Post #3638419
2026-07-06 21:45 UTC
TIL that 1.44 MB floppy disks were neither 1.44 * 1024 * 1024 bytes nor 1.44 * 1000 * 1000 bytes, but...
1.44 * 1000 * 1024 bytes!
C in “floppy disk” stands for consistency
Replies (5)
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@aholtzma@mstdn.ca 2026-07-06 22:29
@nikitonsky@mastodon.online magnetic storage sits in the weird space between communications bandwidth (mega is 1000^2) and memory (mega is 1024^2)
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@gklka@mastodon.social 2026-07-06 21:47
@nikitonsky@mastodon.online Also their true size was around 2.0 MB, the filesystem on them required a lot of space too
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@d1@autistics.life 2026-07-06 22:07
@nikitonsky@mastodon.online it's atrocious
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@Yankovic123@norcal.social 2026-07-06 22:11
@nikitonsky@mastodon.online don’t even get me started on how to calculate bytes factorial…
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@mene@mastodon.social 2026-07-06 22:20
@nikitonsky@mastodon.online yes, it's odd, but it's a small price to pay for a nice round number like 1.44.