Things that have bothered you for a long time.

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Beebo

Firm and Fruity
Location
Hexleybeef
K denotes a 1000. Its from the Greek Kilo.
ie kilogram for weight
Kilometre for distance

you could use the Roman M for 1000, as in millimetre or millilitre.
 

DaveReading

Don't suffer fools gladly (must try harder!)
Location
Reading, obvs
K denotes a 1000. Its from the Greek Kilo.
ie kilogram for weight
Kilometre for distance

you could use the Roman M for 1000, as in millimetre or millilitre.

Well yes and no.

The prefix "k" (not "K") in the metric system does indeed indicate 1000, but k on its own is dimensionless so it has to come before a unit of measurement such as m for metre, W for watt, etc. That's my problem with "10K".

And of course the prefix "m" in the metric system is has a completely different meaning from the prefix "M". :smile:
 

Electric_Andy

Heavy Metal Fan
Location
Plymouth
10k is an abreviation. Much like when people say "this burger is 800 calories", they really mean kcal. But it's much easier to just say calories, as it is much easier to say a 10k run. I don't believe it has anything to do with "sounding good"! Language often takes simpler forms as we move on in time. When I was travelling around Asia, multiples of things were often referred to as paxx or pieces (pcs) which you still see on Fleabay. I asked for cigarettes, which you could buy separately, and the lady said "2 paxx?", I said yes, thinking she meant 2 packets, and she gave me two single cigarettes
 

mustang1

Guru
Location
London, UK
Companies that describe themselves as "affordable luxury" (either I don't get it or I'm just a snob - and there's nothing wrong with that, little one).
Companies that describe their products as being disruptive in the market when they are anything but.
 

mustang1

Guru
Location
London, UK
Well yes and no.

The prefix "k" (not "K") in the metric system does indeed indicate 1000, but k on its own is dimensionless so it has to come before a unit of measurement such as m for metre, W for watt, etc. That's my problem with "10K".

And of course the prefix "m" in the metric system is has a completely different meaning from the prefix "M". :smile:
Isn't there a kilobytes and kilibytes these days as well? In computer-speak, kilobyte meant 1024 bytes but then the non-computer-literate people came into the computing field and got confused and wanted kilobyte to mean 100 bytes. So the computer-literate people (the weaklings that they are) had to create a kilibyte to mean 1024.
Kilobyte does make sense in english, but computer geeks had their own thing going on.
 

DaveReading

Don't suffer fools gladly (must try harder!)
Location
Reading, obvs
Isn't there a kilobytes and kilibytes these days as well? In computer-speak, kilobyte meant 1024 bytes but then the non-computer-literate people came into the computing field and got confused and wanted kilobyte to mean 100 bytes. So the computer-literate people (the weaklings that they are) had to create a kilibyte to mean 1024.
Kilobyte does make sense in english, but computer geeks had their own thing going on.

Assuming that you mean 1000, rather than 100, the answer is easy - Windows calculates kilobytes as 1024 bytes, Mac OS as 1000 bytes.
 

Chris S

Legendary Member
Location
Birmingham
Why does Donald Trump play YMCA at his rallies? Does he think there will be more homeless people if he wins a second term?
 
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youngoldbloke

The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
Postcode location. Recent non delivery and cancellation of supermarket food delivery (we are self isolating being classified as extremely vulnerable), as the driver couldn't find property as postcode didn't exist, and that's all he had to go on - no address, apparently, no map, no local knowledge! We are in a new property, so unless the company has an up to date postcode register we simply don't exist. We now know a longstanding local postcode which we give drivers if they call, along with local directions such as 'turn left after the village green', but not a sensible state of affairs in today's tech environment. This is just the most recent incident, and we are hungry! Why don't they USE MAPS! - or an A-Z, even?
 

Archie_tect

De Skieven Architek... aka Penfold + Horace
Location
Northumberland
Postcode location. Recent non delivery and cancellation of supermarket food delivery (we are self isolating being classified as extremely vulnerable), as the driver couldn't find property as postcode didn't exist, and that's all he had to go on - no address, apparently, no map, no local knowledge! We are in a new property, so unless the company has an up to date postcode register we simply don't exist. We now know a longstanding local postcode which we give drivers if they call, along with local directions such as 'turn left after the village green', but not a sensible state of affairs in today's tech environment. This is just the most recent incident, and we are hungry! Why don't they USE MAPS! - or an A-Z, even?
You could try the '3words' app and give them an exact location.
 
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