Apple Still Thinks Consumers Are Idiots

Many people have a misconception about the way computer disk space is measured. They think:

1 KB = 1,000 bytes

1 MB = 1,000 KB = 1,000,000 bytes

1 GB = 1,000 MB = 1,000,000,000 bytes

1 TB = 1,000 GB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes

but most computer people understand how it really is:

1 KB = 1,024 bytes
1 MB = 1,024 KB = 1,048,576 bytes
1 GB = 1,024 MB = 1,073,741,824 bytes
1 TB = 1,024 GB = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes

Well, Apple thinks that’s stupid (I have no opinion):

http://www.macworld.com/article/142471/snow_leopard_math.html

“In previous versions of Mac OS X, Apple used the 1024^3 definition of GB. Rather than keep that math and start calling it GiB, Apple has started using the 1000^3 definition.”

Catch that? Now, a disk drive that previously held 1 KB (1,024 bytes) now holds 1.024 KB. In other words, you’ll see a jump in the drive space of a Mac. Great, right?

Wrong. The files saved on the disk will also be bigger. Apple gets to advertise a larger disk drive while keeping the actual size the same.

Nice, Apple. We know you think you’re smarter than us, but come on. Seriously?