id rather the hard drive box list "formats to" numbers as well. they really aren't concerned with the file system in use. different file systems eat up a different amount of space. also my experience is that its not wise to fill up a partition beyond about 80 percent (15 for defragging plus an extra 5 in case some program decides to put large files somewhere). once all the space considerations are accounted for you get all but 30+ percent of the advertised space. so i say buyer beware. i tend to look at the speed (seek time) of a hard drive over its capacity any day though. so long as the capacity is +/-50 gigs of where i want it im happy.
as for the ipods, they are advertising the space of the flash memory that is installed in it (and no doubt the flash memory people advertised the chips as the same number), leaving out the fact that there must also be an operating system installed for the player. same goes for the hd based players, they are gonna advertise whats in the specs of its parts.
i cant blame the companies for trying to show all the good points of whatever they are trying to sell. but it seems like they are willing to hide the limitations of the technology from public view. you cant blame them for that because its considered acceptable because all the companies are doing it. to do otherwise would be corporate suicide since consumers will always go for the prettier box. i blame the consumers' stupidity just as much as the marketing deception which has become an industry standard thanks to the complacency of the buyers.
look at things like cell phones, mp3 players, laptops, software, prefab furniture, bicycles, food, whatever. you see quality standards dropping everywhere. i seem to see
of innovation in goods, but not
of refinement. everything seems to have short development cycles and shorter support cycles. everything is obsolete before it leaves the store. they refuse to fix huge bugs in drivers and software and use cheap, weak materials in construction whenever possible.
we have grown into a throw away society so willing to accept the crap they sell us and throw money at it like its nothing. we should all know that companies will do whatever is legal (and some stuff that isn't) to make a buck. this should be etched into our very psyche. we as the consumer who have the money also have the power to decide what is acceptable and what is not by what we choose to buy. you just have to wave your money in their face and say "you can't have this." enough people do that, and that company will have to rethink their product. stop rewarding them for their lazyness.
