GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 124731
References to size "K" should be changed to "kB"
Last modified: 2008-09-26 15:19:00 UTC
The unit of measure "K" does exist, but it is for measuring thermodynamic temperature, not the sizes of files. I assume that the author actually meant to use "kB," for kilobyte.
Accessibility isa not the correct component for this bug. I am transferring to general. Perhaps you could indicate where you found the reference to "K".
I found the references to "K" under the "Size" column when the "View as List" option was selected.
The canonical source for prefixes is http://www.bipm.fr/en/si/si_brochure/chapter3/prefixes.html, which indicates that 'k' should be used to abreviate kilo. The symbol `K' is used to denote kelvins: see http://www1.bipm.org/en/si/si_brochure/chapter2/2-1/2-1-1/kelvin.html, and the corresponding resolution http://www1.bipm.org/jsp/en/ViewCGPMResolution.jsp?CGPM=13&RES=3. Note that there is a system of binary-based multiplier prefixes (see, for example, http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/binary.html and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kibi) which would have us write KiB for a binary kilobyte (ie, 1024 bytes); this is a IEC standard, and has had `strong support' from the appropiate international standards body (the BIPM, or, in English, CIPM) but has not gained much momentum.
I support the use of "kB" over "KiB" solely on my belief that binary multiples are so awkward and inept, the majority of users (including those well-versed in systems based upon decimal multiples) would be fazed by them. So please, do the logical thing and change it to "kB." PS: Right now, only the amount is viewable. The unit of measure is demoted to literally being pulled out of hat by the user.
*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 94691 ***
The URL field has been removed from bugzilla.gnome.org. This URL was in the old URL field, and is being added as a comment so that the data is not lost. Please email bugmaster@gnome.org if you have any questions. URL: http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/prefixes.html