Just a bit is the smallest unit of information, a byte is the next largest and a byte consists of 8 bits.  If we consider that a bit is the equivalent of a letter, a byte is the equivalent of a word.   This unit is useful when considering any sort of computer storage including RAM (Random Access Memory), hard drive storage space, and digital photo sizes.   One byte also typically represents a single character such as a number, letter, or symbol.  Data quantity is commonly measured in kilobytes (1024 bytes), megabytes (1,048,576 bytes or 1 MB), or gigabytes (about 1 billion bytes or 1 GB). A regular, floppy disk normally holds 1.44 megabytes of data, which equates to approximately 1,400,000 keyboard characters, among other types of data. At this storage capacity, a single disk can hold a 700 page document (assuming 2000 characters per page).