tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6128215141827970890.post5679055565480844944..comments2024-01-02T22:28:46.103+11:00Comments on Main Street with the ABC's Peter Ryan: Data deluge measured in "quintillions" as tech companies race to meet the need for speedPeter Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840088367905840859noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6128215141827970890.post-8878230594440611242012-09-29T21:07:37.402+10:002012-09-29T21:07:37.402+10:00Firstly, I doubt experts really are using stupid w...Firstly, I doubt experts really are using stupid words like "quintillions", except to confound idiots and/or support grant proposals. If a "quintillion" is 10^18 then the correct prefix is exa, as in exabytes (although in computer terms it should be 2^60, which is 15% more than 10^18). Also, the analogy of a bit to a bucket of water (10 kg) is ridiculous. Even 10 kilos of punchcards could encode at least kilobytes of data.<br /><br />Secondly Steve Wozniak's comments are nothing but spruiking for services people could access for free with simple software that has been available for decades. Instead, apparently we are to give away our personal data to private corprorations so that they can freely sell our identities for profit in exchange for giving us a "free" service. <br /><br />To put it in perspective, a "quintillion" bytes is a million person-years of voice data-- under Wozniak's scenario, none of which would even need to enter the Internet if it wasn't for the artificial scarcity that has brought about "the cloud". <br /><br />Thirdly, could I ask, why are my taxes being paid to "drum up business" (your words) for a snake-oil salesman?<br />Russellnoreply@blogger.com