Can someone explain these:

The difference between kilobits(kb) and kilobytes(KB)?

How many of each in a megabyte?

If I download a file using IE and it says I'm getting 500KB, is that 1/2 meg
or is that 5 meg?

In windows explorer it shows file sizes in KB, is that kilobytes?

I'm not grasping the conversion process here.

In news:3179BB3F-C679-4FC4-AE1B-0D48446C1B45@microsoft.com,
phil-rge-ee <philrgeee@discussions.microsoft.com> typed:

> Can someone explain these:
>
> The difference between kilobits(kb) and kilobytes(KB)?


A byte consists of eight bits (binary digits--ones or zeros). A
kilobit is 1024 bits and a kilobyte is 1024 bytes. There are
therefore eight kilobits in a kilobyte.



> How many of each in a megabyte?


There are 1024 kilobytes in a megabyte. There are eight time as
many kilobits in a megabyte--8192 of them.


> If I download a file using IE and it says I'm getting 500KB, is
> that
> 1/2 meg or is that 5 meg?


Half a meg (roughly)


> In windows explorer it shows file sizes in KB, is that
> kilobytes?


Yes.


> I'm not grasping the conversion process here.


There are two things you need to know:

1. There are eight bits in a byte.

2. The progression byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, terabyte.
Each of those is 1024 times as large as the one before it.

Note that I'm using these terms in the computer sense, where they
are multiples of 1024. In ordinary usage (and actually in
international standard usage) the multiplier is 1000, not 1024.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup

Ken Blake wrote:

> In news:3179BB3F-C679-4FC4-AE1B-0D48446C1B45@microsoft.com,
> phil-rge-ee <philrgeee@discussions.microsoft.com> typed:
>
>
>>Can someone explain these:
>>
>>The difference between kilobits(kb) and kilobytes(KB)?
>
>
>
> A byte consists of eight bits (binary digits--ones or zeros). A
> kilobit is 1024 bits and a kilobyte is 1024 bytes. There are
> therefore eight kilobits in a kilobyte.
>
>
>
>
>>How many of each in a megabyte?
>
>
>
> There are 1024 kilobytes in a megabyte. There are eight time as
> many kilobits in a megabyte--8192 of them.
>
>
>
>>If I download a file using IE and it says I'm getting 500KB, is
>>that
>>1/2 meg or is that 5 meg?
>
>
>
> Half a meg (roughly)
>
>
>
>> In windows explorer it shows file sizes in KB, is that
>>kilobytes?
>
>
>
> Yes.
>
>
>
>>I'm not grasping the conversion process here.
>
>
>
> There are two things you need to know:
>
> 1. There are eight bits in a byte.
>
> 2. The progression byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, terabyte.
> Each of those is 1024 times as large as the one before it.
>
> Note that I'm using these terms in the computer sense, where they
> are multiples of 1024. In ordinary usage (and actually in
> international standard usage) the multiplier is 1000, not 1024.
>

Additionally:

b = bit
B = Byte

Kb = Kilobits
KB = KiloBytes

Mb = Megabits
MB = MegaBytes

Etc.

Steve

OK, thanks Ken, that's clears some things up. Just one more thing.
My ISP, road runner, says I should get up to 7mbps down. They have a speed
test site that says on the site it is connected directly to road runners
backbone and you download a 50mb file. When I do this IE reports my transfer
rate at 818KB/sec. So does this mean I'm getting less than 1mb down? And if
so, isn't that slow compared to what they say I should get when downloading a
file from their backbone?

"Ken Blake" wrote:

> In news:3179BB3F-C679-4FC4-AE1B-0D48446C1B45@microsoft.com,
> phil-rge-ee <philrgeee@discussions.microsoft.com> typed:
>
> > Can someone explain these:
> >
> > The difference between kilobits(kb) and kilobytes(KB)?
>
>
> A byte consists of eight bits (binary digits--ones or zeros). A
> kilobit is 1024 bits and a kilobyte is 1024 bytes. There are
> therefore eight kilobits in a kilobyte.
>
>
>
> > How many of each in a megabyte?
>
>
> There are 1024 kilobytes in a megabyte. There are eight time as
> many kilobits in a megabyte--8192 of them.
>
>
> > If I download a file using IE and it says I'm getting 500KB, is
> > that
> > 1/2 meg or is that 5 meg?
>
>
> Half a meg (roughly)
>
>
> > In windows explorer it shows file sizes in KB, is that
> > kilobytes?
>
>
> Yes.
>
>
> > I'm not grasping the conversion process here.
>
>
> There are two things you need to know:
>
> 1. There are eight bits in a byte.
>
> 2. The progression byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, terabyte.
> Each of those is 1024 times as large as the one before it.
>
> Note that I'm using these terms in the computer sense, where they
> are multiples of 1024. In ordinary usage (and actually in
> international standard usage) the multiplier is 1000, not 1024.
>
> --
> Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
> Please reply to the newsgroup
>
>
>

After seeing the info Steve provided as well as Kens info, I think I have
answered my own question. The 800KB transfer rate is roughly equal to
7-8megabits/sec(mbps)down, which is what I should be getting. Is my thinking
correct?

"phil-rge-ee" wrote:

> OK, thanks Ken, that's clears some things up. Just one more thing.
> My ISP, road runner, says I should get up to 7mbps down. They have a speed
> test site that says on the site it is connected directly to road runners
> backbone and you download a 50mb file. When I do this IE reports my transfer
> rate at 818KB/sec. So does this mean I'm getting less than 1mb down? And if
> so, isn't that slow compared to what they say I should get when downloading a
> file from their backbone?
>
> "Ken Blake" wrote:
>
> > In news:3179BB3F-C679-4FC4-AE1B-0D48446C1B45@microsoft.com,
> > phil-rge-ee <philrgeee@discussions.microsoft.com> typed:
> >
> > > Can someone explain these:
> > >
> > > The difference between kilobits(kb) and kilobytes(KB)?
> >
> >
> > A byte consists of eight bits (binary digits--ones or zeros). A
> > kilobit is 1024 bits and a kilobyte is 1024 bytes. There are
> > therefore eight kilobits in a kilobyte.
> >
> >
> >
> > > How many of each in a megabyte?
> >
> >
> > There are 1024 kilobytes in a megabyte. There are eight time as
> > many kilobits in a megabyte--8192 of them.
> >
> >
> > > If I download a file using IE and it says I'm getting 500KB, is
> > > that
> > > 1/2 meg or is that 5 meg?
> >
> >
> > Half a meg (roughly)
> >
> >
> > > In windows explorer it shows file sizes in KB, is that
> > > kilobytes?
> >
> >
> > Yes.
> >
> >
> > > I'm not grasping the conversion process here.
> >
> >
> > There are two things you need to know:
> >
> > 1. There are eight bits in a byte.
> >
> > 2. The progression byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, terabyte.
> > Each of those is 1024 times as large as the one before it.
> >
> > Note that I'm using these terms in the computer sense, where they
> > are multiples of 1024. In ordinary usage (and actually in
> > international standard usage) the multiplier is 1000, not 1024.
> >
> > --
> > Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
> > Please reply to the newsgroup
> >
> >
> >

In news:514570F4-6179-47A3-AA2F-6568568C21AB@microsoft.com,
phil-rge-ee <philrgeee@discussions.microsoft.com> typed:

> OK, thanks Ken, that's clears some things up.


You're welcome. Glad to help.


> Just one more thing.
> My ISP, road runner, says I should get up to 7mbps down. They
> have a
> speed test site that says on the site it is connected directly
> to
> road runners backbone and you download a 50mb file. When I do
> this IE
> reports my transfer rate at 818KB/sec. So does this mean I'm
> getting
> less than 1mb down? And if so, isn't that slow compared to what
> they
> say I should get when downloading a file from their backbone?


Be careful and be sure that you're measuring everything in the
same units--bits vs bytes. If you've written it correctly above,
7mbps is 7168kbps, which is 896 kBps (b is bits; B is bytes). So
your transfer rate is just below what they've told you--pretty
good.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup



> "Ken Blake" wrote:
>
>> In news:3179BB3F-C679-4FC4-AE1B-0D48446C1B45@microsoft.com,
>> phil-rge-ee <philrgeee@discussions.microsoft.com> typed:
>>
>>> Can someone explain these:
>>>
>>> The difference between kilobits(kb) and kilobytes(KB)?
>>
>>
>> A byte consists of eight bits (binary digits--ones or zeros).
>> A
>> kilobit is 1024 bits and a kilobyte is 1024 bytes. There are
>> therefore eight kilobits in a kilobyte.
>>
>>
>>
>>> How many of each in a megabyte?
>>
>>
>> There are 1024 kilobytes in a megabyte. There are eight time
>> as
>> many kilobits in a megabyte--8192 of them.
>>
>>
>>> If I download a file using IE and it says I'm getting 500KB,
>>> is
>>> that
>>> 1/2 meg or is that 5 meg?
>>
>>
>> Half a meg (roughly)
>>
>>
>>> In windows explorer it shows file sizes in KB, is that
>>> kilobytes?
>>
>>
>> Yes.
>>
>>
>>> I'm not grasping the conversion process here.
>>
>>
>> There are two things you need to know:
>>
>> 1. There are eight bits in a byte.
>>
>> 2. The progression byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte,
>> terabyte.
>> Each of those is 1024 times as large as the one before it.
>>
>> Note that I'm using these terms in the computer sense, where
>> they
>> are multiples of 1024. In ordinary usage (and actually in
>> international standard usage) the multiplier is 1000, not
>> 1024.
>>
>> --
>> Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
>> Please reply to the newsgroup

phil-rge-ee wrote:

> OK, thanks Ken, that's clears some things up. Just one more thing.
> My ISP, road runner, says I should get up to 7mbps down.

That is 7 Megabits per second. Not MegaBytes, megaBITS.

> They have a speed
> test site that says on the site it is connected directly to road runners
> backbone and you download a 50mb file.

That would probably be a 50MB (MegaBYTE) file.


> When I do this IE reports my transfer
> rate at 818KB/sec.

If that is KiloBYTES per second IE is reporting, then without resorting
to hexadecimal math, my guess is that should be about right and you're
doing good.

This might help:
http://www.edoceo.com/utilis/bandwidth-calculator.php

> So does this mean I'm getting less than 1mb down?

Again, 1mb means 1 megabit, not MegaBYTE. 7mbps is not 7 MegaBytes per
second, it is 7 megabits per second.

> And if
> so, isn't that slow compared to what they say I should get when downloading a
> file from their backbone?

No, looks about right to me. The confusion is in the caps, once again;
kb = kilobits, KB = KiloBytes, mb = megabits, MB = megabytes.

Steve

>
> "Ken Blake" wrote:
>
>
>>In news:3179BB3F-C679-4FC4-AE1B-0D48446C1B45@microsoft.com,
>>phil-rge-ee <philrgeee@discussions.microsoft.com> typed:
>>
>>
>>>Can someone explain these:
>>>
>>>The difference between kilobits(kb) and kilobytes(KB)?
>>
>>
>>A byte consists of eight bits (binary digits--ones or zeros). A
>>kilobit is 1024 bits and a kilobyte is 1024 bytes. There are
>>therefore eight kilobits in a kilobyte.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>How many of each in a megabyte?
>>
>>
>>There are 1024 kilobytes in a megabyte. There are eight time as
>>many kilobits in a megabyte--8192 of them.
>>
>>
>>
>>>If I download a file using IE and it says I'm getting 500KB, is
>>>that
>>>1/2 meg or is that 5 meg?
>>
>>
>>Half a meg (roughly)
>>
>>
>>
>>> In windows explorer it shows file sizes in KB, is that
>>>kilobytes?
>>
>>
>>Yes.
>>
>>
>>
>>>I'm not grasping the conversion process here.
>>
>>
>>There are two things you need to know:
>>
>>1. There are eight bits in a byte.
>>
>>2. The progression byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, terabyte.
>>Each of those is 1024 times as large as the one before it.
>>
>>Note that I'm using these terms in the computer sense, where they
>>are multiples of 1024. In ordinary usage (and actually in
>>international standard usage) the multiplier is 1000, not 1024.
>>
>>--
>>Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
>>Please reply to the newsgroup
>>
>>
>>

phil-rge-ee wrote:

> After seeing the info Steve provided as well as Kens info, I think I have
> answered my own question. The 800KB transfer rate is roughly equal to
> 7-8megabits/sec(mbps)down, which is what I should be getting. Is my thinking
> correct?

Yep.

Steve

>
> "phil-rge-ee" wrote:
>
>
>>OK, thanks Ken, that's clears some things up. Just one more thing.
>>My ISP, road runner, says I should get up to 7mbps down. They have a speed
>>test site that says on the site it is connected directly to road runners
>>backbone and you download a 50mb file. When I do this IE reports my transfer
>>rate at 818KB/sec. So does this mean I'm getting less than 1mb down? And if
>>so, isn't that slow compared to what they say I should get when downloading a
>>file from their backbone?
>>
>>"Ken Blake" wrote:
>>
>>
>>>In news:3179BB3F-C679-4FC4-AE1B-0D48446C1B45@microsoft.com,
>>>phil-rge-ee <philrgeee@discussions.microsoft.com> typed:
>>>
>>>
>>>>Can someone explain these:
>>>>
>>>>The difference between kilobits(kb) and kilobytes(KB)?
>>>
>>>
>>>A byte consists of eight bits (binary digits--ones or zeros). A
>>>kilobit is 1024 bits and a kilobyte is 1024 bytes. There are
>>>therefore eight kilobits in a kilobyte.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>How many of each in a megabyte?
>>>
>>>
>>>There are 1024 kilobytes in a megabyte. There are eight time as
>>>many kilobits in a megabyte--8192 of them.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>If I download a file using IE and it says I'm getting 500KB, is
>>>>that
>>>>1/2 meg or is that 5 meg?
>>>
>>>
>>>Half a meg (roughly)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> In windows explorer it shows file sizes in KB, is that
>>>>kilobytes?
>>>
>>>
>>>Yes.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>I'm not grasping the conversion process here.
>>>
>>>
>>>There are two things you need to know:
>>>
>>>1. There are eight bits in a byte.
>>>
>>>2. The progression byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, terabyte.
>>>Each of those is 1024 times as large as the one before it.
>>>
>>>Note that I'm using these terms in the computer sense, where they
>>>are multiples of 1024. In ordinary usage (and actually in
>>>international standard usage) the multiplier is 1000, not 1024.
>>>
>>>--
>>>Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
>>>Please reply to the newsgroup
>>>
>>>
>>>

Ok, got it now, thanks for your help.

"Steve N." wrote:

> phil-rge-ee wrote:
>
> > OK, thanks Ken, that's clears some things up. Just one more thing.
> > My ISP, road runner, says I should get up to 7mbps down.
>
> That is 7 Megabits per second. Not MegaBytes, megaBITS.
>
> > They have a speed
> > test site that says on the site it is connected directly to road runners
> > backbone and you download a 50mb file.
>
> That would probably be a 50MB (MegaBYTE) file.
>
>
> > When I do this IE reports my transfer
> > rate at 818KB/sec.
>
> If that is KiloBYTES per second IE is reporting, then without resorting
> to hexadecimal math, my guess is that should be about right and you're
> doing good.
>
> This might help:
> http://www.edoceo.com/utilis/bandwidth-calculator.php
>
> > So does this mean I'm getting less than 1mb down?
>
> Again, 1mb means 1 megabit, not MegaBYTE. 7mbps is not 7 MegaBytes per
> second, it is 7 megabits per second.
>
> > And if
> > so, isn't that slow compared to what they say I should get when downloading a
> > file from their backbone?
>
> No, looks about right to me. The confusion is in the caps, once again;
> kb = kilobits, KB = KiloBytes, mb = megabits, MB = megabytes.
>
> Steve
>
> >
> > "Ken Blake" wrote:
> >
> >
> >>In news:3179BB3F-C679-4FC4-AE1B-0D48446C1B45@microsoft.com,
> >>phil-rge-ee <philrgeee@discussions.microsoft.com> typed:
> >>
> >>
> >>>Can someone explain these:
> >>>
> >>>The difference between kilobits(kb) and kilobytes(KB)?
> >>
> >>
> >>A byte consists of eight bits (binary digits--ones or zeros). A
> >>kilobit is 1024 bits and a kilobyte is 1024 bytes. There are
> >>therefore eight kilobits in a kilobyte.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>>How many of each in a megabyte?
> >>
> >>
> >>There are 1024 kilobytes in a megabyte. There are eight time as
> >>many kilobits in a megabyte--8192 of them.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>>If I download a file using IE and it says I'm getting 500KB, is
> >>>that
> >>>1/2 meg or is that 5 meg?
> >>
> >>
> >>Half a meg (roughly)
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>> In windows explorer it shows file sizes in KB, is that
> >>>kilobytes?
> >>
> >>
> >>Yes.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>>I'm not grasping the conversion process here.
> >>
> >>
> >>There are two things you need to know:
> >>
> >>1. There are eight bits in a byte.
> >>
> >>2. The progression byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, terabyte.
> >>Each of those is 1024 times as large as the one before it.
> >>
> >>Note that I'm using these terms in the computer sense, where they
> >>are multiples of 1024. In ordinary usage (and actually in
> >>international standard usage) the multiplier is 1000, not 1024.
> >>
> >>--
> >>Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
> >>Please reply to the newsgroup
> >>
> >>
> >>
>
>

Ok, I got it now. Thanks for all your help.

"Ken Blake" wrote:

> In news:514570F4-6179-47A3-AA2F-6568568C21AB@microsoft.com,
> phil-rge-ee <philrgeee@discussions.microsoft.com> typed:
>
> > OK, thanks Ken, that's clears some things up.
>
>
> You're welcome. Glad to help.
>
>
> > Just one more thing.
> > My ISP, road runner, says I should get up to 7mbps down. They
> > have a
> > speed test site that says on the site it is connected directly
> > to
> > road runners backbone and you download a 50mb file. When I do
> > this IE
> > reports my transfer rate at 818KB/sec. So does this mean I'm
> > getting
> > less than 1mb down? And if so, isn't that slow compared to what
> > they
> > say I should get when downloading a file from their backbone?
>
>
> Be careful and be sure that you're measuring everything in the
> same units--bits vs bytes. If you've written it correctly above,
> 7mbps is 7168kbps, which is 896 kBps (b is bits; B is bytes). So
> your transfer rate is just below what they've told you--pretty
> good.
>
> --
> Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
> Please reply to the newsgroup
>
>
>
> > "Ken Blake" wrote:
> >
> >> In news:3179BB3F-C679-4FC4-AE1B-0D48446C1B45@microsoft.com,
> >> phil-rge-ee <philrgeee@discussions.microsoft.com> typed:
> >>
> >>> Can someone explain these:
> >>>
> >>> The difference between kilobits(kb) and kilobytes(KB)?
> >>
> >>
> >> A byte consists of eight bits (binary digits--ones or zeros).
> >> A
> >> kilobit is 1024 bits and a kilobyte is 1024 bytes. There are
> >> therefore eight kilobits in a kilobyte.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>> How many of each in a megabyte?
> >>
> >>
> >> There are 1024 kilobytes in a megabyte. There are eight time
> >> as
> >> many kilobits in a megabyte--8192 of them.
> >>
> >>
> >>> If I download a file using IE and it says I'm getting 500KB,
> >>> is
> >>> that
> >>> 1/2 meg or is that 5 meg?
> >>
> >>
> >> Half a meg (roughly)
> >>
> >>
> >>> In windows explorer it shows file sizes in KB, is that
> >>> kilobytes?
> >>
> >>
> >> Yes.
> >>
> >>
> >>> I'm not grasping the conversion process here.
> >>
> >>
> >> There are two things you need to know:
> >>
> >> 1. There are eight bits in a byte.
> >>
> >> 2. The progression byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte,
> >> terabyte.
> >> Each of those is 1024 times as large as the one before it.
> >>
> >> Note that I'm using these terms in the computer sense, where
> >> they
> >> are multiples of 1024. In ordinary usage (and actually in
> >> international standard usage) the multiplier is 1000, not
> >> 1024.
> >>
> >> --
> >> Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
> >> Please reply to the newsgroup
>
>
>

In news:A16880A7-8D7E-4EC0-8153-0D2974CDF360@microsoft.com,
phil-rge-ee <philrgeee@discussions.microsoft.com> typed:

> Ok, I got it now. Thanks for all your help.


Great, and you're welcome.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup


> "Ken Blake" wrote:
>
>> In news:514570F4-6179-47A3-AA2F-6568568C21AB@microsoft.com,
>> phil-rge-ee <philrgeee@discussions.microsoft.com> typed:
>>
>>> OK, thanks Ken, that's clears some things up.
>>
>>
>> You're welcome. Glad to help.
>>
>>
>>> Just one more thing.
>>> My ISP, road runner, says I should get up to 7mbps down. They
>>> have a
>>> speed test site that says on the site it is connected
>>> directly
>>> to
>>> road runners backbone and you download a 50mb file. When I do
>>> this IE
>>> reports my transfer rate at 818KB/sec. So does this mean I'm
>>> getting
>>> less than 1mb down? And if so, isn't that slow compared to
>>> what
>>> they
>>> say I should get when downloading a file from their backbone?
>>
>>
>> Be careful and be sure that you're measuring everything in the
>> same units--bits vs bytes. If you've written it correctly
>> above,
>> 7mbps is 7168kbps, which is 896 kBps (b is bits; B is bytes).
>> So
>> your transfer rate is just below what they've told you--pretty
>> good.
>>
>> --
>> Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
>> Please reply to the newsgroup
>>
>>
>>
>>> "Ken Blake" wrote:
>>>
>>>> In news:3179BB3F-C679-4FC4-AE1B-0D48446C1B45@microsoft.com,
>>>> phil-rge-ee <philrgeee@discussions.microsoft.com> typed:
>>>>
>>>>> Can someone explain these:
>>>>>
>>>>> The difference between kilobits(kb) and kilobytes(KB)?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> A byte consists of eight bits (binary digits--ones or
>>>> zeros).
>>>> A
>>>> kilobit is 1024 bits and a kilobyte is 1024 bytes. There are
>>>> therefore eight kilobits in a kilobyte.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> How many of each in a megabyte?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> There are 1024 kilobytes in a megabyte. There are eight time
>>>> as
>>>> many kilobits in a megabyte--8192 of them.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> If I download a file using IE and it says I'm getting
>>>>> 500KB,
>>>>> is
>>>>> that
>>>>> 1/2 meg or is that 5 meg?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Half a meg (roughly)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> In windows explorer it shows file sizes in KB, is that
>>>>> kilobytes?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Yes.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> I'm not grasping the conversion process here.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> There are two things you need to know:
>>>>
>>>> 1. There are eight bits in a byte.
>>>>
>>>> 2. The progression byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte,
>>>> terabyte.
>>>> Each of those is 1024 times as large as the one before it.
>>>>
>>>> Note that I'm using these terms in the computer sense, where
>>>> they
>>>> are multiples of 1024. In ordinary usage (and actually in
>>>> international standard usage) the multiplier is 1000, not
>>>> 1024.
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
>>>> Please reply to the newsgroup

phil-rge-ee wrote:
> Ok, got it now, thanks for your help.

No problem. It is a common source of confusion.

Steve

>
> "Steve N." wrote:
>
>
>>phil-rge-ee wrote:
>>
>>
>>>OK, thanks Ken, that's clears some things up. Just one more thing.
>>>My ISP, road runner, says I should get up to 7mbps down.
>>
>>That is 7 Megabits per second. Not MegaBytes, megaBITS.
>>
>>
>>>They have a speed
>>>test site that says on the site it is connected directly to road runners
>>>backbone and you download a 50mb file.
>>
>>That would probably be a 50MB (MegaBYTE) file.
>>
>>
>>
>>>When I do this IE reports my transfer
>>>rate at 818KB/sec.
>>
>>If that is KiloBYTES per second IE is reporting, then without resorting
>>to hexadecimal math, my guess is that should be about right and you're
>>doing good.
>>
>>This might help:
>>http://www.edoceo.com/utilis/bandwidth-calculator.php
>>
>>
>>>So does this mean I'm getting less than 1mb down?
>>
>>Again, 1mb means 1 megabit, not MegaBYTE. 7mbps is not 7 MegaBytes per
>>second, it is 7 megabits per second.
>>
>>
>>>And if
>>>so, isn't that slow compared to what they say I should get when downloading a
>>>file from their backbone?
>>
>>No, looks about right to me. The confusion is in the caps, once again;
>>kb = kilobits, KB = KiloBytes, mb = megabits, MB = megabytes.
>>
>>Steve
>>
>>
>>>"Ken Blake" wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>In news:3179BB3F-C679-4FC4-AE1B-0D48446C1B45@microsoft.com,
>>>>phil-rge-ee <philrgeee@discussions.microsoft.com> typed:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>Can someone explain these:
>>>>>
>>>>>The difference between kilobits(kb) and kilobytes(KB)?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>A byte consists of eight bits (binary digits--ones or zeros). A
>>>>kilobit is 1024 bits and a kilobyte is 1024 bytes. There are
>>>>therefore eight kilobits in a kilobyte.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>How many of each in a megabyte?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>There are 1024 kilobytes in a megabyte. There are eight time as
>>>>many kilobits in a megabyte--8192 of them.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>If I download a file using IE and it says I'm getting 500KB, is
>>>>>that
>>>>>1/2 meg or is that 5 meg?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Half a meg (roughly)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>In windows explorer it shows file sizes in KB, is that
>>>>>kilobytes?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Yes.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>I'm not grasping the conversion process here.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>There are two things you need to know:
>>>>
>>>>1. There are eight bits in a byte.
>>>>
>>>>2. The progression byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, terabyte.
>>>>Each of those is 1024 times as large as the one before it.
>>>>
>>>>Note that I'm using these terms in the computer sense, where they
>>>>are multiples of 1024. In ordinary usage (and actually in
>>>>international standard usage) the multiplier is 1000, not 1024.
>>>>
>>>>--
>>>>Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
>>>>Please reply to the newsgroup
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>
>>

"phil-rge-ee" <philrgeee@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:3179BB3F-C679-4FC4-AE1B-0D48446C1B45@microsoft.com...
> Can someone explain these:
>
> The difference between kilobits(kb) and kilobytes(KB)?
>
> How many of each in a megabyte?
>
> If I download a file using IE and it says I'm getting 500KB, is that 1/2
meg
> or is that 5 meg?
>
> In windows explorer it shows file sizes in KB, is that kilobytes?
>
> I'm not grasping the conversion process here.

byte = 8 bits
Kilobyte = 1024 bytes
Megabyte = 1024 Kilobytes
Gigabyte = 1024 Megabytes
Use applicable mathematics to determine equivalency.

KB = Kilobyte(s)
MB = Megabyte(s)
GB = Gigabyte(s)

Don't use the small case "m" to indicate "Mega". Small case "m" means
milli. Which is common in reference to bits not bytes.

Note the capitalization. If not capitalized, for instance "Mega" vs "mega".
"mega" has no meaning in this case. Same with the abbreviations. For
instance "mB" means nothing in this reference.

The hard drive manufacturers use another standard when stating the
unpartitioned, unformatted capacity of their hard drives. The capacity
appearance is less than the standard used here. As a result, most users
find their hard drives have less capacity than what they anticipated. This
precludes partitioning and formatting.

=?Utf-8?B?cGhpbC1yZ2UtZWU=?= wrote:
>
> The difference between kilobits(kb) and kilobytes(KB)?

A Byte is 8 bits. Many ISPs sell their service by saying you got xxx
bps, or bits per second.

It makes it sound LARGE.







--
http://www.bootdisk.com/

Unless you are on dial-up and then the system needs 10 bits to send a byte.

Plato wrote:

> =?Utf-8?B?cGhpbC1yZ2UtZWU=?= wrote:
>
>>The difference between kilobits(kb) and kilobytes(KB)?
>
>
> A Byte is 8 bits. Many ISPs sell their service by saying you got xxx
> bps, or bits per second.
>
> It makes it sound LARGE.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

Bob I wrote:
> Unless you are on dial-up and then the system needs 10 bits to send a byte.

IIRC normally 9; 8-N-1 = 8 data bits, no parity bit, 1 stop bit.

Steve

>
> Plato wrote:
>
>> =?Utf-8?B?cGhpbC1yZ2UtZWU=?= wrote:
>>
>>> The difference between kilobits(kb) and kilobytes(KB)?
>>
>>
>>
>> A Byte is 8 bits. Many ISPs sell their service by saying you got xxx
>> bps, or bits per second.
>>
>> It makes it sound LARGE.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>

You forgot the start bit which is always there and so is not "optional"
so 10 is the correct answer. If you dropped to 7 data bits you could get
it down to 9 but that wouldn't be a usual configuration.


Steve N. wrote:

> Bob I wrote:
>
>> Unless you are on dial-up and then the system needs 10 bits to send a
>> byte.
>
>
> IIRC normally 9; 8-N-1 = 8 data bits, no parity bit, 1 stop bit.
>
> Steve
>
>>
>> Plato wrote:
>>
>>> =?Utf-8?B?cGhpbC1yZ2UtZWU=?= wrote:
>>>
>>>> The difference between kilobits(kb) and kilobytes(KB)?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> A Byte is 8 bits. Many ISPs sell their service by saying you got xxx
>>> bps, or bits per second.
>>>
>>> It makes it sound LARGE.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>

Bob I wrote:

> You forgot the start bit which is always there and so is not "optional"
> so 10 is the correct answer. If you dropped to 7 data bits you could get
> it down to 9 but that wouldn't be a usual configuration.

You're right. Thanks for the correction.

Steve

>
>
> Steve N. wrote:
>
>> Bob I wrote:
>>
>>> Unless you are on dial-up and then the system needs 10 bits to send a
>>> byte.
>>
>>
>>
>> IIRC normally 9; 8-N-1 = 8 data bits, no parity bit, 1 stop bit.
>>
>> Steve
>>
>>>
>>> Plato wrote:
>>>
>>>> =?Utf-8?B?cGhpbC1yZ2UtZWU=?= wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> The difference between kilobits(kb) and kilobytes(KB)?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> A Byte is 8 bits. Many ISPs sell their service by saying you got xxx
>>>> bps, or bits per second.
>>>>
>>>> It makes it sound LARGE.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>

Not a problem, you're welcome, and have a good weekend!

Steve N. wrote:

> Bob I wrote:
>
>> You forgot the start bit which is always there and so is not
>> "optional" so 10 is the correct answer. If you dropped to 7 data bits
>> you could get it down to 9 but that wouldn't be a usual configuration.
>
>
> You're right. Thanks for the correction.
>
> Steve
>
>>
>>
>> Steve N. wrote:
>>
>>> Bob I wrote:
>>>
>>>> Unless you are on dial-up and then the system needs 10 bits to send
>>>> a byte.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> IIRC normally 9; 8-N-1 = 8 data bits, no parity bit, 1 stop bit.
>>>
>>> Steve
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Plato wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> =?Utf-8?B?cGhpbC1yZ2UtZWU=?= wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> The difference between kilobits(kb) and kilobytes(KB)?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> A Byte is 8 bits. Many ISPs sell their service by saying you got xxx
>>>>> bps, or bits per second.
>>>>>
>>>>> It makes it sound LARGE.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>