There exist 48GB CompactFlash cards. Cool.
48 is a strange number in computer science. Not as strange as 27, but still not a power of two. Ignoring the gibibyte controversy for a moment, new memory types appear in binary increments: 512MB, 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, etc.. So where does 48 come from?
The industry operates in a continuous cycle of technological advancement, with memory capacities doubling every 12 months or so. So if you can buy a 16GB card for £50 today, you'll be able to get a 32GB card this time next year for the same price, and a 64GB card the year after that. The 48GB cards are the result of the manufacturers trying to get a leg up on the competition by short-cutting the industry cycle and delivering something better than the 32GB card without having to wait until January 2010. I call it binary stopgapping, and I can't be the first one to have noticed it.
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