte, etc.
So Kibibyte is 1024 bytes, while Kilobyte now means 1000 bytes.

Of course hard drive makers and internet providers have been using 1000 instead of 1024 for years, so they can rip us off with deceptive sizes.

Not every word starting with mega must be 1000000! Megacardia means your heart is too big, it doesn't mean you have 1000000 hearts. Maybe the IEEE should tell doctors that from now on they must call the condition Mebicardia, so it doesn't confuse people who think it's possible to have a million hearts in their chest.

At least they could have come up with new terms which don't sound like baby talk. Like maybe the ultrabyte, uberbyte, awesobyte, incredibyte, hyperbyte. etc.
I'd love to own a 1 uberbyte hard drive. :)
Goilveig
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Re: initialise or initialize?

Post by Goilveig »

Kojack wrote:Not every word starting with mega must be 1000000! Megacardia means your heart is too big, it doesn't mean you have 1000000 hearts.
Seriously? CRAP!!!

Now I'm gonna have 999,999 pissed off people when they find out I can't really sell them a new heart after all. Why couldn't the doctors name this condition better? This is what happens when you allow a prefix to mean more than one thing!
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nikki
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Re: initialise or initialize?

Post by nikki »

Kojack wrote:After 40+ years of programmers successfully using the word kilobyte to mean 1024 bytes (because powers of 2 are rather computer friendly), the IEEE decided that 1024 is just too difficult for average people to understand and we should dumb down our units so everybody is happy.
Humans...
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spacegaier
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Re: initialise or initialize?

Post by spacegaier »

nikki wrote:
Kojack wrote:After 40+ years of programmers successfully using the word kilobyte to mean 1024 bytes (because powers of 2 are rather computer friendly), the IEEE decided that 1024 is just too difficult for average people to understand and we should dumb down our units so everybody is happy.
Humans...
...with an increased need to press everything (no matter how good it is in its current state) into new shapes :evil: :evil: :evil:
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