Byte and is also combined with metric prefixes for multiples, for example ko and Mo. The usage of the term "octad(e)" for eight bits is no longer common. Despite standardization efforts, ambiguity still exists in the meanings of the SI (or metric) prefixes used with the unit byte, especially concerning the prefixes "kilo" (k or K), "mega" (M), and "giga" (G). Computer memory has a binary architecture in which multiples are expressed in powers of 2. In some fields of the software and computer hardware industries a binary prefix is used for bytes and bits, while producers of computer storage devices
Byte addressing be achieved in one instruction: store this character code at that byte address. Text programs are easier to write, smaller, and run faster. The advantage of word addressing is that more memory can be addressed in the same number of bits. The IBM 7094 has 15-bit addresses, so could address 32,768 words of 36 bits. The machines were often built with a full complement of addressable memory. Addressing 32,768 bytes of 6 bits would have been much less useful for scientific and engineering users. Or consider the 32-bit Pentium processor. Its 32-bit address bus can address 4 billion different items.