BAUD

Contrary to popular belief, baud isn't a measurement of speed, but instead measures how frequently sound changes on a phone line. A lot of people think baud is a way to describe modem speeds in bits-per-second. They'll say a 28,800-bps modem transmits at 28,800 baud, and act like they know everything. But the fact is, modern modems transmit more bits with fewer changes in sound, so baud and bps numbers are not equal. So next time your friend says his new 56K v.90 modem can transfer data at 56,000 baud, you can make your self look good by telling him he's wrong and explaining to him the difference baud and bps.