Trivial Net – Computer and Tech Trivia for Geeks

Pre-C?

Question: The C programming language is based most heavily on

• Pascal
• FORTRAN
• B
• X

Answer: B

Add comment March 31st, 2007

Live Free or Die

Question: ‘Live Free or Die’, the famous Unix license plate, is the slogan of what state?

• Vermont
• New Jersey
• New Hampshire
• California

Answer: New Hampshire

Add comment March 30th, 2007

ICMP

Question: Where does the network ‘ping’ program get its name?

• the game ping-pong
• the sound of a sonar
• the name Packet InterNetwork Groper
• the author’s last name

Answer: the sound of a sonar

The creator, Mike Muuss, says that he named it after the sound that
a sonar makes, inspired by the whole principle of echo-location.

Add comment March 29th, 2007

What help?

Question: What does RTFM mean?

• Read the Manual
• Request for Technical Forms and Manuscripts
• Requested Technical ForMs
• Remote Terminal Forms Manager

Answer: Read the Manual

You figure out what the ‘F’ stands for.

Add comment March 28th, 2007

#%$!

Question: curses is a UNIX package that does what?

• translates obscenities into the local language
• emits the expletive-of-the-day
• helps create terminal capability (termcap) records
• deals with screen-oriented output on ASCII terminals

Answer: deals with screen-oriented output on ASCII terminals

Add comment March 27th, 2007

BSD

Question: BSD stands for?

• Berkeley Software Design
• Buy Some more Documentation
• Berkeley Systems Documentation
• Berkeley Shuffle-based Distribution

Answer: Berkeley Software Design

Add comment March 26th, 2007

Got if off a cereal box?

Question: What was the name of Bell Labs’ cardboard computer?

• The Brainiac
• The Cardiac
• The Similac
• The Corrigated Cadallac

Answer: The Cardiac

Add comment March 25th, 2007

ENIAC

Question: The first electronic digital computer was ENIAC. In what year did it first crunch numbers?

• 1944
• 1945
• 1946
• 1947

Answer: 1946

Add comment March 24th, 2007

(squeek!)

Question: The first computer that was operated with a mouse was the…

• Apple Macintosh
• Atari 520 ST
• Spectravideo SV318
• Xerox Alto

Answer: Xerox Alto

Add comment March 23rd, 2007

Arbor Day

Question: Which e-mail client came first, pine or elm?

• pine
• elm

Answer: elm

elm stands for ELectronic Mail; pine is an acronym for Pine Is Not Elm.

Add comment March 22nd, 2007