Time: Wed May 14 08:48:00 1997
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	Tue, 13 May 1997 07:51:29 -0700 (MST)
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	Tue, 13 May 1997 07:51:13 -0700 (MST)
Date: Wed, 14 May 1997 08:39:19 -0700
To: liberty-and-justice@pobox.com
From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar]
Subject: SLF: FAT16 and Computer Monopolies
 >

At 11:47 PM 5/12/97 -0500, you wrote:
>At 10:00 PM 5/12/97 +0000, Paul Andrew Mitchell wrote:
>>Dear America,
>>
>>I am prepared to litigate a challenge to Gates,
>>under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, for conspiring
>>with all disk drive manufacturers to delay the
>>availability of Windows 95, Version 950b,
>>with FAT32.  This delay caused FAT16 to remain
>>the standard for disk I/O, thereby wasting untold
>>millions of megabytes in the last cluster allocated
>>to any file.  Mathematically, 50% of a cluster is
>>wasted for EACH FILE stored in any logical disk
>>partition (e.g. "C:" being the most common).
>>
>I keep my extended/logical drives at 250k or less.  I also use System
>Commander to allow me to set up as many OS as I like.
>
>Paul I don't see the problem.  Expand it a little for me.
>
>old jim


FAT16
----------------
0000000000000000
...
0000000000010101  --->  Cluster 10101 ---> N sectors @ 512 bytes
...
1111111111111111


N varies in direct proportion to the physical size
of the drive, since the size of FAT16 is fixed at
65,536 entries (each arrow "--->" is an entry).
These arrows are called "pointers" in computer science.

Now, if you have a large drive (1 gigabyte or more),
the size of N is numerous sectors of 512, all of which
get assigned to a given file.  In other words,
if N is 16, all 16 get assigned to a given file,
regardless of how much data is in that file.

So, the worst case is that a single character is stored
with a word processor.  (Run your word processor, enter
the letter "a", then save the file by a name like 
ONECHAR.DOC.)  This one letter file will chew up the
entire cluster -- all 16 sectors are used up, wasting
all that extra space.

Statistically, you can expect that the last cluster
assigned to any file will be half-full (50% propability),
since the number of bytes stored in the last cluster
could be any number from 1 to the maximum in any
given cluster (16K in our example here).

So, if you have a lot of files, as I do, then you
will waste one-half cluster for each file you have
stored in your DOS partition.

The solution is to migrate to FAT32, which does away
with this problem completely.  But, the migration to
FAT32 is not straightforward, because you need to
have a BIOS which is compatible with FAT32.  Some 
machines have a flash BIOS, which means that you
can update the EPROMs on the fly (EPROM = eraseable
programmable read only memory).  If you have an old
BIOS and it is not a flash BIOS, forget it.  Your
machine is now officially obsolete.

It is simpler to start with a new machine, flash
BIOS, and virgin disk.  Then load your programs
and data onto a new FAT32 system, with ease and
comfort (and great expense also).

Now do you see how the monopoly enriches itself?
FAT16 chews up disk space quite rapidly, and the
American People are not well trained enough to
know that they are getting the shaft, as a group.

/s/ Paul Mitchell
http://www.supremelaw.com


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Paul Andrew, Mitchell, B.A., M.S.    : Counselor at Law, federal witness
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