bits and bytes

turf

is this why we dont get "full download speeds" for our line? is our view of MB different to our internet provider?

i didnt do much research but i think 1 byte = 8 bits.. so that wud explain my old 12meg connection getting a max download of 1.5meg.

they tell us we're gettin 20meg on UPC now, but in real terms, (like measuring the size of an mp3) we're gettin a 2.5meg line


i think

Hank Scorpio

turf wrote: »

is this why we dont get "full download speeds" for our line? is our view of MB different to our internet provider?

i didnt do much research but i think 1 byte = 8 bits.. so that wud explain my old 12meg connection getting a max download of 1.5meg.

they tell us we're gettin 20meg on UPC now, but in real terms, (like measuring the size of an mp3) we're gettin a 2.5meg line


i think

2.5 mb/sec is right for a 20 meg connection

Enjoy!:P

turf

yea but for years i thought that downloads just went alot slower than our connection speed..

now im thinkin we download at full speed of our connection, we just have alot slower lines than we think. 20 meg is only a 2.5 meg line cause mb can be megabits or megabytes

Hank Scorpio

bascially devide it by 8 to find out what rate kb/s a sec u recieve
So

8[20
2[4]
1/2

goes 2.5 times so 2.5mb/sec !

Yarnhall

MB == Mega Bytes
Mb == mega bits

8bits = 1Byte

There are 8 bits in a byte, IPS's generally list their speeds in bits, there fore you have to divide by 8 to get it into bytes. i.e. 20Mb ~= 2.5 MB

BaconZombie

Here is a link to the best explanation:

http://xkcd.com/394/

turf

dont ye think its mis-representation?

Hank Scorpio

no
they could also say its a 200000000 bit connection
sounds bigger?

You just gotta think of it in scales

1 gram
1 kilogram etc

BaconZombie

It's because It's base 8:

http://www.is.wayne.edu/mnissani/CS/How%20Bytes%20and%20Bits%20Work.htm

http://users.nlamerica.com/kevin/Bitsbytes.htm

http://www.smartftp.com/support/kb/bits-bytes-mega-giga-tera-f53.html

nuxxx wrote: »

they could also say its a 200000000 bit connection
sounds bigger?

You just gotta think of it in scales

1 gram
1 kilogram etc

Hank Scorpio

please dont remind me of binary octal and hex !!!!!!!!

spent too many years doing that sh1te:pac::pac:

and have never used it!

aidan_walsh

nuxxx wrote: »

please dont remind me of binary octal and hex !!!!!!!!

spent too many years doing that sh1te:pac::pac:

and have never used it!

Well, now you get to. Congrats.

Yarnhall

BOFH_139 wrote: »

It's because It's base 8:

http://www.is.wayne.edu/mnissani/CS/How%20Bytes%20and%20Bits%20Work.htm

http://users.nlamerica.com/kevin/Bitsbytes.htm

http://www.smartftp.com/support/kb/bits-bytes-mega-giga-tera-f53.html

binary is base-2 is it not? (octal is base-8)

turf

i didnt see this thread going where its going..

Giblet

All connection speeds are represented using bits.

So UPC now offer up to 20 Megabit.

Yarnhall

turf wrote: »

i didnt see this thread going where its going..

Welcome to the Interwebs, enjoy your stay.

dub45

turf wrote: »

i didnt see this thread going where its going..

Do you not think that people would have noticed long ago if the isps were 'doing' them?:rolleyes:

watty

In fact many ISPs include their overheads, so with say a 3Mbps speed (bits), you get 1/10th, not 1/8th in Mbytes, i.e. 300kByte/s.

Also Web sites and other transfers use compression usually.
Video, pictures and MP3s won't compress at all.
Other things, like text or databases can compress so much that your 3Mbps (bits) can be running at 600KByte/s or higher which makes your connection look like it is running at 6Mbps or more.

In the UK, though many people only get 1/3rd to 1/4 of their package speed.

Comunication is traditionally "serial", i.e. bits at a time. Disks and Memory are traditionally parallel, thus measured in Bytes, though most Memory is word Orientated (32 or 64bits) and disks can be serial, 8bit bytes or 16 bits (2 x bytes or 1 Word). (SATA, PATA/IDE/ATAPI or WIDE SCSI).

Hence the line speed of package in bits and the downloaded files in Bytes.

Usually B= Bytes, B= bits (8 bits in a Byte, and 1, 1.5, 2, 4 or 8 bytes in a Word, half a byte is a Nybble or nibble and there was at least one 12bit computer and several 4 bit models. Most now are 8, 16, 32 or 64 bit words = 1, 2, 4 or 8 bytes ).

All this pre-dates Internet going back to 1950s