K

k abbrev. kilo-. See kilo-. K 1. abbrev. Kelvin. 2. Symbol for 1024 (commonly used with quantities of data elements such as bits). Thus, 210 or 2K = 2048 bits. Also a prefix as in Kbps (kilobits/sec). 3. symb. 1000 when used to indicate monetary quantities. For example, $50K typically indicates a salary of $50,000/year. K language A programming language distributed by Kx Systems. Like Suns Java, it is an interpreted, portable language and the two can be used in conjunction with one another. K was specifically designed for financial programming, optimized for the efficient handling of very large amounts of complex data. Thus, it has a small code footprint for these applications and is appropriate for large relational databases and data analysis. When Java is used with K to provide graphical user interfaces and Web functionality and portability, it is possible to develop powerful e-commerce applications for the Internet. K plan, K-plan See keysheet. K Series Recommendations A series of ITU-T recommendations providing guidelines for preventing interference in telecommunications systems (there are also interference-related topics in various other Series Recommendation documents). These guidelines are available as publications from the ITU-T for purchase. Since ITU-T specifications and recommendations are widely followed by vendors in the telecommunications industry, those wanting to maximize interoperability with other systems need to be aware of the information disseminated by the ITUT. A full list of general categories is listed in the Appendix and specific series topics are listed under individual entries in this dictionary, e.g., J Series Recommendations. See K Series Recommendations chart. K-band A designated portion of the electromagnetic spectrum ranging from 10.9 to 36 GHz. The K-band range is commonly used for small antenna satellite transmissions. See band allocations, Ka-band, Kuband. K-carrier A four-wire broadband cable carrier system utilizing frequencies to about 60 kHz. K-style handset The designation for the shape of newer telephone handsets which resemble older desk phone G style handsets, except that they have a more squared-off design on the ear- and mouthpieces. They are heavier and more substantial than some of the newer cordless or cell phone handsets, which tend to be flat and small. See G style handset. K56flex modem A 56k data telecommunications modem technology developed by Rockwell Semiconductor Systems and Lucent Technologies to enable higher data throughput rates over standard analog telephone lines (POTS). The modem was competitive with U.S. Robotics x2 technologies in the absence of an established 56k standard. Higher data rates were achievable by looking at the structure of the phone lines and the prevalent patterns of modem usage. These modems were designed to do less conversion as analog phone lines were actually part of a predominantly digital system. In addition, the K56flex modems were optimized for downstream transmissions, with upstream being delivered at speeds up to 33.6 Kbps. K56flex modems are backwardly compatible with the ITU V.34 standard to enable fallback when the server doesnt support K56flex. When the V.90 standard was approved by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Rockwell and Lucent announced that new modems would also be compatible with the ITU V.90 standard (formerly called V.Fast). Some K56flex modems could be upgraded to support V.90. See V.Fast, V Series Recommendations. kA abbrev. kiloampere, 1000 amperes. Ka-band The designated portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the high microwave/millimeter range, approximately 18 to 22 GHz. The Ka-band is used primarily by small antenna satellite transmissions, and is intended to support future applications, for example, mobile voice. A 500-MHz allocation within this spectrum is earmarked for nongeostationary fixed satellite orbit services, and there are spectrums for local multipoint distribution services (LMDS), mobile satellite services, and geostationary satellite services. See band allocations for chart.

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K Series Recommendations
Recom. K.1 K.2 Description Connection to earth of an audiofrequency telephone line in cable Protection of repeater powerfeeding systems against interference from neighbouring electricity lines Interference caused by audiofrequency signals injected into a power distribution network Disturbance to signaling Joint use of poles for electricity distribution and for telecommunications Precautions at crossings Protection against acoustic shock Separation in the soil between telecommunication cables and earthing system of power facilities Protection of telecommunication staff and plant against a large earth potential due to a neighbouring electric traction line Low frequency interference due to unbalance about earth of telecommunication equipment Principles of protection against overvoltages and overcurrents Characteristics of gas discharge tubes for the protection of telecommunications installations Induced voltages in cables with plastic-insulated conductors Provision of a metallic screen in plastic-sheathed cables Protection of remote-feeding systems and line repeaters against lightning and interference from neighbouring electricity lines Simplified calculation method for estimating the effect of magnetic induction from power lines on remote-fed repeaters in coaxial pair telecommunication systems K.27 K.24 K.21 K.19 Recom. K.17 Description Tests on power-fed repeaters using solid-state devices in order to check the arrangements for protection from external interference Calculation of voltage induced into telecommunication lines from radio station broadcasts and methods of reducing interference Joint use of trenches and tunnels for telecommunication and power cables Resistibility of telecommunication equipment installed in a telecommunications center to overvoltages and overcurrents Resistibility of telecommunication equipment installed in customer's premises to overvoltages and overcurrents Overvoltage resistibility of equipment connected to an ISDN T/S bus Types of induced noise and description of noise voltage parameters for ISDN basic user networks Method for measuring radiofrequency induced noise on telecommunications pairs Protection of optical fibre cables Protection of telecommunication lines against harmful effects from electric power and electrified railway lines Bonding configurations and earthing inside a telecommunication building Characteristics of semi-conductor arrester assemblies for the protection of telecommunications installations Coordinated protection schemes for telecommunication cables below ground

K.18

K.3

K.4 K.5

K.20

K.6 K.7 K.8

K.9

K.22

K.23

K.10

K.11 K.12

K.25 K.26

K.13 K.14 K.15

K.28

K.16

K.29

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Recom. K.30 K.31

Description Positive temperature coefficient (PTc) thermistors Bonding configurations and earthing of telecommunication installations inside a subscribers building Immunity requirements and test methods for electrostatic discharge to telecommunication equipment generic EMC recommendation Limits for people safety related to coupling into telecommunication system from AC electric power and AC electrified railway installations in fault conditions Classification of electromagnetic environmental conditions for telecommunication equipment basic EMC recommendation Bonding configurations and earthing at remote electronic sites Selection of protective devices Low and high frequency EMC mitigation techniques for telecommunication installations and systems - basic EMC Recommendation Radiated emission test procedure for physically large systems Risk assessment of damages to telecommunication sites due to lightning discharges Protection against LEMP in telecommunication centers Resistibility of internal interfaces of telecommunication centers to surge overvoltages Preparation of emission and immunity requirements for telecommunication equipment general principles

Recom. K.43 K.44

Description Immunity requirements for telecommunication equipment Resistibility of telecommunication equipment to overvoltages and overcurrents Resistibility of access network equipment to overvoltages and overcurrents Protection of telecommunication lines using metallic symmetric conductors against lightninginduced surges Protection of telecommunication lines using metallic conductors against direct lightning discharges EMC requirements for each telecommunication network equipment product family recommendation Test condition and performance criteria for voice terminal subject to disturbance from digital mobile phone Safe limits of operating voltages and currents for telecommunication systems powered over the network Safety criteria for telecommunication equipment Guidance on complying with limits for human exposure to electromagnetic fields Values of induced voltages on telecommunication installations to establish telecommunications, AC power, and railway operators responsibilities Conducted immunity test method and level at fundamental power frequencies

K.45

K.32

K.46

K.33

K.47

K.34

K.48

K.35 K.36 K.37

K.49

K.50

K.38 K.39

K.51 K.52

K.40 K.41

K.53

K.42

K.54

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KAQ9 Gopher server A Web-accessible Gopher server developed by Chris McNeil, with enhancements by McNeil and Peter Crawshaw. The Web version supports email, FTP, Gopher, NTP, Finger, and SLIP servers plus security through IP filtering. The name is based on the underpinnings of Phil Karns KA9Q NET/NOS. KA9Q NOS TCP/IP Phil Karns popular commercial TCP/IP software implementation for packet radio communications. The name of the software comes from his amateur radio callsign. It is available in Borland C++ and a 32-bit protected-mode version for DJGPP. It is popular for its compatibility with lower memory and CPU systems (not everyone wants to throw away perfectly good older computing systems). Amateur radio enthusiasts publish a number of amateur radio TCP/IP server gateways on the Web, which connect initially through telnet. Some of these are password-protected, and some can be accessed by anonymous login, somewhat similar to anonymous login sessions on FTP sites. KADS See Knowledge Analysis and Design System. Kahle, Brewster Project leader for the Wide Area Information Server (WAIS) at Thinking Machines Corporation in Massachusetts (1989), and involved with the company since its founding in 1983. WAIS, Inc. was sold to AOL in 1995. Kahle designed the CPU of the Connection Machine Model 2 in the 1980s. He founded the Internet Archive and cofounded the Alexa Web information company in April 1996, and is active in promoting scholarly repositories of Internet history and documents that might otherwise have a short shelf life. See Wide Area Information Server. Kahn, Bob In 1974, Bob Kahn coauthored A Protocol for Packet Network Internetworking, which describes Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). In 1977, Kahn co-demonstrated a gateway system that could interconnect packet radio with the ARPANET. See Cerf, Vince; packet radio. Kaleida Labs, Inc. A California multimedia development company established as a joint venture between IBM and Apple Corporation (including Taligent). Best known, although not well known, for its ScriptX cross-platform hypermedia product. The venture was discontinued in 1995 and the resources rolled into the founding companies. Kangaroo Network A commercial hardware/software product from Spartacus/Fibronics designed to enable IBM mainframes to intercommunicate with other networks using TCP/IP. Kangaroo Working Group A working group on telecommunications and the information society that works with the European Internet Foundation looking into issues associated with creating a level playing field in terms of Internet use and access in Europe, ensuring a balance between private industry and government. The Kangaroo Group has been actively involved in conferences since the mid-1980s and has actively debated Internet regulations and barriers to the use of cyberspace.

kanji A symbolic, ideographic language system used to represent Chinese characters used in Japanese. Its a challenge to represent the many thousands of Asian characters on computers designed to be programmed and operated in the English language. The Japanese have a number of other ideographic and character symbols in addition to kanji. Kapor, Mitchell (Mitch) (1950- ) The instigator of several historic high profile computer-related organizations, Mitch Kapor founded Lotus Development Corporation in 1982, and was the designer of the well-known Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet software. In 1990, he cofounded the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a nonprofit civil liberties organization. Kapor has chaired the Massachusetts Commission on Computer Technology and Law and served on the board of the Computer Science and Technology arm of the National Research Council, and the National Information Infrastructure Advisory Council. Karnaugh map A two-dimensional truth lookup table organized to facilitate combination and reduction of Boolean expressions. See Boolean expression. Karns algorithm A mathematical formula used for improving network round-trip time estimations. In layered network architectures, application of the algorithm helps the transport layer protocols distinguish among round-trip time samples. It is used in Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) implementations to separate various types of return transmissions and to establish whether or not to ignore retransmitted signals. It is also applied to backoff timers in Point-to-Point (PPP) tunneling networks. See ATM, Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol. Kay, Alan A precocious child and avid reader, Kay was inspired by the work of Seymour Papert at MIT in the 1960s. Kay was committed to the idea that computers should be easy, fun, and accessible, and began developing what was to become the Smalltalk object-oriented programming language. He became a group leader at Xerox PARC in the early 1970s, a period when tremendous innovation in microcomputer technology and user interfaces was stimulated at the lab. Kbps kilobits per second; 1000 bits per second. It is sometimes written Kbits/s. KBps kilobytes per second, 1000 bytes per second. It is sometimes written Kbytes/s KBS See knowledge base system. KDC See key distribution center. KDD 1. Knowledge Discovery in Databases. A branch of artificial intelligence applied to database query, search, and retrieval. 2. Kokusai Denshin Denwa Company, Ltd. A Japanese supplier of international telecom services, equipment, and facilities. KDDI Corp. Japans second-largest communications carrier, descended from Kokusai Denshin Denwa Kabushiki Kaisha (KDD), which was founded in 1953. In April 2001, KDDI announced Java support for its mobile phone services through its CLDC- and MIDP-conforming application interface called KDDI-P.

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KDD R&D Laboratories, Inc. is the research and development division. It was founded when KDD was detached from the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation and moved into a new research facility for conducting research in international communications in 1960. It became independent of KDD in 1998 and was remerged, along with other firms, in 2000 to become KDDIs R&D division. The R&D lab has developed TDMA technology for satellite communications, submarine fiber optic cables, G3 facsimile coding technologies, magneto-optical discs, and data compression and transmission technologies. KDD Fiber Labs, Inc., a KDDI Group Corporation, develops fiber optics technologies, including WDM optical amplification and various types of light sources. KDKA KDKA originated as amateur call sign 8XK, operating from the garage of Frank Conrad. It is a historically significant Westinghouse Electric radio broadcasting station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that used radio waves to report returns of the HardingCox Presidential race to the American public, on November 2, 1920. This was about 14 years after the earliest experimental broadcasts and a week after receiving its own official broadcasting license. By the following year, KDKA was making regular public broadcasts and radio broadcasting was booming, with more than 500 broadcasting stations sprouting up around the country. KDKA was still broadcasting under the same call sign more than 80 years later. See CFCF; Herrold, Doc; radio history. KEA See Key Exchange Algorithm. Kearney System KS. A parts numbering scheme developed for Western Electric telecommunications equipment, named after the town in New Jersey where the plant was located. The KS system has generally been superseded with vendor-specific and industry standard codes, although Kearney numbers are still found on some pieces of equipment. keepalive interval The period of time between keepalive messages. The amount of time depends upon the type of network and the type of activity taking place. For example, for a computer process, the interval might be measured in nanoseconds, whereas for a user activity, it might be measured in minutes. See keepalive message, keepalive signal. keepalive message Messaging between network devices that indicates that a virtual circuit between the two is still active (alive). See keepalive interval, keepalive signal. keepalive signal A network signal transmitted during times of idleness to keep the circuit from initiating a time-out sequence and terminating the connection due to lack of activity. See keepalive interval, keepalive message. Kelvin balance, ampere balance A historical instrument for measuring the absolute value of an electrical current, named after its inventor, William Thompson (Lord Kelvin). It is essentially a galvanometer that measures the force produced by the magnetic field associated with the passage of current through a conductive medium.
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In one of its historical fabrications, the instrument resembled a small reel-to-reel tape recorder, with two low, flat spools coiled with wires connected to one another in series positioned a few inches apart. A pivoting beam balance enabled a set of rings to move freely between the coils. A finely incremented rulerlike gauge stretched the length of the instrument, in front of the coils, from the outer edge of one to the other. The whole thing was generally encased within a protective brass and glass enclosure. The instrument was sold with a set of weights. The current to be measured passed through the wire coils to create an attractive force referenced against a known weight. Two ampere balances were designated as legal standard instruments in 1894. Kelvin effect When an electric current passes through a single homogeneous but unequally heated conductor, heat is absorbed or released. This effect is named after William Thompson (Lord Kelvin). Kelvin scale A temperature scale proposed by William Thompson (Lord Kelvin), based on the efficiency of a reversible machine. Zero is designated as the temperature of the sink of the machine working efficiently, that is, complete conversion of heat into work, a situation possible only at absolute zero on a gas temperature scale. Zero degrees Kelvin can be expressed as -273.15 degrees Celsius (C) or -459.67 degrees Fahrenheit (F).

William Thompson, more familiar as Lord Kelvin, studied electromagnetism. The Kelvin temperature scale, Kelvin receiver, and Kelvin effect are named after him.

Kelvin, Lord William Thomson (1824-1907). A Scottish physicist and mathematician who made significant contributions to the field of thermodynamics, and applied his theories to the dynamics and age of the earth and the universe. He utilized the field concept to explain electromagnetism and its propagation. The concept of an all-pervasive ether was still prevalent at the time, so he explained a number of his observations within this context. He also developed the siphon recorder, a number of types of voltmeters, and an ampere balance, and was involved

in laying the transatlantic telegraph cable. The Kelvin scale and Kelvin effect are named after him. Kenbak-1 A discrete logic microcomputer designed by John V. Blankenbaker, introduced in 1971 as the Kenbak-1 Digital Computer. It featured 256 bytes of memory, three programming registers, and five addressing modes. The controlling switches were on the front panel of the machine. It was advertised in the September 1971 issue of Scientific American, 3 years prior to the introduction of the Altair, for only $750. One of the earliest microcomputers, the Kenbak-1 was apparently ahead of its time. Unfortunately, only 40 machines sold over the next 2 years, and the California-based Kenbak Corporation missed a significant business window by a narrow margin. One year after the company closed, the Altair computer kit caught the attention of hobbyist readers of Popular Electronics magazine and sold over 10,000 units. The Kenbak-1 was not the only commercially unsuccessful computer that preceded the Altair; the Simon was a remarkable forerunner, described in 1949 by Edmund Berkeley, and the Sphere and Micral computers were early entrants to the industry following the Kenbak-1. They also failed to sell in significant numbers. See Altair, Arkay CT-650, Heathkit EC-1, Intel MCS-4, Micral, Simon, Sphere System.

The Kenbak-1 computer was promoted as an educational and hobbyist computer in 1971, 3 years before the introduction of the Altair. Given its design and price range, its reasonable to speculate that it had the potential to sell as well as the Altair, which was available assembled or as a kit. Perhaps, in 1971, consumers werent yet ready for the idea of a computer so small it could fit on a desktop.

Kendall effect Distortion in a facsimile record, caused by faulty modulation of the sideband to carrier ratio of the signal. Kennelly, Arther E. (1861-1939) A British-born American mathematician and engineer who studied mathematical aspects of electrical circuitry. He also studied the properties of the Earths atmosphere and its effects on radio waves and suggested that an ionized layer above the Earth could reflect radio waves, an idea soon after independently published by Oliver Heaviside. Kennelly-Heaviside layer In 1902, A. Kennelly and O. Heaviside proposed, independently of one another, that an ionized layer surrounding the Earth could serve as a reflecting medium that would hold radiation within it. This led to the discovery of a number

of regions surrounding Earth and utilization of the characteristics of some of these layers in long-distance wave transmission. It also led, in the 1920s, to confirming experiments in which radio signals were bounced off this reflecting layer. See Heaviside, Oliver; ionosphere; Kennelly, Arther. Kerberos Name for the three-headed dog of Greek mythology who guarded the gates of Hades. Kerberos authentication An authentication system developed through the MIT Project Athena effort. Kerberos is a client/server security mechanism based upon symmetric key cryptography. Each user of the Kerberos system is assigned a nonsecret unique ID and selects a secret password. The secret password is provided to the Kerberos system and is not intended to be divulged by either party. The user then uses the password to request access from the system. The identity of the user is verified by generating a random number and presenting a problem that can likely be solved only by the authentic user, thus providing access to a message on the system. The symmetric nature of the system is in the use of the same encryption and decryption key. For security purposes, long, randomly selected strings work best with this system of cryptography; otherwise it may be vulnerable to password-guessing attacks. Kermit Project A nonprofit, self-supporting project at Columbia University for the support of the Kermit Protocol and the development of Kermit-related technologies. The project also includes information on documentation, licensing, and technical support for users of the Columbia implementation of Kermit. See Kermit Protocol. http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/ Kermit Protocol A packet-oriented, platform-independent file transfer protocol developed at Columbia University in 1981. Hundreds of Kermit implementations support the 7-bit and 8-bit transfer of text and binary files. They are commonly used over asynchronous, serially connected local area networks (LANs) and phone lines. Kermit is flexible and configurable. Kermit is not the speediest protocol, as each packet is checked and acknowledged as it is transferred, but it is reliable, widespread, and well-supported, especially in academic institutions; when all other protocols fail, its often the one which will get the file transfer done. There are numerous terminal emulators based on Kermit, with VT52 and VT100 versions being common. Telnet, an important protocol for remotely connecting to a network host, has also been implemented with Kermit. Kermit is a workhorse, but its use in its original form has declined. Most local area networks and the Internet now use other network connection and file transfer mechanisms such as ATM, Ethernet, and FTP, but traditional Kermit is still useful for phone links and small networks interconnected with basic serial connections. Updated versions of Kermit are significant, however, and may greatly extend its useful life. Internet Kermit Service is a file transfer service described by da

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Cruz and Altman at Columbia University based on a combination of the widely used Telnet Protocol and Kermit Protocol. It supports both anonymous and authenticated access. Kermit over Telnet enables the traversal of firewalls and a number of security options. By providing some advantages over File Transfer Protocol (FTP), this Kermit configuration is a practical option for distributed networks, including the Internet. The registered IANA port for Kermit connections is 1649. Kermit is an open protocol, so it is freely distributable and can be used as the basis for software applications development, but Columbias implementation of the Kermit protocol is copyrighted. See FTP, Kermit Project, XModem, YModem, ZModem. See RFC 2839, RFC 2840. kernel 1. Line within a conductor along which the current-resulting magnetic intensity is zero. 2. Low level of an operating system at which processes and resources (such as memory and drivers) are created, allocated, and managed. Functions and operations at the kernel level form a bridge between hardware and software resources and are mostly or completely transparent to the user. kerning In typography, a term to describe the spacing between individual letters. Kerning is applied to tighten or loosen the look and feel of a line of type, or to visually correct letter combinations that appear perceptually or aesthetically to have too much white space between them. For example, if you put the letters T v together, they may seem too far apart because of the overhanging top of the T and the angle of the v. With kerning you can tuck the v under the top bar of the T and it looks better (Tv). Negative letter spacing applied to the entire line of text is called white space reduction.

T v Tv
The letter pair on the left is unkerned and there is an unaesthetic gap between the T and the v. The pair on the right has been negatively kerned to tuck the v under the top bar of the T to create a stronger relationship between the two shapes.

Kerr cell A device used to modulate light in conjunction with polarizers. The cell contains electrodes to direct the necessary electric field for inducing the Kerr electro-optical effect and the material being influenced by the combination of the field and a beam of polarized light. Photodetectors may be used in conjunction with the Kerr cell to determine if or when the effect occurs. Kerr cells have been used in the fabrication of high-speed optical shutters. Kerr electro-optical effect A phenomenon discovered by John Kerr in 1875. It is an electro-optical effect in which certain substances become double refracting (birefringent) in the presence of strong
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electric fields or in which certain specific substances become double refracting in smaller electric fields. In other words, a single incident ray of light is refracted as two, with the two rays oscillating in mutually perpendicular planes. Isotropic liquids or gas, for example, show the Kerr effect and become optically anisotropic when subjected to a consistent electric field perpendicular to a beam of light. To account for the effect, it is theorized that the application of the electro-optical energy causes a reorientation of a materials molecular structure. Since the effect is not universal across materials and levels of electromagnetic influence, it is often studied with certain parameters held within controlled limits, such as the constancy of the electric field and the wavelengths of light. Since the Kerr effect can be induced through controlled conditions and occurs quickly, various researchers have suggested that it may have practical applications in troubleshooting optical transmissions or in increasing bandwidth in optical communications systems. See Kerr cell, Pockels effect. Kerr magneto-optical effect The change in a light beam from plane polarized to elliptically polarized when it is reflected from the reflective surface of an electromagnet. The degree of rotation is directly proportional to the degree of magnetization of the reflective material. The transmissive aspects of this effect were first observed and described by Michael Faraday in the 1840s and researched further by John Kerr three decades later as to its reflective properties. Because of their relationship, the Faraday and Kerr effects are often described together. This magneto-optical effect is useful for studying magnetic effects in superlattices and giant magnetoresistive (GMR) effects. GMR technology was discovered in the late 1980s and has since developed into a new, highly sensitive sensor design for disk drives. The effect can also be put into practical use for measuring current in power lines using a polarized laser to measure the degree of rotation. See Faraday effect, giant magneto-resistance. Kerr, John (1824-1907) A Scottish-born physicist best known for discovering and describing the Kerr electro-optical effect. Kerr carried out research under the direction of William Thompson (Lord Kelvin). See Kerr electro-optical effect. keV Abbreviation for kiloelectronvolt. Kevlar The DuPont tradename for a strong, synthetic multipurpose material that is, ounce-per-ounce, about five times as strong as steel. In the 1960s, a new liquid crystal polymer fiber was invented by Stephanie Kwolek; Kevlar is the commercial embodiment of this fiber. Kwolek also invented Nomex, a fiber used in electrical insulation. Kevlar is used in applications where strong, light, flexible materials are needed, such as bulletproof vests and protective sheathings for sensitive or electrically active materials. Kevlar tape and Kevlar strength members are used in fiber optic cables. A water-resistant sheath is often fitted over the Kevlar or Kevlar-impregnated inner layers for further

protection from the elements (typically PVC or polyethylene). Kevlar is sometimes mixed with building materials to increase strength and resilience in the event of industrial vibrations or earthquakes. Carbon steel cutters are generally used to cut the Kevlar components in fiber optic cables. key n. 1. A small, physical security device, often made of metal, inserted into a matching lock receptacle to lock/unlock or activate/inactivate an object or structure. The shape of the key is commonly the aspect that allows a lock to be opened or closed, but more recent data-compatible keys may have magnetic stripes rather than indentations to activate a lock. 2. In an image, the overall tone or value of the image, often used to adjust camera settings to balance the amount of light or to screen out certain colors or light intensities (e.g., chroma key). 3. A switch for opening or closing a circuit. 4. In a database, an organizational means to locate desired information without searching the entire content of the database. 5. On keyboards, keypads, phone pads, etc., a small, roughly cubic, raised, movable, input attachment intended to be depressed, usually by a finger, to make a selection. 6. The modern equivalent of the switch on an old phone. key, telegraph The signaling device which allows the input of code, usually Morse code, and transmits it to the communications channel. The key superseded the portfule of earlier systems. See telegraph history. key encryption A personal or public identifier intended to establish the owner or recipient of a secure encoded message. Key-related negotiations may be symmetric or asymmetric and may be based upon public keys, private keys, or a combination of both. Key encryption may be based upon a long-term escrow system or upon short-term session-based communications. A public key cryptographic scheme consists of a public key provided openly to anyone who wishes to send an encrypted message, and a private key used by the recipient to de-encrypt the received message. Here is a summary of some of the concepts associated with key encryption: key agreement An encryption key establishment mechanism that is common to asymmetric cryptographic exchanges but may also be used in symmetric exchanges. In key agreement, a pair of entities, wishing to engage in a secured communication without prior arrangement, make use of public data (e.g., a public key) to negotiate a common key value unique to their communication (i.e., not known or used by other entities). When a Diffie-Hellman technique is used, key agreement is arranged without the need to transfer the key. See Diffie-Hellman. key center A trusted, centralized distribution point (e.g., separate server machine) capable of administering the use of key-encrypting master keys to encrypt and distribute session keys for secured communications.

key confirmation The process of ensuring that participants in a key-secured communication are legitimate by determining whether they do indeed possess a shared symmetric key. key distribution center KDC. In symmetric digital cryptography, a key center that provides encryption/decryption keys to two or more entities that wish to engage in a secured communication through an agreed-upon key distribution protocol. These keys are often session-related. key escrow A security system component in which part or all of a cryptographic key is entrusted to a third party to hold in escrow. The key bank or authority is responsible for storing and releasing the keys to a party involved in a communication, provided that party submits proper authorization. The authorized recipient can then use the key to decrypt a message. There has been considerable debate over the use of escrow authorities. On the one hand, some individuals feel no one should have any part of a communication other than the sending and receiving parties. On the other hand, some believe it is necessary to have a third party that can be served a warrant to hand over information critical to the maintenance of national security and the carrying out of law enforcement activities. It is also critical, for the system to work, for the authority to be highly reliable, accountable, and secure. See key generation, key recovery. key establishment The processes of key generation, storage, and distribution that together enable a secured key-related communication association to be established. key exchange The transmission or recording of a software key with another party, or swapping among two or more parties. See encryption, PGP, key generation. key generation The process of creating a software key for security uses. Once this has been done, it is expedient to keep track of information related to keys (location, password, etc.) so that key generation does not have to be done again. Portable devices for generating a key are sometimes used in conjunction with keyless security locks on building premises. See key, encryption. key length The number of symbols, usually expressed in bits or bytes, used in representing an encryption key. In general, the longer the key length, the greater the possible number of ways in which the data may be scrambled to ensure that it cannot be easily decrypted by an unauthorized party. key lifetime/lifespan The time span or expiry date associated with an established cryptographic key. The expiry period or lifespan may be determined in advance by an issuing authority, especially in session-related key assignments, or may be dynamically determined. The key lifetime is also determined in part by users. If a user loses or forgets or misplaces a key, its effective lifetime has

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ended even if the capability to use it still exists. Some key cryptography systems will explicitly include a parameter that determines the lifespan of a key (e.g., until the session is terminated). The capability to terminate a key is important in situations where key assignments must be reused in a dynamic resource-conscious system (e.g., session-related keys) or where the key users may cease to have authority (e.g., terminated employees). key management protocol A protocol developed to facilitate establishment of a key-administered transmission between entities wishing to secure the communication through key encryption. key recovery The process of determining the value of a cryptographic key that has been used to perform an encryption operation. Key recovery is a hotly debated political topic since law enforcement agencies have desired and at times secured the legal and technological capability to recover keys for decrypting secured communications. A key escrow system that included portions of keys (to facilitate key recovery) was at one time intended to be associated with software products exported out of the U.S. Key recovery by governmental agencies was repeatedly proposed and defeated during the 1990s. Key encapsulation is a means of storing information about a cryptographic key by encrypting it with another key so that only authorized recovery agents may decrypt and retrieve the stored key. See key escrow. key space The universe or space from which cryptographic key values may be taken. It is the total number of distinct transformations which may be supported by a cryptographic scheme, in other words, the realm of possible variations possible. key update The updating or derivation of a new key from an existing key. Also called rekey. See certification, Clipper Chip, cryptography, encryption, Pretty Good Privacy. Key Exchange/Encryption Algorithm KEA. An asymmetric key encryption algorithm similar to the Diffie-Hellman algorithm, that utilizes 1024-bit keys. KEA was originally developed by the National Security Agency (NSA) as a classified security mechanism whose status was changed in June 1998. See Clipper Chip, Diffie-Hellman, key encryption, SKIPJACK. Key Contact A service of British Telecom that comprises an 11th phone number (nonmobile) in addition to the key numbers kept by a business subscriber in BTs Friends & Family Key Numbers service. See key numbers. key illumination The lighting of a key on a keypad or keyboard to signal its status or facilitate its location. The keys may be illuminated to indicate that they are active (or pending), as in a multiline phone system, or to enable them to be seen in low-light conditions (e.g., a burglar alarm keypad). Steady illumination or various flashing speeds and patterns may be used to indicate the line or device status.
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key map A table that translates keyboard input values from one configuration to another, commonly used in computer software to accommodate the alphabets of a number of languages. This is useful for translation, alternate typing keyboard setups (e.g., Dvorak), graphics, and music applications. key numbers Telecommunications number addresses of particular interest, such as the phone numbers of frequently-called family and close friends or business associates. British Telecom (BT) has a key numbers service that can be managed on the Web. The Web portal enables customers to set up and manage the Friends & Family Key Numbers list associated with their phone accounts. This service is without charge for residential and business customers for up to ten numbers and may include up to two mobile numbers. It is likely that this type of Web access to telecommunications services will increase, just as online banking is increasing, due to its 24-hour availability and update convenience; the user doesnt have to wait to call service representatives during business hours. key performance indicator KPI. A statistic intended to indicate effectiveness in specified key aspects which are typically industry-specific. In the telecommunications industry KPIs may comprise the frequency or duration of calls, revenue per call, purchase trends, etc. KPIs are used to plan budgets, inventory, and investment, financing, and growth strategies. Key Performance Indicator KPI. A commercial database to track mobile operators key performance indicators such as minutes of use, churn, average revenue per user, and acquisition costs. The system was first released by EMC, a U.K. firm, in April 2000, and is incorporated into EMC World Cellular Information Services. The system computes average statistics for each KPI for regions and reporting periods. key pulsing KP. A system for sending multifrequency signals from a pushbutton key telephone through a phone circuit to establish a connection. It is sometimes called key sending. In older, manually operated toll stations, pulsing was sometimes used by operators instead of dialing. Dial-operated pulse phones are on the decline, with touchtone phones replacing them. key service unit, key system unit KSU. The internal electronics and logic that enable the selection of lines and other options in a key telephone system. This may be a small cabinet installed in a closet or some other area where the lines are not cluttering up the environment or causing an obstruction. See key telephone system. key station Master station from which broadcasts originate. key telephone system, key system KTS. A multiline telephone system in which individual phones have multiple keys or buttons that the user presses to select the line over which she or he wishes to communicate. In larger multiline key systems, there may

be a main console through which the calls are channeled. This is not the same as a private branch system, in which a separate switching system is associated with the phones. In the key system, which is used in many small offices, the switching and selection of lines is done manually by the user. Some larger offices with private branch exchanges will use a hybrid system which also incorporates one or more key systems, sometimes in individual departments. New key systems commonly feature programmable function keys and LED status displays. See key service unit, private branch exchange. keyboard Hardware peripheral for detecting and transmitting user input to a computer system through individually labeled keys. Descended from typewriter keyboards and typically arranged according to the historic QWERTY layout which, ironically, was designed to slow down typing in order to prevent key jamming on old manual typewriters. This is unfortunate, because other layouts, such as Dvorak, may be easier to learn and result in faster typing. A variety of keyboards are available for each type of computer system, some with better ergonomics than those which typically come with the system. See keypad; keyboard, touch-sensitive. keyboard buffer Recent input is typically stored in temporary memory in order to prevent loss or corruption in the event that the system was not yet ready to respond at the time that the keys were pressed. keyboard overlay 1. A printed skin or cover, usually of soft molded plastic, which fits over the keyboard and provides additional key designations or modifies existing ones for software programs which require special symbols or keyboard reconfiguration. Useful for custom applications, although they tend to reduce the speed and comfort of typing. 2. A cover to prevent particles and spills from getting under keys and interfering with their operation. keyboard, touch-sensitive A hardware peripheral for detecting and transmitting user input to a computer system through a flat, touch-sensitive surface. The back side is generally a conductive medium which completes a circuit with very minimal pressure (the touch of a finger). Ideal for general public applications (e.g., kiosks) with simple input demands, where there is a need to prevent clogging with debris, mechanical wear, vandalism, or theft of keys. See keyboard. keyboarding Striking keys on a computer or other digital keyboard. This is distinct from typing in that typing is generally intended to immediately translate the keystroke into an image on a printing surface. Keyboarding, on the other hand, enables the keystroke to be stored and manipulated for a variety of purposes, including word processing, chatting, signaling, or printing at a later time. It is possible to type on a computer keyboard with a software program designed to immediately send the key to a printing device, but this is rarely used due to the greater convenience of editing the keyboard strokes before printing (or sending them electronically without printing).

keying A means of modulating a signal. This can be done in a number of ways, by varying the amplitude, frequency, or phase of a signal. See amplitude shift keying, frequency shift keying, Gaussian minimum shift keying, quadrature phase shift keying, phase shift keying. keypad A key-based interface device for various calculators, dedicated word processors, security systems, and computing devices. The keypad is usually a small compact group of functionally related keys, often consisting of numbers, designed in rows and columns to facilitate finger access. A larger grouping, as is found on computers or typewriters, is usually called a keyboard. On a calculator, the keypad is generally configured as three or four columns by five or six rows, depending upon how many extra function keys (memory, clear, print, etc.) are integrated into the key pad layout. Many security entry devices and alarm systems are managed through a keypad with nine or twelve keys for entering numeric codes or alphanumeric passwords. The system may be wired or wireless and may trigger other mechanisms (e.g., a security camera) if used or if suspicious codes are entered. See keyboard, numeric keypad. keysheet An administrative plan for phone extensions that tracks and illustrates the connections and features assigned to that phone. Keysheets are practical in institutional environments with many extensions, particularly if the extension phones have different capabilities and dialing privileges. A keysheet is even more important for keeping track if the phones are also individually programmable or if they are relocated on a regular basis. Software exists for developing keysheet connection plans, diagrams, and overlays. Electronic forms are now also commonly used for individual members of departments to list the phones, faxes, and modems for inclusion in a keysheet database. keystoning A visual aberration which occurs when an image is projected on a surface off-plane, that is, on a surface which is at an angle to the plane of the surface of the projecting lens. Thus, if a rectangular image from a film or slide projector, for example, were projected on a movable screen which was crooked, the image would be wide on one side and narrow on the other. See barrel distortion. keystroke Input to a keyboard consisting of a single, or combined key (e.g., Ctrl-C) press. Typing speeds are generally measured in words per minute, but some data entry tasks are measured in keystrokes per minute. kHz abbrev. kilohertz, 1000 hertz. See hertz. kiddie cam A video camera installed to monitor the activities of children. These are common in household nurseries and increasingly common in daycare facilities. Some of these cams have been interfaced with the Internet to enable parents and caregivers to remotely monitor the activities of children. For the safety and privacy of children being monitored by Web-based kiddie cams, some kiddie cam services require a password to login to the remote viewing site.

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Unfortunately, the kiddie cam moniker is also used by some sites to promote pornographic images of girls and boys who have been covertly photographed or who are too young to understand how their image is being used. This type of exploitation is generally illegal, but the sites promoting child pornography manage to stay online long enough for the images to be downloaded and shared among thousands or millions of Internet users. KIF See Knowledge Interchange Format. Kilby, Jack St. Clair (1923- ) An American inventor and Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) employee who contributed to designing the first integrated circuit chip, shortly after joining TI. The development catapulted the miniaturization and speed of electronics into a new level of evolution. Kilbys first IC was introduced in September 1958, shortly before Fairchild engineers developed historic ICs that were, for some time, considered to be the first (the patent was awarded to Noyce even as Kilbys application was still being assessed). Texas Instruments has named the Kilby Center, a silicon manufacturing research facility, in his honor. Kilby is also responsible for providing miniaturized electronics that supported the portable calculator market and off-Earth electronic devices that needed to be small and sparing on power consumption. In October 2000, Kilbys contributions were acknowledged with a Nobel Prize in physics jointly with two other scientists. See integrated circuit; Noyce, Robert; transistor. Kildall, Gary (1942-1994) American educator and pioneer software developer. Kildall developed CP/M (Control Program/Monitor) over a number of years, beginning in 1973, with contributions from his students, when he was a professor of computer science at a California naval school. Kildall developed CP/ M into a very popular, widely used, text-oriented, 8bit operating system in the late 1970s. Kildall later founded InterGalactic Digital Research, which became Digital Research (DR), to market his software products. Digital Research developed GEM, an early graphical user operating system which predated functional versions of Windows. DR also created DR-DOS, which was competitive with MS-DOS, and claimed by many to be of superior quality. Kildall is also known for developing PL/M prior to CP/M, the first programming language for the historic Intel 4004 chip, and for co-authoring a floppy controller interface in 1973 with John Torode. In the ensuing years, Gary Kildall lost one political battle after another with the rapidly expanding Microsoft, and Digital Research never flourished as one might expect for a company so often in the forefront of technology. Digital Research had a history of creating good products, but was overshadowed by its larger, more aggressive competitor. At one point DR won a lawsuit against Microsoft, but it may have been a case of too little too; at that point Microsoft had so much momentum, it was unlikely Kildall and DR could regain their market share. Kildall is acknowledged as the original developer of many significant technologies for the microcomputer indus 2002 by CRC Press LLC

try, but unfortunate circumstances surrounding a fall cut short his life when he was 52. See CP/M; Gates, William. kill 1. Remove or delete, as a word, line, or file. 2. Abruptly or prematurely terminate a process or broadcast. kill file 1. An email or newsgroup filter that sends messages from particular people, or on particular topics, to the bit bucket, that is, they are shuffled off to a file that never gets read, or is deleted unread. 2. A list of users banned or otherwise controlled from access to remote terminals or online chat services. See kill command. kill command A software control command available to operators on various chat systems to disconnect a disruptive member from the site. Common reasons for killing a user include racial, cultural, or religious slurs, violation of chat rules, illegal activities, or excessive profanity. On Internet Relay Chat (IRC) there is a general set of guidelines and a code of etiquette to guide channel operators in the appropriate use of the IRC /kill command. kill message 1. A textual message transmitted by an operator to a user in a computer-based chat room who is in the process of being removed from the chat area. This is an option on most systems for operators to inform the user as to why he or she is being removed. See kill command. 2. A software command sent to stop a process. This may be on a single-user system, a network, or a specialized system such as a transaction system based on digital data cards. A kill message can halt a process that has hung or gotten out of control, without taking down the operating system; it can stop suspect activities (e.g., possible hacking) on a network with remote terminals, or it can stop the use of a suspected stolen or lost ATM card. 3. An introductory message played over a telephone connection when the user has called a local or long-distance pay-per-call service. It may include consumer protection information or specifics about restrictions or potential call costs. Calls that may exceed charges of a specified amount may be required to include a kill message in the first few seconds of the call to allow the caller to hang up before charges accrue. In spite of mandatory preambles and kill messages, there were complaints to and by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the mid-1990s that telephone service vendors were abusing so-called toll-free 1-800 numbers in a variety of ways, including forwarding 1-800 calls to 1-900 numbers or otherwise manipulating the system to rack up charges on the callers phone bills. KILL message 1. A software message that causes a client/server connection to be closed by the related server for a variety of reasons, depending upon the system. For example, in Internet Relay Chat, it may be automatically invoked when duplicate nickname entries are detected; both entries are removed with the expectation that only a single nickname will reappear. This maintains global uniqueness. The KILL message may be available to operators but ideally should be handled by servers. See RFC 1459.

Kill the Spams KTS. A software product programmed in Visual BASIC Script that filters out unsolicited emails while maintaining some resistance to computer viruses (which are often sent through email). KTS analyzes and scores the information in the headers of email messages and handles them according to a score specified by the user. Thus, it works on algorithmic methods rather than being based upon a brute force list of emailers. kilo- (abbrev. k or K) Prefix for one thousand (1000), or 103. 10 kilograms = 10,000 grams when used for weights and measures. When used in the context of computer data, more commonly it is capitalized, as in Kbps (kilobits per second), and represents 1024. See k, K. kilocharacter One thousand characters. See kilosegment. kilosegment One thousand segments, with each segment consisting of up to 64 characters. It is used as a billing measure in some systems, such as X.25. kilovolt-ampere kVA. A unit of apparent power. This is a general measure of power consumption for nonresistive devices such as certain types of lighting and computer components. kilowatt kW. An SI unit of power required to do work at the rate of 1000 joules per second. See joule, kilowatt-hour, watt. kilowatt-hour kW-hr. A unit of the energy used to perform work as measured over a 1-hour unit of time. One thousand watt-hours, or 3.6 million joules. This has practical applications as a description of the efficiency of different types of fuel, which can be expressed and compared in terms of kilowatt-hours. kinescope 1. A cathode-ray tube (CRT) in which electrical signals, as from a television receiver, are displayed to a screen. 2. An early term for a motion picture, and probably the inspiration for the term cinemascope. In Britain, the term cinematograph was used to indicate a motion picture or motion picture camera. kinetograph A device patented in 1889 by Thomas Edison for photographing motion picture sequences. See kinetoscope. kinetoscope A device patented in 1893 by Thomas Edison for viewing a sequence of pictures, based on the work of earlier experimenters going back as far as 1883. The loop of film images was illuminated from behind and viewed through a rapidly rotating shutter, thus creating a small motion picture film. See kinetograph. King, Jan The young engineer who coordinated a number of significant amateur radio telecommunications satellite projects, starting with AustralisOSCAR 5 and continuing with the AMSAT satellites. King has written articles and technical reports on some of these activities, many of them for the QST journal. See AMSAT, OSCAR. Kingsbury Commitment An important event on December 13, 1913 in which the U.S. Attorney General, James McReynolds, informed AT&T of violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. AT&T voluntarily gave up controlling interest in the Western

Union Telegraph Company, and agreed to stop buying up the independent telephone companies without first obtaining approval from the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). AT&T further agreed to provide independent phone companies with access to the long-distance network. The Kingsbury Commitment derives its name from Nathan C. Kingsbury, the AT&T vice president who was appointed by Theodore Vail to correspond with the Attorney General. It is sometimes colloquially called the Kingsbury compromise. See Modified Final Judgment. Kirchhoff, Gustav Robert (1824-1887) A German physicist who conducted pioneer work in spectroscopy and followed up on Ohms work by providing further information and a more advanced theory of the flow of electricity through conductors. See Kirchhoffs laws. Kirchhoffs laws Laws for the flow of current first described in 1848 by G.R. Kirchhoff: 1. The current flowing to a given point (node) in a circuit is equal to the current flowing away from that point. 2. In any closed path in a circuit, the algebraic sum of the voltage drops equals the algebraic sum of the electromotive forces in that path. KIS See Knowbot Information Service. KISS Keep It Simple Stupid. A tongue-in-cheek, but all-too-relevant design and management philosophy. Google is an excellent search engine on the Internet whose success is, in part, due to the relative absence of bells and whistles. The early Apple Macintosh computers held to this philosophy as well, developing a one-button mouse when many others were using two- or three-, and maintaining standards for the operating system that enabled new users to quickly figure out how to use it. KISS method A system-independent architecture related to information systems modeling, which is described in terms of object-oriented concepts by its author, Gerald Kristen. KISS concepts are presented in a series of stages, and the model and presentation are sufficiently different from other works in the field of object-oriented (OO) programming that it has not excited a lot of interest in the OO programmers community. Kittyhawk A line of very small-sized (less than 2 x 3 in.) 20- and 40-MByte, 44-pin IDE hard drives distributed by Hewlett Packard for use in palmtop text and PDA computers. KLAS-TV An early commercial adopter of all-digital advanced television (ATV) technology. KLASTV is a Las Vegas CBC affiliated owned by Landmark Communications, Inc., a privately held media company. Advanced television technologies were researched in the early 1990s by the Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Service (ACATS), with digital technologies coming in late in the process, but then becoming the central focus of ACATS evaluations. The ACATS Final Report was presented in 1995, paving the way for broadcast stations in

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North America to begin to implement higher quality, standardized digital television services. KLASTV was the first broadcaster in the Los Vegas region to offer end-to-end digital technology and transmissions, in April 2000. Prior to offering digital subscriber services, KLAS-TV delivered digital programming 2 years in a row to the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) annual trade show at a Las Vegas convention center, establishing themselves as one of the pioneer commercial providers of all-digital broadcast programming. System components for KLAS-TV equipment were developed and provided by Harris Broadcast Communications, who also provided the radio frequency Test Bed used in the ACATS evaluation of prototype digital broadcast systems. See Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Service, Harris Broadcast Communications. Kleinrock, Leonard In 1976, authored Queueing Systems Volume II Computer Applications, a publication which helped the spread and acceptance of packet-switching technology. Kleist, Ewald Christian von See von Kleist, Ewald Christian. kludge, kluge Patchwork, improvised, or makeshift hardware or software, which can result from 1. time or material constraints, 2. sloppy workmanship, lack of foresight, 3. communication problems between decision-makers and implementors, or 4. staff changes or design changes during a protracted project. Kludge usually has a negative connotation, especially with software that tends to be sluggish from lack of structure and optimization, while well-conceived, but time-constrained projects are more often called quick-and-dirty. Even well-begun projects can become kludgy after awhile, in which case engineers will generally advise, Time for a ground-up rewrite! Klystron, klystron From the Greek klyzo. A highvacuum electron tube that uses electric fields to cause the bunching of electrons into a well-focused beam. The beams kinetic energy is converted and amplified into ultra-high frequency radio waves (microwaves). Klystron was established as a trademark and as such is spelled with a capital letter, though the term is now also used generically to describe the historic line of Klystron tubes. Klystrons were used widely as oscillators and applied to radar transmitters until they were superseded for some applications by cavity magnetrons. Current commercial Klystrons that developed from the historic tubes are long-life, reliable, remanufacturable components. The Klystron evolved from pioneer versions of the magnetron which were developed in the 1920s. Russell H. Varian and Sigurd F. Varian respectively designed and constructed the first Klystron prototype at Stanford, beginning in 1937, in collaboration with William Hansen. The July 1937 notes of Russell Varian describe the Rumbatron Oscillator or Amplifier and input from William Hansen regarding a spherical rumbatron with one core reaching to the center. The rumbatron moniker was based on
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Hansens previous work on cavity resonators. The Varians combined this with principles of velocity modulation to create the Klystron, which was publicly announced in 1939. While Hansen went on to develop linear accelerators, the Varian brothers and other scientists, including their friend and associate, Edward L. Ginzton, applied the new technology to the development of radar systems during World War II and cofounded Varian Associates in 1948.

Top: The Klystron and its inventors at Stanford in 1939. Clockwise from the left are Sigurd Varian, David Webster, William Hansen, John Woodyard (a graduate student), and Russell Varian. Bottom: Russel and Sigurd Varian in 1951 with a high-powered Klystron component. Russell Varian also holds a small Klystron of the type used for radar, navigation, and communications applications. [Copyright 1939 and 1951 Stanford News Service archives; used with permission.]

The radio waves in historic Klystron tubes are drawn from a high-voltage electron beam in such a way that much of the energy is dissipated, resulting in low efficiency levels compared with succeeding technologies. However, klystron technology was never fully superseded, especially in broadcast applications, and some scientists felt the efficiency could be improved. The Lewis/Varian version of the klystron technology, developed in the mid-1980s,

recovers the wasted energy by recycling the electron beam, effectively doubling the usable portion of the radio frequency and, consequently, reducing power consumption in UHF television transmitters. Commercial production of the new technology began in 1990 on the product now known as the CPI MDC klystron. Commercial broadcasting klystrons come in a variety of configurations supporting frequency bands such as the C-band at different channel capacities (usually 6, 12, or 24). There may be separate tubes for image and audio amplification. Cooling with water is typical in klystron applications where the tube becomes hot. See bunching; Ginzton, Edward; cavity magnetron; magnetron; Varian, Sigurd and Russell; Varian Associates. KM See knowledge management. KMID key material identifier. A term associated with Message Security Protocol. KMS See Knowledge Management System. KNET See Kangaroo Network. knife switch In old telegraph keys, a type of switch which could short the contacts of the key in a series so the idle line was in a steady mark condition, with current flowing through. This was also called a break switch. Opening the knife switch interrupted the current in all the sounder electromagnets on the line so that operators were made aware that someone was about to send a message. knockout A raised or indented region of a receptacle which can be punched out or otherwise removed to provide access for wires, jacks, or other fittings. Common in general purpose electrical junction boxes. Knowbot Information Service KIS. A uniform client/server means of interacting with, and displaying, information from a variety of remote directory services typically found on Unix systems, such as Finger, Whois, and others. A query to KIS uses white pages services to these types of systems and displays the results of the search in a consistent format. See Knowbots. Knowbots In a Knowbot Information Service, programs which carry out the search and retrieval of information from distributed databases as requested by the user. The Knowbots may carry the information or may pass it among one another. See Knowbot Information Service. knowledge analysis and design system KADS. A structured approach to developing knowledge-based systems. knowledge base system, knowledge-based system, expert system A computerized system of storing the accumulated knowledge of humans in a system which accesses and manipulates the information using artificial intelligence programming strategies and rules to accomplish information delivery and problem-solving at a sophisticated level. knowledge engineering Acquisition of knowledge from a human expert or experts and its incorporation into an expert system. Knowledge Interchange Format KIF. Computer

language for the manipulation of knowledge data and interchange of knowledge among disparate programs. Intended not as a user interface, but as an internal representation for knowledge within programs or related sets of programs. knowledge management KM. The process of assessing, prioritizing, and effectively utilizing and distributing knowledge, that is, information that can be translated into profitable (in its broadest sense, not just monetary) action. In the past, the amount of knowledge that could be acquired about any particular topic or issue was limited by access and resources to obtain that knowledge. Now access and knowledge-gathering have improved by orders of magnitude through modern technologies that link people to people and people to information resources in an unprecedented way. This shifts the emphasis from acquiring information to more effectively searching, gathering, and using information. Thus, issues of knowledge management and its subset data mining have become important priorities. Knowledge Management Benchmarking Association KMBA. A trade organization of KM professionals, KMBA conducts benchmarking studies to identify various means of improving knowledge management activities. http://www.kmba.org/ Knowledge Management System KMS. A commercial product from Knowledge Systems, Inc., originally based on research and development of the hypertext management software called ZOG from Carnegie-Mellon University. Knowledge Query and Manipulation Language KQML. A high level language that is part of the DARPA Knowledge Sharing Effort. It is a language and messaging protocol for exchanging information and knowledge as part of the larger project to create technology to facilitate development of large-scale, shareable databases. KQML can be used to support interoperability among intelligent agents in distribution applications. See Reticular Agent Definition Language. knowledge worker An individual who provides, gathers, organizes, or dispenses useful, relevant knowledge for a particular purpose or for the attainment of a generally understood or stated goal that generally can be translated into action. This moniker has emerged due to two major forces: the continuing automation of industrial sectors (replacing people with machines/robots) and the continuing knowledge explosion resulting from the spread of communications technologies. The term is attributed to Peter Drucker in the 1950s and was revisited and more narrowly defined by Robert Reich in the 1990s. Information gathering has always been important to businesses and other institutions, but now there is a need for a level of expertise in filtering and prioritizing raw information through and into targeted knowledge of significant value (likely to result in profit or the attainment of educational or humanitarian goals). A knowledge worker is someone with the research or analytical skills to help attain these goals. In terms of computer software, knowledge workers are often skilled at using computer search, statistical,

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or database systems and interpreting or distributing the knowledge gained, or may work in close conjunction with specialists and programmers when designing expert systems (e.g., medical diagnostic assistant software). See data mining, knowledge management. Knowlton, Kenneth C. (1931- ) An American pioneer in computer graphics and researcher at Bell Laboratories, Knowlton studied and experimented with many aspects of computer imagery, computer art, motion automation, and fast data storage, often in collaboration with L.D. Harmon. In 1959, Knowlton co-authored a report for the U.S. Patent Office entitled A Notation System for Transliterating Technical and Scientific Texts for Use in Data Processing Systems. As his explorations turned to computer imagery, Knowlton grasped a concept often overlooked by artists using traditional paint tools in a computer environment: the computer can be used to generate types of art and images that cannot (or should not) be executed by human hands. In the course of his research, he and his collaborators produced a rich variety of mosaics, plots, grayscale images, and even computer-based films. Remember that these pioneers had to invent and write their own software systems for accomplishing their goals. In the 1960s, no commercial desktop paint and animation programs were available off-the-shelf (they werent common until 1986). Many goals were attained by typing in raw numbers in low-level languages. To aid him in automating the animation process, Knowlton developed a motion language for creating short films. Together with filmmaker Stanley VanDerBeek, he developed a series of abstract animated films called Poem Fields. The tools invented to enable artistic visions to be derived from computer technology are applicable to many areas of scientific research and manufacturing including digitization, pattern recognition, artificial intelligence, robotics, and more. In 1979, Knowlton coauthored articles on visual perception and the use of sign language as a form of telephone communication, with Vivien Tartter. Over the decades, Knowltons interests in image processing and image generation remained strong and he has been awarded a couple of dozen patents for his work. As examples, in 1990, Knowlton and Wang Laboratories applied for a U.S. patent for what is essentially an ebook, an electronic book viewed through a video display (#5283864 94). Following this, in 1994, Knowlton and Wang applied for a patent for a document processing system including an optical scanner (#5517586 96). See Harmon, Leon; Shroeder, Manfred. Knuth, Donald (1938- ) Knuths texts on data structures and algorithms are heavily used, and widely considered by programmers to be the bible of important basic programming structure information. Fundamental search and distribution trees and much more are in the Knuth texts. It would be difficult to develop sophisticated database software without them. Knuth is also known for authoring the powerful document system called TeX (pron. tek), which
2002 by CRC Press LLC

is one of the few that can handle complex mathematics-related text formatting. Koala Telecommunications Project An open educational project enabling school children to telecommunicate with Earthwatch researchers studying koalas on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. KOLD-TV A pioneering digital broadcast station, KOLD 13 began using a networked digital video server in daily broadcasts in 1995. In October 1998, the Federal Communications Commission granted a number of commercial digital television station licenses, including Station KNSV-TV, Phoenix, and KPHO-TV, Phoenix. Konexx Modem Koupler A battery-powered commercial modem/modem adapter combination from Unlimited Systems. Konexx allows a modem to be hooked into various types of phone lines and cellular phone systems while traveling. Kotelnikov, Vladimir Aleksandrovich (1908- ) A Russian contributor to fundamental research in communication theory, and theory and practical research in astrophysics. He is especially well known for the use of radio waves to locate and measure distances to planetary bodies and for contributions to early satellite communications. He is also remembered for publishing On the carrying capacity of ether and wire in electrical communication (1933) that describes a theory of sampling and the representation of a continuous signal from discrete samples. His theories were later supported by the work of Claude Shannon. Kotelnikov served as V.P. of the USSR Academy of Sciences and chaired the Scientific Council on radio astronomy. While at the Institute of Radioengineering and Electronics, he initiated research in the submillimeter wave band. See pulse code modulation; sampling theorem; Shannon, Claude. KPI See Key Performance Indicator. KQML See Knowledge Query and Manipulation Language. Krum, Charles and Howard An American father and son team who worked together in the early 1900s to develop and patent a variety of telegraph transmitters and printing machines. One of their early successes was a printer created by interfacing a modified typewriter with a telegraph line, developed at the end of 1908. With a mechanical apparatus ready to use, it became necessary to develop some way to synchronize the pulses and the printing. For this, Howard Crumb applied for a start-stop patent in 1910. krypton laser A type of gas laser which is primarily krypton that can be used to produce intense red light, or when used with certain optic enhancements, several colors. This is similar to an argon laser, except that it produces a little less light; sometimes argon and krypton are combined. Krypton lasers are typically water-cooled. Kurz, Karl Information on this German experimenter is scarce, but we know he collaborated with Heinrich Barkhausen in discovering BarkhausenKurz oscillations. See Barkhausen-Kurz tube.

KS See Kearney System. KSR Keyboard Send/Receive. Descended from teletype terminology, a combination transmitter and receiver which can transmit only from the keyboard, as it does not incorporate storage devices such as punch cards, tapes, floppy disks, or magnetic memory. KTH Kungliga Tekniska Hogskolan. The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. KTI Key Telephone Interface. KTS 1. See key telephone system. 2. See Kill the Spams. Ku-band A range of microwave broadcast frequencies from approximately 11 to 14.5 GHz which is further subdivided into fixed satellite service (FSS) and broadcasting satellite service (BSS). Ku-band is used primarily for data transmission, private networks, and news feeds. Satellites transmitting Kuband signals tend to be powerful enough for the receiving dish to be small and convenient. Uplinks are in the 14- to 14.5-GHz range and downlinks in the 11.7- to 12.2-GHz range. In November 2000, The Federal Communications

Commission (FCC) extended permission to providers of nongeostationary satellite services to operate in certain segments of the Ku-band and issued rules and policies to govern their operations. It was felt that this would stimulate new competitive services such as high-speed Internet access, telephony services, and media broadcasts. It was further hoped that satellite transmission availability would increase services to rural areas. The FCC determined that Multichannel Video Distribution and Data Services (MVDDSs) could operate in the 12.2- to 12.7-GHz frequencies without interfering with incumbent Broadcast Satellite Services (BSS). See band allocations for a chart. See broadcasting satellite service, direct broadcast satellite, fixed satellite service. KV Bell Telephone jargon for key telephones (K = key, V = voice). The term was derived from the Universal Service Ordering Code (USOC) commonly used until the time of the AT&T divestiture in the mid-1980s. KVW Bell Telephone jargon for wall-mounted key telephones. See KV. KWH See kilowatt-hour.

2002 by CRC Press LLC