Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Mean Time Between Failures


That's an interesting contrast. I mean, you're correct, but why is the acronym "between" instead of "before"?

As the article describes, when replacing a part costs a comparable amount to the price of a brand-new appliance, people buy new appliances. With this mindset, the correct term is no longer "between" failures - when you might replace a part and average the described time until the next failure - but "before" failure - at which point you replace the device and buy a new one.


That's a good point. I'm not sure why I misremembered the term but in this case it might actually be more accurate.


The other one is Mean Time To Failure.




Consider applying for YC's Winter 2026 batch! Applications are open till Nov 10

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: