Date   : Thu, 09 Feb 2006 09:49:50 +0000
From   : "Austin Pass" <austinpass.bbc@...>
Subject: Re: Grammar

On 9/2/06 00:09, "Jeremy C B Nicoll" <Jeremy@...> wrote:

> (etc).  I particularly hate the modern tendency to write, say:
> 
> 1mb
> 
> meaning 1 megabyte; I'd read "mb" as milli-something.  Millibar if
> there was a weather reference.  Millibit in computing, not that it
> means anything.  I'm sure that conventional scientific notation uses
> capitals for all the increasing multiples of a thousand, like
>  
>  K   Kilo    M mega    and so on
> 
> and lowercase ones for the diminishing multiples: m - milli etc.

The worst one with respect to this phenomenon is people (most often supposed
"ICT authorities") who don't understand the difference between a bit and a
byte, usually in the context of megabits and megabytes, usually with
reference to bandwidth indicators.

Every time I divide their x megabit download speeds by eight to calculate
the *real* time for a y MB download they become utterly confused.  This
really ought to be the computing equivalent of "learning your abc", right?

-Austin.