Well bite my giga. grin ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Ferrin" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, August 13, 2011 6:57 PM Subject: Re: [Blind-Computing] WHAT ARE BYTES ANYWAY?
> Let us not forget the fact that there are 8 bits in a byte and 1024 bytes in > a kilobyte. The fact is boys and girls although a hard drive for example may > indeed have a trillion bytes of storage it is in fact only a 931 gigabyte > drive. This is because hard drive manufacturers operate on the base 10 > system where as computers function on the base 2 system in that the only 2 > states of electricity are on or off. > > Hence forth a zero indicates that the power is off where as a one means that > the power is on. When it boils down to the lowest common denominator this is > all a computer is capable of doing. > > There was a time when I could write my name just for fun in binary language > but then I discovered girls and thought there was better things to do with > my time. > David Ferrin > Most people don't know what they're doing and a lot of them are really good > at it. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Rick Justice" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Saturday, August 13, 2011 7:03 PM > Subject: Re: [Blind-Computing] WHAT ARE BYTES ANYWAY? > > > > Hi John, > > This is a nice dissertation on the subject, > > but it would be helpful to the not so literate computer user to keep a > > clear distinction between hard drive storage, and, physical memory (ram). > > So many computer terms are used inter-changeably, that it can become > > confusing. > > HTH, > > Rick Justice > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "John Justice" <[email protected]> > > To: <[email protected]> > > Sent: Saturday, August 13, 2011 6:25 PM > > Subject: [Blind-Computing] WHAT ARE BYTES ANYWAY? > > > > > > This message is for Yvonne and anyone else who might have been wondering > > about these terms which are batted back and forth so readily by computer > > users. > > > > A byte is a single exchange of digital data. It is the minimal > > measurement > > of any digital exchange. > > > > 1 kilobyte = one thousand bytes. > > > > 1 megabyte =one thousand kilobytes or one million bytes. > > > > In Yvonne's question, she asked how many kilobytes are in 7 megabytes. > > > > 7 megabytes = 7 thousand kilobytes or 7 million bytes of data transmitted > > in > > a second. > > > > That is one incredibly fast transfer speed. You should be aware however, > > that the figure mentioned is a selling point. You will get that kind of > > speed some of the time when all conditions are optimal. Many things can > > impact that speed however. That would include, internet conditions at the > > time of the transmission, the condition of the fiber optic cable, weather > > and so on. > > > > But what impacts download speed the most are two factors. > > > > 1. Your own individual computer, > > > > 2. The current usage on that particular internet service provider's > > network. > > > > Let me reassure you Yvonne that even at the worst of times, fiber optic > > transmission is many times faster than any conventional cable network and > > often hundreds of times faster than any dial up connection. The reason > > for > > that is simple although the technology is light years away from what we > > started with. Fiber optic is literally information sent through glass > > fiber > > by equipment which uses light rather than electricity to carry modulated > > signals. One fiber optic cable can handle thousands of simultaneous > > transmissions. By the time the signal reaches your computer of course, it > > has been converted to standard electronic formats. But the speed between > > various conversion points is nothing less than phenomenal! It is > > relatively > > new technology however and as such, tends to be considerably more > > expensive > > when compared to standard cable networks. There are commercials out there > > which try to claim that new technology has made older style cable systems > > as > > fast as fiber optics. They have certainly improved their download speeds > > but even at their best and most expensive speeds, they are still operating > > at about half the download speed of a fiber optic system. But why should > > anyone care about that speed? As technology has developed, software has > > increased in complexity and has grown in size as a result. In the year > > 2000, the average size of a computer program was about six hundred > > kilobytes. Today, the average size of a piece of ordinary software is two > > megabytes. When a computer user is dealing with software or downloads > > which > > are that big or larger, he or she needs to get that information into the > > computer as quickly as possible. Even with today's amazing improvements > > in > > service, the potential for interruption or corruption of a large file > > during > > transfer is still a possibility. Here's an example of what I mean. If a > > computer user downloads a song which contains multiple media such as > > music, > > video, static data and functional parameters, one song can be as much as > > three megabytes in size. If anything interferes with that download before > > it is completed, the entire program might be rendered useless. The idea > > therefore is to transmit data as quickly as possible. The longer the > > connection between two computers exists, the potential for interruption > > increases exponentially. > > > > The introduction of download services like Apple, Audio.com and net > > flicks, > > means that more and more people are obtaining their entertainment over the > > internet rather than purchasing hard copies. Think about that for a > > moment. > > How much of the software on your computer has been downloaded, rather than > > installed from a hard disk? Most computers sold today have hard drives > > that > > are at least two hundred and fifty gigabytes in size. That kind of memory > > was unheard of even ten years ago. A gigabyte is one thousand megabytes. > > One computer expert surmised that there is more memory in personal > > computers > > today than there was in all of the government's computers back in the > > year, > > 2000. I believe that one of our list members has a portable hard drive > > that > > is several terabytes in size. A terabyte is one thousand gigabytes. > > > > > > > > As time passes, we, as blind computer users, are relying on the > > dependability of our computers to provide access to the world around us. > > In > > my opinion, the only way to assure us of reliable download capability is > > by > > obtaining the fastest possible internet service. That is fiber optic for > > the moment. > > > > > > > > JOHN AND LINDA JUSTICE > > > > WITH GUIDE DOGS JAKE AND ZACHARY > > > > PERSONAL E-MAIL: <mailto:[email protected]> > > [email protected] > > > > For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: > > http://www.jaws-users.com/help/ > > > > > > For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: > > http://www.jaws-users.com/help/ > > > For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: > http://www.jaws-users.com/help/ For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: http://www.jaws-users.com/help/
