On Fri, Jul 03, 2026 at 02:56:00PM -0400, Karen Lewellen via Talk wrote:
Hi all, or ones to avoid? When asking this on the Debian list some hinted that size is not always correct in terms of capacity.
Well the size is normally correct, just people get confused by the different units. The maker will use SI units so they will claim 64GB which to them means 64,000,000,000 bytes. Windows (and many other operating systems) will usually use the traditional power of 2 units where 1 KB is 1024 bytes, rather than 1000 bytes. So GB is 2 to the power of 30 rather than 10 to the power of 9. In the case of a 64 GB drive that works out to 64,000,000,000 / 1024 / 1024 / 1024 = 59.6 GB. Some people see that size in windows and think the drive isn't the size that was promissed on the package. Some software will make the distinction and use 64 GB = 59.6 GiB where the i is inserted to indicate binary or base 2 units rather than SI base 10 units. For brands, I personally tend to stick with sandisk. I have had really really bad experience with some kingston models that were just unbelievably slow to the point of being just about unusuable. I do also have a number of random generic brands if I was looking for a specific purpose, usually something extremely small for use in the car for MP3 files or something similar where I just don't want it sticking out but care a lot less about the long term reliability or speed. I have one 16GB drive I have had for about 10 years now that is really small (it doesn't even have the metal part around the USB port just the inside plastic part of the port to reduce the thickness) which has been surprisingly durable. It has a small magnet too so you can stick it on the fridge, or as I discovered, you can also find it stuck to the inside of the dryer if you forgot it in your pocket. It didn't seem to have minded the trip through the washer and dryer at all. Not even sure how many dryer trips it had before I noticed it. -- Len Sorensen