star trek - What is a quad?

Quads are mentioned often in the Star Trek universe, in varying orders of magnitude (kiloquad, megaquad, gigaquad, etc.).

What exactly is a quad, as it relates to modern technology?

(The Memory Alpha article seems limited.)

Answer

Two quotes from the link you've provided answer this. First, it is not a consistently used amount:

The terms quads and kiloquads in TNG were used in a manner consistent with the system defined in the Technical Manual. However, by the time Voyager was airing, they started using extremely large numbers that lacked internal consistency, such as "billions of gigaquads" and "billions of teraquads."

Secondly, it is a deliberately vague amount, since:

The terminology "quad" was used to detract from comparisons possible with modern-day computing power, since reality frequently outstrips fiction when it comes to computer science.

If my memory serves me correctly, this second quote was also referenced in the TNG technical guide.

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