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Mailing List Logs for ShadowRN

Message no. 1
From: Tobias Diekershoff Tobias.D@********.de
Subject: MBs and MPs
Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 20:09:35 +0100
Hi everybody,

can somebody tell me how Mega Bytes and Mega Pulses belongs together.

Thaks in advance
Tobias
Message no. 2
From: Tzeentch tzeentch666@*********.net
Subject: MBs and MPs
Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 13:50:34 -0700
From: "Tobias Diekershoff" <Tobias.D@********.de>

> Hi everybody,
>
> can somebody tell me how Mega Bytes and Mega Pulses belongs together.

Well, they don't. A "megapulse" is an abstract measure of computer storage.

However, you can get somewhat decent results by simply reading Mp as MB for
purposes of figuring out sizes for various files and items. Most
applications will be 10-40Mp, text files from .1-1Mp and so on. Even if 1 Mp
> 1MB (likely!) you can assume that program bloat will keep pace and make
the effective differences moot.

I know I used 1Mp=1MB for purposes of designing computer systems in
Shadowrun, it makes things easy since you can look at contemporary systems
and easily convert them over.

For even more fun do some reading on the Amiga line of computers, cyberdecks
in Shadowrun are effectively an alternate-universe architecture where the
Amiga became the dominant system type. Those familiar with the Amiga (and to
a lesser extent the C-64/128 and Atari ST) have to admit there are
supsicious simularities in operation between them.

Ken
---------------------------
There's a war out there, old friend, a world war. And it's not about who's
got the most bullets, it's about who controls the information. What we see
and hear, how we work, what we think, it's all about the information!
Cosmo, 'Sneakers'
Message no. 3
From: Gurth gurth@******.nl
Subject: MBs and MPs
Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 12:30:09 +0200
According to Tobias Diekershoff, at 20:09 on 6 Jun 00, the word on the
street was...

> can somebody tell me how Mega Bytes and Mega Pulses belongs together.

Short answer: they don't.

Long answer: if you try to figure it all out, you'll come to a number of
conclusions, the most important of which are that 1 byte probably equals 1
pulse (so 1 MB = 1 Mp) because SR's optical transistors are binary, but
that this does not fit too well with _all_ the published material. Also,
that it's best to not worry about these things, and just fake it when you
need an Mp value :)

If you really need to figure out a conversion factor, how about this: a
normal CD holds about 70 minutes of music, and a CD-ROM holds about 640 MB
of data. That makes 1 minute take up 640 / 70 = 9.1 MB; call it 9 MB.

Now taking Shadowbeat to hand (page 99), normal spectrum sound is 1 Mp per
minute, while extended spectrum sound is 3 Mp per minute. I'm going to
assume now that normal spectrum sound is MP3-type stuff, with compression
to reduce the size, while music CDs (which have all kinds of stuff on them
that you don't actually hear) are extended spectrum. 9 MB per minute vs. 3
Mp per minute means that 3 MB = 1 Mp. OTOH, if you decide to assume that a
CD holds normal spectrum sound, then 9 MB = 1 Mp.

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Here come the golden oldies. Here come the Hezbollah.
-> NAGEE Editor * ShadowRN GridSec * Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
->The Plastic Warriors Page: http://shadowrun.html.com/plasticwarriors/<-

GC3.1: GAT/! d-(dpu) s:- !a>? C+(++)@ UL P L+ E? W(++) N o? K- w+ O V? PS+
PE Y PGP- t(+) 5++ X++ R+++>$ tv+(++) b++@ DI? D+ G(++) e h! !r(---) y?
Incubated into the First Church of the Sqooshy Ball, 21-05-1998
Message no. 4
From: Tobias Diekershoff Tobias.D@********.de
Subject: MBs and MPs
Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 16:03:55 +0100
> From: "Tzeentch" <tzeentch666@*********.net>
> Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 13:50:34 -0700

> From: "Tobias Diekershoff" <Tobias.D@********.de>
>
> > Hi everybody,
> >
> > can somebody tell me how Mega Bytes and Mega Pulses belongs together.
>
> Well, they don't. A "megapulse" is an abstract measure of computer storage.
>
> However, you can get somewhat decent results by simply reading Mp as MB for
> purposes of figuring out sizes for various files and items. Most
> applications will be 10-40Mp, text files from .1-1Mp and so on. Even if 1 Mp
> > 1MB (likely!) you can assume that program bloat will keep pace and make
> the effective differences moot.
>
> I know I used 1Mp=1MB for purposes of designing computer systems in
> Shadowrun, it makes things easy since you can look at contemporary systems
> and easily convert them over.
>
> For even more fun do some reading on the Amiga line of computers, cyberdecks
> in Shadowrun are effectively an alternate-universe architecture where the
> Amiga became the dominant system type. Those familiar with the Amiga (and to
> a lesser extent the C-64/128 and Atari ST) have to admit there are
> supsicious simularities in operation between them.
>
> Ken

And I thought that there's a bit more.
But thanks :)

Further Reading

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Thwap!