FW: [LINK] Is it Gb or GB?

[Geoffrey Ramadan]

A "word" is any number of bits, and is usually some multiple of bytes 
(which is always 8 bits), that a system wants to use architectually to 
represent a unit of information. Typical word lengths are 8, 16, 32 and 
64 bits.

My dictionary (Data Telecommunications Dictionary - 1999) has
GB = Gigabit
Gb = Gigabyte
which I think is contrary to what has been mentioned.... no wonder 
everyone is confused!
I have also assumed it was GB = GigaByte

Geoffrey Ramadan


Daniel Rose wrote:
>>>> It even adjusts for the difference of 10 v 8.
>>>>         
>
> 10 v 8 what?
>
> "10 vs 2^3"
>
> in other words, 1000 vs 1024, or decimal vs binary.
>
> IIRC, bytes are only relevant inside a computer's circuit board.
> Architectures can use any number of bits for a byte, (or is that a
> word), seven was/is popular with some architectures.
>
> Ostensibly then, networks and storage systems are independent of the
> architecture.  What is 200 Bytes on one system might be a different
> number on a different system.  For precision then, networks and disks
> are measured in bits, and we use the prefixes kilo, mega and giga
> correctly, as in giga-litre or kilo-metre.
>
> Of course, the side effect is that people by a 200Gb disk and get
> ~180GB, which just adds to the overall inscrutability and disappointment
> people tend to get from computers.
>
> When exact meaning is important, one can use mebibyte and gibibyte to
> refer to the various powers of 2 (1024-based figures).
>
>
>
>
>
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