https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Quad As a Software Programmer, it does irk me that we don't have a solid definition. I know BTS reasons as to why they used that method of measuring data size. But not having a proper answer still bugs me. How big do you think a "Quad" is relative to existing units we have today in Computer Science. If you had to define it, what would your answer be?
As with stardates, it was specifically intended not to convey any meaningful numerical information, because when they tried using real units to predict 24th-century computer capacity, it ended up being laughable when real computers caught up with their estimates in just a few years. So if we, as fans, try to estimate how big a quad is now, our estimates will probably be just as ridiculous and just as quickly rendered obsolete. Some things in fiction are best left intentionally vague.
There still are fundamental limits as to how much information you can store per unit volume,unit mass and reliably retrieve the data.
Well...the Galaxy-class USS Enterprise can store what seems to be the sentient data of an entire heavily populated planet in its computer banks, Run a sophisticated holodeck programs of life-like AI holograms that behave like real living people, and still have enough processing power to run the entire ship on automated pilot at warp speeds.
No need: Quadragintillion...............................10^123 Quadragintacentillion......................10^423 Quadringentillion............................10^1203
I'm more interested in the physical size of the storage and what capacity they can cram in a small section. We know you can load an entire holodeck program on a Cardassian Rod, but those are not rewritable in canon. I would assume Isolinear chips were re-writable. Isolinear chips also seem to act as a jumper, as changing the arrangement of them can also change how equipment works (such as Data changing the order of them to enable site to site transport.)
In my Head Canon: First, the Metric System expanded Prefixes: Then, the IEC Definition related to the SI Metric Prefixes were updated: Then, the gap between the IEC Definition and SI Metric Prefixes were shown to expand even more and most of us Comp-Sci folks face palmed at the Storage / Networking aspects of society who's Companies kept using the SI definitions instead of IEC definitions. Then after tons of research as to what a "Quad" is over the web, I came to my own conclusion of: 1 Quad = 1 WebiByte (WiB) = 2^100 Bytes 1 Octa = 1 MinbiByte (MIiB) = 2^200 Bytes That definition was agreed upon after countless arguments during the negotiation for common standards across the Federation during the founding of the UFP where Metric happened to be choosen along with IEC when the founding members signed on. Unfortunately for StarDates, Metric Time and Days in a year became a thing, so not everything worked out perfectly in favor of Human Standards of things. However, that is a story for another day in another post / thread.
Yeah, it's the closest binary equivalent of a kilobyte, 1024 bytes. So it's kilo + binary = kibi. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kibibyte
When I was in high school, the scale only went up to "yotta"... I am becoming a geezer. If I had a lawn, I'd be yelling at kids to leave.
I just finished extending the SI Prefixes to go up to 10^63 =D. Something they never fully ratified back then.
Four very big's. I seem to recall a Next Gen episode where Data states his processing speed, which looked a lot more impossibly huge in the 90's than today...
It's ok. he still can only deliver data throughput by typing quickly, or occasionally hooking up his head to a fiber optic cable. What late 80's network architecture did Data use? FDDI-SAS, token ring, arcnet? He looks like an IBM shop guy to me. I'm going with token ring. He's probably smug about it. since the observable universe can only hold perhaps 10^123 bits of information, the UFP is going to need a few more universes or else Star Trek already takes place in a series of holographic universes. (that explains Q.. bored console users)