# Some possible reasons for 8-bit bytes - Host: [jvns.ca](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/hosts/jvns.ca/) - Saved: March 7, 2023 (2023-03-08T02:26:41Z) - Record: https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/47da20e41b3c/ - JSON: https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/47da20e41b3c.json ## What Jamie wrote It seems a little odd, but this very topic came up at my last book club meeting! The question was prompted why bytes are 8-bits and we mostly came up with similar answers to this article. However, I didn’t realize there were all these other byte systems and even some early computers that you could switch the byte size? Weird. ## Facts - Kind: [Page](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/kinds/page/) ## Appears in - [WT245: Weekly Thing #245 / Curation, Outcomes, Disturbed](https://weekly.thingelstad.com/archive/245/), Notable ## Same host - [DNS doesn't "propagate"](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/f1722a8c33ef/) (jvns.ca, December 7, 2021) - [Reasons for servers to support IPv6](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/349993edfa1e/) (jvns.ca, February 1, 2022) - [New talk: Learning DNS in 10 years](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/f5bbc54b796e/) (jvns.ca, May 11, 2023) - [Some blogging myths](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/90b4ad3e3b9a/) (jvns.ca, June 7, 2023) - [Get your work recognized: write a brag document](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/1a42cf63fd54/) (jvns.ca, January 1, 2024) ## Saved the same week - [Playdate Catalog](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/52a9c68ccaf0/) (play.date, March 7, 2023) - [SimCity launched a decade ago, and it was so disastrous it killed the series | PC Gamer](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/52bf04cde607/) (pcgamer.com, March 7, 2023) - [How To Build A Blog Without Social Media – WARREN ELLIS LTD](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/0a62b07696ba/) (warrenellis.ltd, March 7, 2023) - [Daring Fireball: Phony Stark Picks on the Wrong Guy, Attempting (and of Course Botching) an HR Exit Interview Live on Twitter](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/c7a1b0944d61/) (daringfireball.net, March 7, 2023) - [Hanging out: Americans report fewer friends. Could the cure be simple?](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/a4f34bfdf029/) (slate.com, March 7, 2023) ## Elsewhere - Wayback Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://jvns.ca/blog/2023/03/06/possible-reasons-8-bit-bytes/