A megabyte is not a megabyte (and other secrets of memory cards)
Sunday, August 30th, 2009 · 9:30 pm
The memory-card man at the bazaar. His cards are the cheapest in Talas and the capacity is a matter of faith.A customer came to me with a 4 GB card that cost 90 som at the bazaar. He had put 200 songs on it, and after the 80th the phone said "memory full". I tested it. It was 512 MB with a label saying 4 GB.
Some rules from the shop:
- A real card has the brand printed, not stuck on.
- Test: put a large file, then copy it back. If the copy is damaged, the card is lying.
- The real price of a 2 GB card this summer is 40-60 som. If it is 25, it is not 2 GB.
The bazaar man says: "I never say the card is 4 GB. I say it is a 4 GB card." Nobody has ever found the difference.