256MB

256 MB refers to a quantity of digital information commonly used to express memory or storage capacity. In most contexts MB stands for megabytes, defined as 1,000,000 bytes. In some technical uses, MB is shorthand for mebibytes, defined as 1,048,576 bytes. Consequently, 256 MB can mean either 256,000,000 bytes (about 0.2387 GiB) or 256 MiB (268,435,456 bytes, about 0.25 GiB).

In memory terms, 256 MB RAM was a common specification for budget desktop and laptop computers in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and it remains present in some embedded systems. Today, consumer devices typically include several gigabytes of RAM, making 256 MB a relatively small amount for multitasking and modern software.

In storage contexts, 256 MB was a typical capacity for early flash memory cards, USB drives, and portable media players. Such capacities are now considered small for general storage, but 256 MB can still be found in low-cost devices or specialized equipment. For software design, systems with 256 MB of available memory may constrain memory usage, influence data caching decisions, and affect performance compared with modern devices.

See also: Megabyte, mebibyte, gigabyte, data storage units.