Is it possible to get Debian10 to show MiB instead of MB

[ticojohn]

Ok. I just looked at the System Monitor on my system. And when I click on the File System it indeed shows disk size in GB, not GiB. HMMM! I don't see any way to change that but I am looking.

[Marie SWE]

ARGH! My bad for not reading and comprehending all of your posts. So can we back up to a previous suggestion I made? If you have lshw installed you could open a terminal and execute that command to show your system hardware. In the terminal type lshw | more and it should display something like the following

Code: Select all

john@debian:~$ lshw | more
WARNING: you should run this program as super-user.
debian                      
    description: Computer
    width: 64 bits
    capabilities: smp vsyscall32
  *-core
       description: Motherboard
       physical id: 0
     *-memory
          description: System memory
          physical id: 0
          size: 7936MiB
     *-cpu
          product: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4460  CPU @ 3.20GHz
          vendor: Intel Corp.
          physical id: 1
          bus info: cpu@0
          size: 1537MHz
          capacity: 3400MHz
          width: 64 bits

We might then have a better idea of what is going on. You'll notice that on my system it is showing memory size in IEC units (7936MiB). If your system is showing in MB, then we'll need to see if there is some system setting that needs to be changed. And I have no idea at this time what it may be. But I will do some searching. If you don't have lshw installed, just open the Synaptic package manager, search for lshw, select it for installation, then click on the apply icon.

No problem.. my english isn't the best one.. so perhaps it is my bad.

I did answer that one in post http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?p=738806#p738806
I retype my answer, so you don't have to go back to that post.

That one showed GiB

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*-memory
description: System memory
physical id: 0
size: 8GiB

but when it downloaded the package the download showed in kB/s
I know this is in swedish.. but terminal showed this on apt install
Läs:1 http://deb.debian.org/debian buster/main amd64 lshw amd64 02.18.85-0.1 [254 kB]
Hämtade 254 kB på 0s (757 kB/s)

Edit
in my post earlier i wrote
System monitor shows in unit MB and Caja shows it in MiB
on inxi it shows in MiB... and when i download Firefox shows in MB
System monitor show my data-disk is 550.9GB
Caja show my data-disk is 513.1GiB
GUI program Disks show my data-disk is 551GB
Gparted show my data-disk is 513.06 GiB

The system seems to be schizo... one moment it is MB and on another it is MiB

[Hallvor]

I never ever use the terminal... unless the system is broken, so I'm forced to use the terminal if GUIs doesn't works.
I am a GUI person

Indeed. That is what KDE is for.

I may be mistaken here, but this looks more like a per application setting than the central setting you are looking for. XFCE is less consistent than Gnome and KDE. (I took a quick look, and it was all MiB and GiB in KDE applications.)

[ticojohn]

I just looked at the System Monitor (gnome system monitor) and see that the memory resources are shown in GiB but the File Systems are shown in GB. Why the heck couldn't the programmers have been consistent? So your system isn't schizophrenic. The programmers are. LOL!

[ticojohn]

I may be mistaken here, but this looks more like a per application setting than the central setting you are looking for. XFCE is less consistent than Gnome and KDE. (I took a quick look, and it was all MiB and GiB in KDE applications.)

You're correct in that it is a per application issue. I have the gnome-system-monitor installed, and it has the issue as described by the OP. Resources are shown in GiB and File Systems are shown in GB. Interestingly enough I installed the mate-system-monitor and it shows exactly the same thing. Probably because the mate-system-monitor is just a fork of the gnome-system-monitor. It's NOT an XFCE problem.

[CwF]

There can't be a system wide setting. The method is per package, biased by package age. It's not like this is a Mars metric moment. Windows got it wrong, and trained everybody. It list MB and it's the MiB number. MB for linux is just the decimal point, much easier on the brain.

My xfce is mixed. I prefer moving the decimal point, and if posible set things to bytes.

random check
188,633,849 is the file size, that is 188.6MB
move it over to a windows drive it's 179MB. MB, yes MB, but now MiB in linux.

My thunar sees the file on windows as 188.6.

[Marie SWE]

I just looked at the System Monitor (gnome system monitor) and see that the memory resources are shown in GiB but the File Systems are shown in GB. Why the heck couldn't the programmers have been consistent? So your system isn't schizophrenic. The programmers are. LOL!

hehe
be a little careful about calling programmers schizo... We maybe get a bad update that crashes our computers in revenge.

[ticojohn]

There can't be a system wide setting. The method is per package, biased by package age. I

I absolutely agree. However, when there are inconsistencies within a given package, in this case the gnome-system-monitor, it can cause confusion. Why the gnome-system-monitor programmers couldn't be consistent between the Resources and the File System tabs is, to me, mind boggling. But hey, it's FREE!

[Marie SWE]

There can't be a system wide setting. The method is per package, biased by package age. It's not like this is a Mars metric moment. Windows got it wrong, and trained everybody. It list MB and it's the MiB number. MB for linux is just the decimal point, much easier on the brain.

My xfce is mixed. I prefer moving the decimal point, and if posible set things to bytes.

random check
188,633,849 is the file size, that is 188.6MB
move it over to a windows drive it's 179MB. MB, yes MB, but now MiB in linux.

My thunar sees the file on windows as 188.6.

I wouldn't have any big problems if the whole system showing MB and I needed to learn to think in 1000 value, with my 30 years of experience with 1024 in the back of my mind. "IF" I only had one computer or only had Linux based computers in my network.
But since I have old retro computers with win3.11 up to modern win7 computers in my network and all of them show MiB value... then it would be easiest to change Linux, then trying to change windows that can't be changed... or the alternative to constantly have a calculator by my side to convert MB to MiB or MiB to MB every time I need to verify things.

They say that the sky is the limit in linux and you can do everything you possibly can think of.. Then it should be possible to change so it shows MiB with that statement.... or that expression has been an little cocky overstatement in the linux world.

[Marie SWE]

There can't be a system wide setting. The method is per package, biased by package age. I

I absolutely agree. However, when there are inconsistencies within a given package, in this case the gnome-system-monitor, it can cause confusion. Why the gnome-system-monitor programmers couldn't be consistent between the Resources and the File System tabs is, to me, mind boggling. But hey, it's FREE!

But we can see it like this... that this now being discovered, it maybe can contribute to the debian that they take a look at the bugs with different values.

[ticojohn]

But we can see it like this... that this now being discovered, it maybe can contribute to the debian that they take a look at the bugs with different values.

We would have to contact the developers in order to try and get changes made. Not going to happen just by posting on this forum.

Out of curiosity I looked at several different disk utilities. Some report disk size and usage in GB while others report it in GiB. There is no consistency from one program to another, even within the same desktop environment (eg Gnome). Although Gnome programs tend to lean more towards reporting in GB. I'm guessing that those that do it in GB are ex-Windows programmers.

There are 10 kinds of people in the world. Those that understand binary, and those that don't.

[Hallvor]

There is no consistency from one program to another, even within the same desktop environment (eg Gnome).

I thought a major desktop environment like Gnome was more consistent than that. Perhaps someone could notify them.

https://foundation.gnome.org/contact-us/

[Marie SWE]

But we can see it like this... that this now being discovered, it maybe can contribute to the debian that they take a look at the bugs with different values.

We would have to contact the developers in order to try and get changes made. Not going to happen just by posting on this forum.

Out of curiosity I looked at several different disk utilities. Some report disk size and usage in GB while others report it in GiB. There is no consistency from one program to another, even within the same desktop environment (eg Gnome). Although Gnome programs tend to lean more towards reporting in GB. I'm guessing that those that do it in GB are ex-Windows programmers.

There are 10 kinds of people in the world. Those that understand binary, and those that don't.

Yes and no
If it had been ex windows programmers, then it had only been a lots of typos on MB but with 1024 value... But now it is 1000value on MB.. so it can't be windows programmers.. they still is stuck back in the 60s - 90s with there 1024 I even think windows 11 still use MB as 1024

I read on Wikipedia that MiB name first started as 1024 in 1999 and then got the name MIB for 1024
But when did Linux start use MB as 1000 instead of 1024 and started using MiB as 1024..
Linux is a little older than 1999 so to speak

[ticojohn]

I thought a major desktop environment like Gnome was more consistent than that. Perhaps someone could notify them.

https://foundation.gnome.org/contact-us/

I suspect that most developers are more interested in promoting their products than they are about things that most people don't even pay attention to, especially when it has minimal impact on the functionality of their product. I've been using Debian, and the System Monitor tool, for 12 years and I never really paid attention to the irregularities in the memory display (ie GiB and GB). And frankly it doesn't bother me that the System Monitor tool shows the disk memory in GB. I pay more attention to what is shown on Thunar, and it is in GiB. And since I have a LOT more disk memory than I use, it isn't something that I am preoccupied with.

[Marie SWE]

There is no consistency from one program to another, even within the same desktop environment (eg Gnome).

I thought a major desktop environment like Gnome was more consistent than that. Perhaps someone could notify them.

https://foundation.gnome.org/contact-us/

How is all the others ones.. xfce, kde etc.. all DE as is available to debian?
if they also need to get notify

I have a big mix of everything in my Xfce version, kde tings, gnome things, cinnamon things and so on.... so It's not much left that is pure xfce4 anymore so I can check the consistency of Xfce

[Hallvor]

As I wrote above, KDE is consistent on this point. Gnome is apparently not.

I have a big mix of everything in my Xfce version

That explains it all, doesn't it? If you like to mix things up, you surely can't expect everything to be consistent.

[Marie SWE]

As I wrote above, KDE is consistent on this point. Gnome is apparently not.

I have a big mix of everything in my Xfce version

That explains it all, doesn't it? If you like to mix things up, you surely can't expect everything to be consistent.

does it? really..
My system monitor is from KDE. so why isn't mine if your is?
And isn't that the whole point of Linux, that you can tweak Linux after their own needs and taste

[stevepusser]

Wow, I have forgotten that buster still was on XFCE 4.12, though it's now 4.12.5 instead of the 4.12.4 you show, and your 4.19 kernel needs updating to 4.19.0-17--though that's supposed to be an automatic update.

I believe that the selection feature was added to XFCE with 4.14, which I've been using on MX for a couple of years now:

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System:    Host: <filter> Kernel: 5.12.0-13.1-liquorix-amd64 x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: N/A 
           ...
           Desktop: Xfce 4.14.3 tk: Gtk 3.24.5 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm4 dm: LightDM 1.26.0 
           Distro: MX-19.4_ahs_x64 patito feo May 31  2020 base: Debian GNU/Linux 10 (buster) 
...

[dilberts_left_nut]

And isn't that the whole point of Linux, that you can tweak Linux after their own needs and taste

Yes, indeed. You have the freedom to modify the source code to your requirements and compile your own.

[Hallvor]

My system monitor is from KDE. so why isn't mine if your is?

If that is the case, the most likely explanation is that it was changed between Buster and Bullseye. I don't have a Buster installation to check - nor do I remember all details from Buster.