Messages in this thread | | | Date | Thu, 20 Dec 2001 17:44:23 -0800 | From | Stephen Satchell <> | Subject | Re: Changing KB, MB, and GB to KiB, MiB, and GiB in Configure.help. |
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At 07:47 PM 12/20/01 +0100, Michael Dunsky wrote: >You are close - he uses "MiB" as short for "mebi" - Mega-binary. >Don't laugh - this is official! It's exactly for what you said: >[snip] >For a short reading I recommend this: > >http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/binary.html
Yet on this page you point to, the first paragraph under the table reads as follows:
"It is important to recognize that the new prefixes for binary multiples are not part of the International System of Units (SI), the modern metric system."
That disclaimer makes it highly UNofficial.
It also goes against legacy use, as well as use within the kernel and GNU utilities for informative messages.
We have enough problem introducing non-technical people to Linux as it is without inflicting new and obscure abbreviations. Notice that the discussion is about changes to Configure.help, the WORST place to start introducing new and not-widely-used notation.
Hey, it's not a bad idea, but I want it adopted first in things like stories in the mass media before we start introducing it in Configure.help.
Stephen Satchell
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