Buzzwords

k: the standard metric abbreviation for the prefix kilo or 1000 that is used by the Systéme international dunites (www.bipm.fr but make sure that you can read Française) conventions for scientific measurement.

K: in the computer world, K stands for a different type of kilo,in this case, 2 to the 10th power, or 1024. A Kilobyte (or KB) is, therefore, not 1000 bytes but is actually 1024 bytes.

KAIS POWER TOOLS: a.k.a. KPT. A landmark series of Adobe Photoshop compatible plug-in filters developed by Kai Krause for HSC Software (now MetaCreations). The latest incarnation, KPT Effects, is available from Procreate (www.procreate.com) in either Windows or Mac OS versions. It consists of nine special effects filters that appear under a KPT effects in Adobe Photoshops Filters menu, but the package works with any image-editing program that accepts Photoshop compatible plug-ins. Copies of KPT 6, the last version produced by MetaCreations, are still floating around and include filters and mini-applications not found in KPT Effects.

KEYBOARD: The major input device for computers (at least until voice commands really take over) that uses a typewriter-style layout with special keys such as ESC, CTRL and (on the Macintosh) COMMAND.
Kernel: The essential part of any operating systems, including Linux (see next issue for more on this fascinating OS), and is responsible for all of the nitty-gritty housekeeping such as resource allocation, low-level hardware interfacesthink USBand security.

kHz: kilohertz or 1000 Hertz (cycles per second)

KLUDGE (sometimes kluge and pronounced kl-oogh): This is an old geeks expressionthat you hardly ever hear anymorefor workaround, but usually with a slightly pejorative connotation.

Kilobit: A measurement of data transmission speed that equates to 1000 bits per second. This is different from baud, which is bytes (8 bits) per second.

KILLER APP: Every software producers dream is the creation of a program so useful that so many people buy it that it will ultimately drive the hardware company that produced the computer that runs it. In the Apple II days, the killer app was Visicalc (where is it today?), for the IBM-PC it was Lotus 1-2-3 (but that program has sagged somewhat from its once-lofty perch), and Aldus (now part of Adobe) PageMaker for the Macintosh.

KILOBYTE: What you get when you combine 1024 (not one thousand) bytes.

KODAK PHOTO CD ACQUIRE: A free (www.Kodak.com) Photoshop compatible Import plug-in that lets you import files from Kodak Photo CD discs directly into your image-editing program. This plug-in also makes it possible for programs that cannot read or import Photo CD files to open the proprietary ImagePac format Kodak uses. Adobes current version of Adobe Photoshop allows you to import a Photo CD file directly through the standard Open dialog, although the methodology and steps involved are not as simple or comprehensive as Kodaks Photo CD Acquire plug-in, which not only makes it easy to open an ImagePac file but adds increased functionality beyond opening the file. The current version, which has not been updated in some time, does provide access to the higher (sixth) resolution (4096x6144 pixels) images found on Kodak Pro Photo CD Master discs. Kodaks Picture CD, developed in partnership with Intel, uses the JPEG format to store images making opening any file on the disc a slam-dunk for any image-editing program thats out there.