| Monday
July 14, 2003
Dear Jerry:
Let me submit for your consideration my article
"Bytes, bits, KiBs,
and MiBs".
Sincerely,
Der Voron
http://starcraft-version1.tripod.com
Bytes, bits, KiBs, and MiBs, or Why can we not use
right words for
right terms?
By Der Voron, author of Starcraft
As we all know, when we need to say "1,024
bytes" we say "kilobyte",
when we need to say "1,024 bits" we say "kilobit",
when we need to
say "1,024 kilobytes" we say "1 megabyte", and when we
need to
say "1,024 kilobits" we say "1 megabit". Because 1,024
is "approximately equal" to 1,000, we use "kilo" for
1,024, "mega"
for 1,024*1,024, "giga" for 1,024*1,024*1,024, "tera"
for
1,024*1,024*1,024*1,024, "peta" for
1,024*1,024*1,024*1,024*1,024,
etc., being well-aware that in "real life" "kilo" is
for
1,000, "mega" for 1,000,000, "giga" for 1,000,000,000,
and so on.
Maybe it is not as bad as it seems, but one of the
problems that
arise with this system is that, for example, hard drive manufacturers
advise the capacity of their drives either using "1,024s",
or "1,000s", and you cannot know for sure which manufacturer
uses
which number. The same with telecommunication devices: kilobit is for
1,000 or 1,024 bits?
In 1999 IETC, i.e. International Electrotechnical
Commission, decided
to solve this problem and proposed names KiB for "kilobyte"
(spelled "keebeebyte"), Kib for "kilobit" (with b
minuscule,
spelled "keebeebit"), MiB for "megabyte" (spelled
"meebeebyte"), Mib
for "megabit" (again with b minuscule, spelled "meebeebit"),
and so
on for "gigabytes", "gigabits", "terabytes",
"terabits", etc. The
proposal wasn't accepted because of some pronunciation difficulties.
When I read about this, I got amuzed. Why did they
create such
strange names? Wouldn't it be simpler to say letter names instead
of "keebee" and "meebee"? Letter K is pronounced
"kay", letter M is
pronounced "em", letter T is pronounced "tee" (for
"tera" prefix),
etc.
Thus, for example:
1024 bytes -- 1 Kbyte ("kay-byte");
1024 bits -- 1 Kbit ("kay-bit");
1024 Kbytes -- 1 Mbyte ("em-byte");
1024 Kbits -- 1 Mbit ("em-bit").
1024 Mbytes -- 1 Tbyte ("tee-byte")
1024 Mbits -- 1 Tbit ("tee-bit")
As you can see, the names would remain untouched,
but the
pronunciation would change (and wouldn't contain "kilos" and
"megas",
that is "thousands" and "millions"). Thus, let me
submit my proposal
for the consideration of computer and telecom community!
Der Voron
Thank you, A reasonable plan.
On another subject:
Dear Dr. Pournelle,
I note with interest the
letter from Jesse Wendell Seattle, in which he writes:
" STRONGLY endorse - as do hundreds of
leading computer scientists and computer security experts - the resolution
elaborated on at http://www.verifiedvoting.org
, namely, 'Computerized voting equipment is inherently subject to
programming error, equipment malfunction, and malicious tampering. It is
therefore crucial that voting equipment provide a voter-verifiable audit
trail, by which we mean a permanent record of each vote that can be
checked for accuracy by the voter before the vote is submitted, and is
difficult or impossible to alter after it has been checked. Many of the
electronic voting machines being purchased do not satisfy this
requirement. Voting machines should not be purchased or used unless they
provide a voter-verifiable audit trail; when such machines are already in
use, they should be replaced or modified to provide a voter-verifiable
audit trail. Providing a voter-verifiable audit trail should be one of the
essential requirements for certification of new voting systems.'"
I seem to recall Robert Heinlein writing in _Take
Back Your Government_ to the effect that fraud with paper ballots could be
detected by a competent poll-watcher, whereas fraud with a (mechanical)
voting machine, whilst harder to accomplish, could only be detected by a
qualified voting-machine engineer.
Perhaps the emphasis ought not to be on allegedly
fraud-proof systems, but on systems that allow fraud to be easily
detected?
------------------------------------------------
John W. Braue, III <braue@ratsnest.win.net> http://www.win.net/ratsnest/
"Gold cannot always get you good soldiers, but
good soldiers can always get you gold" -- Niccolò Machiavelli
Indeed.
And:
Before the new voting machines were purchased for
Florida, the governor's office formed a committee to solicit input for the
new system. My suggestion was that each voter should receive a receipt for
voting. On the receipt there should be the information about which machine
was used and a cryptographically generated record of how the citizen
voted. If there was ever the question of fraud samples could be requested
from the population and the results sampled against the official database.
The suggestion was rejected with the comment that it might encourage vote
buying and could not be made totally secure due to limitations in
cryptology.
When I consider the current system I cannot wonder
why they would object to such a simple change that would accountability to
the system?
Al Lipscomb.
Anything that lets people verify how they voted
is against the current policy which is to deny people the ability to sell
their vote by not letting them prove how they voted. Whether that works or
not is another matter.
Some kind of unalterable paper trail for recount
and verification purposes is needed. What that would be is another matter.
One is to print a paper ballot which is put into the box; if the precinct
result is challenged the paper ballots can come out. The voter sees the
paper ballot before it goes into the box. No one else does.
>My Windows 2000 Backup Server
died making
awful noises, and I'll have to do another, and yes, I know, Windows 2000
Server doesn't >have "backup" servers. Anyway the primary one
is running, but it will need replacing, and first I need to get a
secondary on line. So first it's >to the cable room to pull the old
machine out and see why it makes grinding noises and puts out no video...
Fair warning, though I'm sure you know more about
this than I do.
IF you have Active Directory deployed, one server is
considered the primary, despite generally claiming not to be. If it goes
down, every... it was either twelve or six hours.... the remaining servers
create a datastorm on the net searching for it. I was having the _oddest_
trouble with a frame relay connection dropping because of that. If there's
a simple way around it, I have yet to find it, as the usual tools provided
_with_ 2K didn't help that much. I hear there's some kind of management
tool that may fix this, but it's not obviously labeled.
C. Hare
Well, Creon is working again and I got some
column material out of it. I do need to update my servers, but I think
that will be with Windows Server 2003 since I do these silly things so you
don't have to...
And see below on Active
Directory
Subject: It just keeps getting better
Apparently many of the folks entrusted to be air
marshals are incapable of learning to use a Palm PDA, and they're not
allowed to use them on the job anyway.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/937704.asp?0cv=CB10
Eric Pobirs
I feel so much safer now.
And:
Dr. Pournelle,
You are so far off base on this I can hardly believe
it is you writing this stuff. I can't believe you don't think this guy got
what he deserved.
What you wrote boils down to this: if one were
presented with either getting your toes sucked by your coach when you were
a ten year old boy, or as an adult losing your entire life's savings. One
or the other is going to happen, so pick which one you want.
For my part, I'd rather lose my life's savings as an
adult. Twice. Thrice. Over and over again, if that's what it takes to
avoid ever having a coach suck my toes as a ten year old boy.
As an adult I can face financial bankruptcy and
having to start over, even though I would not like it very much.
But if a coach had ever done that to me as a ten
year old boy, I think he would have to die.
I can't believe how off base you are on this. The
pervert got what he deserved. The fact that others who do bad things
aren't getting what they deserve is what needs to be fixed.
Sincerely, Jim Snover
Well, it may be off base to insist that crimes be
in the statute book before someone is sentenced to life imprisonment for
committing them, but it puts me in reasonably good company.
And I suspect boys are a lot more resilient than
you seem to believe. If you have ever been a Scout Master and listened
outside the tents at night you would know: ten year old boys are pretty
aware of horror stories. And that's American middle class. One of my best
friends was 12 years old in Japan in 1945. Now there is a man who had
every right to be scarred for life. He is in fact one of the best people I
now and an internationally famed astro-physicist. Incidentally, Yoji is
married to the charming Ursula who grew up in Germany during the 1940's.
She doesn't seem to be too scarred for life either.
Of course if we have a commission to determine
who may be dangerous and ought to be locked up we can prevent all these
horrors. Jail them just in case...
And see below.
This comes from another discussion but I can't
resist posting it:
When someone wondered how such a brilliant writer as
Addison could be so feeble in conversation, Addison replied: "I have
only nine-pence in my pocket, but I can draw on a thousand pounds."
(Doctor Johnson boxed the compass by remarking, on being told this:
"He had not that retort ready, Sir; he had prepared it
before-hand."]
John Derbyshire http://www.olimu.com
Good preparation...
==========================
Subject: On P-51's and short engineering cycles
We could do things like that today, too. What
statements like that overlook is that the nature of the engineering
challenge has changed. In the case of the airplanes of WWII, you basically
designed and built an airframe. An engine was chosen and if you got lucky,
the engine met its performance goals. Fire control was contained in the
brain and two eyeballs of the pilot. Planes were, for the most part,
single purpose. That makes the problem much easier.
Even so, using the P-51 as a case study, the first
design had deficiencies in speed and altitude, which relegated them to the
attack role. It required several revisions for the Merlin to be fitted,
which is when the P-51 became useful as a fighter. I quote this sentence
from the history of the P-51:
"The Merlin installation in the Mustang
required 223,000 engineering hours, compared to the 78,000 engineering
hours required to make the NA-73X."
That's for an *engine* change. Not much more than
new engine mounts and sheet metal. Now think about the much more complex
systems integration issues of today - fire control, flight control, engine
control. All of those are interconnected on platforms that are inherently
unstable. It's not that we have lost capability, it's that we are dealing
with systems that are orders of magnitude more complex.
-- Tom Genereaux <entropy@sunflower.com>
One wants to think on this.
Continuing another subject
Subject: Key words in that
Microsoft alert
>Hm. There are still a lot of people using
those "unsupported" >versions. Could this be Microsoft's
latest push to get people >to "upgrade": end-of-life the
product, then, when the security problem >surface, say "Sorry,
that isn't supported any more, you're on your >own"?
How long should a product be supported? At some
point a product is obsolete and can no longer be supported. And patch
testing can't be cheap. Server products prior to NT 4.0 are OLD in
software terms. When was the last NT 3.51 license sold by M$? Mid 90's? At
some point support, especially free support, has got to end. It would be
different if they were (still) charging maintenance for it. I don't know
what is reasonable, but there has to be an end somewhere....
Clayton Wrobel
Agreed. ON the other hand, don't Navy ships still
use NT 3.51? And see below.
And
Subject: Caveat emptor - Fry's
13 July 2003
Dear Dr. Pournelle,
You have often mentioned Fry's Electronics as a
place that you pick up some computer/electronic odd or end. The the lesson
learned that I wish to pass along to all Fry's customers is: check out
your purchases A.S.A.P. In the parking lot, if possible. I've discovered
that Fry's seems to share the same concept of customer service as the TSA
(I've flown recently and experienced firsthand the TSA's tender graces).
I've been accumulating parts for building a
secondary computer for some time. I purchased the case from Fry's last
January, but didn't have all my ducks in a row until recently, so the case
sat in its box. Yesterday, I finally had all the parts and the time. I put
it all together, wired the last connection, plugged it in and threw the
switch. Not a flicker, not a glow, not a hum. I checked connections, which
seemed fine, then noticed that the power supply cooling fan was not even
running. I used my volt meter and discovered that the 5 volt and 12 volt
power leads were both putting out about 1 volt. Aha, a bad power supply! I
had my receipt, and I was sure that major firm like Fry's would set thing
right.
It was a 25 mile trip to the store, and a 10 minute
wait in line to talk to someone. I presented my story, the case, and the
receipt. To summarize; after about fifteen minutes consultations and
research amongst 3-4 Fry's employees, they presented me with the following
fiats:
1) I couldn't have a refund, because they only give
those for thirty days. 2) I couldn't exchange it for a good case of the
same model, because it was discontinued. 3) I couldn't have a prorated
refund (one employee who seemed to have a glimmer of the concept of
customer service suggested about 25%), because the possibility was
overruled by senior management present. 4) I couldn't have even partial
credit toward a new case, which I expressed a willingness to buy, because
(reason not stated).
I left the case on the counter and walked away,
since they have a bigger dumpster than I do. They also have my perfectly
good money, and have given me nothing useful in exchange. I realize that
you and many of your readers will most likely continue to do business with
Fry's, even though I'll never darken their door again. Fry's will sell you
defective merchandise on occasion, and the precept "the customer is
always right" has no place in their inflexible rules for dealing with
returns. It seems silly to alienate customers over such a trivial amount
of money, but I had plenty of time to eavesdrop on the conversations all
up and down the "customer service" counter, and I heard
everywhere Fry's employees pointing out how their inflexible rules
prevented customer satisfaction and sorry there's nothing we can do about
it.
A lot of people put up with the TSA because they
have little choice, but I do have a choice not to spend (more of) my money
at Fry's, and I will exercise that choice.
Greg Hemsath
"The critical ingredient is getting off your
butt and doing something." Robert Browning
I find Fry's convenient, but I don't go there for
the warranties. By all means if you have a better place that will have
what you want in stock when you need it for a deadline, go there.
My experience at Fry's is that there are always a
couple of people who know what they are doing, and then there are the
rest. But I know what to expect when I go there.
=======================
Free Nevada Now!
The Great Crawfish Raid!
Dear Jerry,
Our Protectors at work again:
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/
2003/Jul-13-Sun-2003/opinion/21600895.html
It puts me in mind of the King of Siam's pondering
in "The King and I" ("A Puzzlement"):
"..If allies are strong enough to protect me,
might they not protect me out of all I own?"
Regards,
Gordon Runkle
-- "The tragedy of modern man is not that he
knows less and less about the meaning of his own life, but that it bothers
him less and less." --Vaclav Havel
Well we're all safe from the Australian lobster
now! Just as well.
========================
Frank Gasparik sends
Hi Jerry Pournelle,
Frank G stopped by Planetary Society and suggested
that you visit the following URL:
http://www.planetary.org/solarsail/ss_and_physics.html
Here is their message.... Hi Jerry; This might be
worth P{osting. A knowledgeable rebuttal to "Solar Sails Wont
Work". Edit at will. Frank Gasperik
Planetary Society
http://planetary.org/
which is Lou Friedman's reply to Tom Gold's
objections to solar sails. As for me, once we get to orbit there are many
things we can do. Making orbit is something else again.
TOP
CURRENT
VIEW |
CLICK HERE for
a Special Request. 
