K

K menu

Menu system akin to the Start menu under Windows. It runs under KDE and allows the quick launching of programs. This menu is usually located on the very left of the Panel and, under SUSE Linux, indicated with a green gecko icon.

KDE

K desktop environment; GUI and set of additional programs that run on top of X to provide such things as graphical file browsing, window management, program/file icons, and mouse-driven control over your system.

kernel

Essential but ordinarily invisible set of programs that run the computer's hardware and provide a platform on which to run software. In the Linux operating system, the kernel is also called Linux, after its creator, Torvalds, Linus.

kernel panic

Error message that appears when the kernel program in Linux cannot continue to work. In other words, a polite way of indicating a crash or, more often, a problem arising from user misconfiguration. This is most often seen when booting up after making incorrect changes to the system.

kludge

Community slang describing an inelegant way of making something work, usually not in a way that is generally accepted as being correct. Pronounced “kloodge.”

Konqueror

Integrated file manager and web browser used within KDE.

Konsole

Program that runs a shell under KDE.