Trivial Net - Computer and Tech Trivia for Geeks

How fast?

Question: What was the data transfer speed between mission control in Houston Texas and the Moon bound Apollo spacecraft?

• 300 bits per second
• 1400 bits per second
• 2400 bits per second
• 4800 bits per second

Answer: 2400 bits per second

November 10th, 2008

Number

Question: What is the device number of the first floppy drive connected to a Commodore 64?

• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9

Answer: 8

November 9th, 2008

Be nice and share

Question: Which one is not/was not a computer time sharing service?

• CSC Infonet
• DECNet
• Tymshare
• GEISCO

Answer: DECNet

November 8th, 2008

Apple Distributor

Question: What company was the first distributor of Apple Computers?

• Berkeley Technical Systems
• High Technology, Inc.
• High Tech Medical Solutions Inc.
• Sears Roebuck

Answer: High Technology, Inc.

High Technology, Inc (a subsidiary of PAiA Electronics, Inc) was the first Apple distributor.

November 7th, 2008

Donation

Question: What percentage of his wealth did Bill Gates pledge to donate in 1999 for vaccinating children in poor countries?

• .0017%
• .017%
• .17%
• 17%

Answer: .0017%

November 6th, 2008

It's a long story

Question: According to Wired Style, Wired Magazine's style guide for writing: how do you handle a long URL that won't fit on a single line?

• break it by adding a hyphen somewhere in the URL
• break it without adding a hyphen
• never break it; put it somewhere else on the page
• use an alias instead

Answer: break it without adding a hyphen

November 5th, 2008

How I spent my summer vacation

Question: In 1997, Doug Engelbart started working on a new project with Sun Microsystems and Netscape. What was the goal?

• augmenting the collective IQ of organizations
• inventing a three-dimensional mouse
• designing a state-of-the-art video game
• build a better mouse trap

Answer: augmenting the collective IQ of organizations

November 4th, 2008

Turn on the light

Question: It is pitch black. You are likely to…

• fall into a deep hole
• walk into a wall
• be eaten by a grue
• step on a squirrel

Answer: be eaten by a grue

In the classic text adventure Zork, players who stayed in the dark were devoured by the slavering fangs of the grue.

November 3rd, 2008

Virtual machine

Question: What was the name of the virtual computer used to implement text games from Infocom?

• Infocompiler
• Text Game Finite State Computer
• F.L.O.Y.D.
• Z-Machine

Answer: Z-Machine

November 2nd, 2008

Catch the bus

Question: What is the name of IBM's proprietary bus architecture for Intel processors?

• DNS
• ISA
• MCA
• Plug 'n' Play

Answer: MCA

MicroChannel Architecture

November 1st, 2008