In addition to kilobytes, we also encounter storage units like megabytes and gigabytes on a daily basis. Sometimes the orders of magnitude are reversed, or it is not clear how much 1 MB is in KB or 1 KB is in GB. According to the decimal system, 1,000 KB = 1 MB. Since 1,000 MB equals one GB, 1 GB = 0.000001 KB. As mentioned, this conversion is imprecise because computers use the binary system and not the decimal system on which the prefixes kilo, mega, and giga are based.
For this reason, the conversion number 1,000 (103) is not used. Instead, 1,024 (210) is more common. In line with the dual system, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) introduced new prefixes based on powers of two. To distinguish themselves from the decimal prefixes, these binary prefixes contain the syllable “bi”. Kilobytes become kibibytes and megabytes become mebibytes. However, these conversions are not yet well-established, which means that familiar prefixes kilo, mega, and giga often appear alongside the conversion number 1,024.