[Year 12 SofDev] SD exam - C8 - Megabyte, Mebibyte?

[Mark]

Hello, commuters.

In the 2014 SD exam, section C, Q8, an innocuous question is asked about
'megabytes'.  I wonder if the question realises the quandary it creates...

The current 'official' IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission)
definition of a 'megabyte' is exactly 1,000,000 bytes, so the answer to C8
is *6.0* and *20.0* respectively.

But using the traditional (and industry standard) interpretation of a
'megabyte' - now charmingly known as a Mebibyte (MiB) - as being 1,048,576
bytes results in answers of *5.7* and *19.0*.

Paula: what is VCAA's official stance on the definition of kilo, mega etc
in VCE IT exams?

Will the markers accept '19' as an answer to C8 part 2?

P.S. According to urbandictionary.com
<http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Mebibyte>, a Mebibyte is "A
new, weird and unnecessary unit of data capacity, created by some idiots of
IEC and aggressively advertised on Wikipedia. 1 Mebibyte equals 0.9765625
Megabytes and serves no purpose other than confusing people".

Urbandictionary.com is right in its sentiment, but wrong in detail. A *new*
'megabyte' is 1,000,000 bytes. The *old* megabyte is now called a Mebibyte
and is 1,048,576 bytes. That's what's confusing: IEC has redefined an old,
accepted unit, introduced a new unit that no-one wants to use, and now
chaos reigns because no-one now knows what someone means when they say
"megabyte".

Let the fun begin.

-- 

Mark Kelly
mark AT vceit DOT com
http://vceit.com

*I love the sound of people's voices after they stop talking.*
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