[Usability] Inconsistent file size units

["Raphael Bosshard" <raphael bosshard gmail com>]

Hello there!

One of the most outstanding points of the GNOME desktop is the focus
towards usability and consistency. This is one of the reasons I'm
using GNOME. There is, however, one thing that has been bugging me for
quite some time now: the inconsistency in the use of file size units.

I guess that most of the readers know the problem of using SI units as
prefixes for file sizes and similar power-of-two values, so I won't
elaborate on this point. Readers new to that topic I point to [1].

To 'fix' the problem, some of the GNOME applications have started
using binary prefixes. This creates inconsistencies; not only are
users forced to deal with two different units for the same thing. Now
this is not a problem for experienced users, but it somewhat
complicated to explain this to non-technical users.

Even though I endorse the use of binary prefixes, I don't really care.
But I think that a policy on that matter couldn't hurt.


So long,
Raphael

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_prefix