Bits and Bytes

A bit is a binary digit, either a 0 or 1. A byte is a unit of measurement used in information storage, generally eight bits is considered to be equal to one byte. This is important to know when shopping for DSL because many speeds are advertised in bits, rather than the more commonly used byte when downloading. For instance, a DSL provider advertises a 1500kbps connection, many people consider this the same as 1500 KB/s (1.5 MB/s), when it's actually 187.5 KB/s.

Edited by Administrator - 05 Apr 2007 at 6:35pm