History
The kibibyte is closely related to the kilobyte. The latter is often used in some contexts as a synonym for the kibibyte, but formally refers to 103 bytes = 1000 bytes, as the prefix is defined in the International System of Units.
The binary interpretation of the metric prefixes causes relatively small differences with the smallest prefixes in the series, i.e. for kilo and mega, but grows to substantial differences beyond (see binary prefix: deviation between powers of 1024 and powers of 1000).
In Introduction to MMIX, Donald Knuth proposed that this unit be called a large kilobyte (abbreviated KKB). Other early proposals included using the Greek lowercase letter κ (kappa) for 1024 bytes (and using k exclusively for 1000), bK, KB, and others. See binary prefix: early suggestions.
Adoption of the binary prefixes has been limited, primarily being used in open source software. In most cases, the kilobyte continues to be used to refer to a power of ten as well as a power of two.
Read more about this topic: Kibibyte
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“As History stands, it is a sort of Chinese Play, without end and without lesson.”
—Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918)
“The principle that human nature, in its psychological aspects, is nothing more than a product of history and given social relations removes all barriers to coercion and manipulation by the powerful.”
—Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)
“Free from public debt, at peace with all the world, and with no complicated interests to consult in our intercourse with foreign powers, the present may be hailed as the epoch in our history the most favorable for the settlement of those principles in our domestic policy which shall be best calculated to give stability to our Republic and secure the blessings of freedom to our citizens.”
—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)