Computer Memory

bit

smallest piece of information used by the computer. Derived from "binary digit". In computer language, it is either a one (1) or a zero (0). Represented by a small "b".

byte

A set of 8 bits that represent a single character in the computer's memory. Represented by a large "B". Files are generally not measured in bytes.

terabyte

Approximately 1,000 Gigabytes = 1,000,000 Mb = 1,000,000,000 Kb = 1,000,000,000,0000 Bytes. (Technically 1,099,511,627,776 bytes or 1,024 Gb). Represented by "Tb". Large storage devices are measured int terabytes.

megabyte

Approximately 1,000 Kilobytes or 1,000,000 bytes of data. (Technically 1,048,576 bytes or 1,024 Kb) Represented by "Mb" and called "megs" of memory. Picture files are measured in megabytes.

gigabyte

Approximately 1,000 Megabytes = 1,000,000 Kb = 1,000,000,000 bytes. (Technically it is 1,073,741,824 bytes or 1,024 Mb) Represented by "Gb" and called "gigs" of memory. Hard disk drives and movie files are measured in gigabytes.

petabyte

Approximately 1,000 Terabytes. 1,000,000 Gb. 1,000,000,000 Mb. 1,000,000,000,000 Kb. (Technically 1,024 terabytes or , 10^15 bytes). Represented by "Pb". Measures groups of storage devices in a large computer system.

kilobyte

Approximately 1,000 bytes of data. (Technically it is 2 to the tenth, or 1,024 bytes). Represented by "K" or "Kb". Word documents are usually measured in kilobytes.