this post was submitted on 22 Feb 2024
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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You are correct. I’m as bad as hard drive manufacturers.
Well hard drive manufacturers are actually correct. A gigabyte (GB) is in base 10 and thus 1000 megabytes, not 1024. Gibibytes (GiB) are base 2 (hence “bi”) and thus 1024 mebibytes.
I know it's technically correct but it still hurts a little inside to admit it each time.
I know the reason is because giga is an SI prefix but all the way through my education, 1 GB was taught to be 1024 MB, so I always want to use this instead of what is correct.
To be fair, the tech industry has been naughty with things like this. I know of two. I wonder how many others there are?
I believe that:
The style of characters a user can choose is called a typeface. I think every piece of software calls it a font. I remember hearing it came from Apple/Steve Jobs.
I believe the use of setup is incorrect. Setup is a noun, so it refers to an existing configuration. It tends to be used when running an OS or program for the first time though, which I believe set up is the correct term. Set up is an adjective and refers to the act of creating the configuration.
I've wondered if these were done due to screen space constraints or aesthetics.