TEST YOUR NERDINESS San Jose Mercury News Sunday, May 26, 1996 Business section, page 1E By: Mercury News Staff Report OK, propeller heads. This is your chance to show your significant other that you are, indeed, the Household Expert on Everything Technical. In honor of the recently completed Computer Bowl, sponsored by the Computer Museum in Boston, here are 50 questions that have been used in past Computer Bowl contests. The questions were taken from ``The Official Computer Bowl Trivia Book'' by Christopher Morgan. ANSWERS appear on Page 4E. 1 What famous actor tried to steal IBM customers away to Apple Computer in an early Apple II TV ad: Alan Alda, Kevin Costner or Clint Eastwood? 2 In the comic strip Doonesbury, what computer did Mark learn to program: The PDP-11/70, the Macintosh, or the IBM PC? 3 In what year was the IBM PC introduced? 4 What was the first home computer to sell a million units: the Apple II, the Commodore VIC-20 or the TRS-80? 5 What does WIMP stand for? 6 His 1989 song ``Networking,'' has the following refrain: ``Networking, I'm user friendly/ Networking, I install with ease/ Data processed, truly BASIC/ I will upload you, you can download me.'' Who wrote this: Frank Zappa, Todd Rundgren or Warren Zevon? 7 A 1993 art exhibit titled Genetic Images at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris used a supercomputer to generate real-time images that ``evolved''with audience interaction. What supercomputer was used? 8 In the Bloom County comic strip, what was the name of Oliver Wendall Jones's personal computer? 9 Scott Page is one of the co-founders of 7th Level Inc., which sells interactive multimedia entertainment software. At one time he played tenor sax for a rock group. Was it Pink Floyd, Cheap Trick or Yes? 10 The Intelligent Machines Journal later became what publication: InfoWorld, ComputerWorld, PC World or Datamation? 11 The terms ``virtual reality'' and ``cyberspace'' were inspired by science fiction's cyberpunk genre. According to Paul Saffo in the Communications of the ACM, John Brunner is credited with writing the first cyberpunk novel. Was it called ``Stand on Zanzibar,'' ``Mona Lisa Overdriver'' or ``Shockwave Rider''? 12 The word ``hypertext'' was coined in the '70s by whom? 13 TV ads for personal computers have been around for many years. For each of the following celebrity spokespeople, identify the computer company he represented: a) Alan Alda; b) Dick Cavett; c) Bill Cosby; d) William Shatner. 14 What book about computers won a Pulitzer Prize? 15 What city's newspapers were the first to use computers to set editorial and classified pages: New York, Oklahoma City or San Jose? 16 What company worked with Walt Disney Co. to supply effects for the animated cartoon classic ``Fantasia''? 17 What operating system is mentioned in the movie ``Jurassic Park''? 18 What was the name of PBS's six-part series on the history of the computer? 19 In the 1980s, a Taiwan-based computer company offered a cheap, do-it-yourself hardware modification that seemed to triple the speed of a PC. In fact it merely slowed the system clock down so that benchmarks appeared to run faster. What was this modification called? 20 Some sources say the term ``personal computer'' was first used to describe a computer used by Massachusetts Institute of Technology hackers. It cost nearly $3 million and filled one small room. What was the computer called? 21 Agnes, Paul and Denise were the names of three custom chips inside which PC? 22 During the development of the Apple Macintosh, what was the name of the ancestor of the Mac's Finder? Was it ``The Searcher,'' ``The Flounder'' or ``The Seeker''? 23 Electronic Learning magazine says that, as of 1988, at least one state required all public school children to take a minimum of one computer course before graduating from high school. Is it Texas, Massachusetts or California? 24 In 1974, Borland founder Philippe Kahn first used a personal computer. Was it the Sphere I, the Micral, the KIM-1 or the SCELBI 8H? 25 In 1983, the Heath Co. marketed a robot kit. What was the name of the robot? 26 In 1985, a number of computers were discontinued. Name the company that produced each of the following computers that were discontinued that year: a) Rainbow; b) Lisa; c) Adam. 27 In 1992, Robert X. Cringley wrote ``Accidental Empires,'' a controversial gossipy book about the PC industry. The subtitle of the book begins, ``How the boys of Silicon Valley make their millions, battle foreign competition and . . .'' Complete the subtitle. 28 One of the earliest personal computers was called the Altair and was manufactured by MITS. What does MITS stand for? 29 The earliest Intel microprocessor chip was the 4004. Was it first used as part of an early PC, a Japanese-made calculator or a frequency modulator? 30 What diamater were IBM's first floppy disks: five inches, eight inches or 12 inches? 31 What was the original in-house name for the IBM PC? 32 What was the only personal computer to be named after the state in which it was produced? 33 What are the real geographical locations of the following places: a) Silicon Prarie; b) Silicon Valley North; c) Silicon Glen? 34 SEGA is the name of a popular manufacturer of computer video games. What do the letters SEGA stand for? 35 Arcade games are often thought to be male-oriented, yet a woman, Donna Bailey, designed one of the most successful video games. Was it Centipede, Tempest or Ms. Pac-Man? 36 Gen. Douglas MacArthur was once the chairman of the board of a computer company. Was it Sperry Rand, IBM or Burroughs? 37 Name a PC entrepreneur who has been knighted. 38 Gene Amdahl built the WISC computer for his Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Wisconsin. In what field does he hold the Ph.D.: engineering, physics or mathematics? 39 Niklaus Wirth is the well-known developer of the computer languages Pascal and Modula. What was his nickname at Stanford University? 40 The Pizza Time restaurant chain was started by Atari founder Nolan Bushnell. What was the name of Pizza Time's mouse robot? 41 What was the first rock group to go on-line on the Internet: the Rolling Stones, Severe Tire Damage or Aerosmith? 42 3Com Corp. is a well-known networking company. The company name is short for three words that all begin with ``com.'' What are they? 43 What widely used distrubited-campus-information service originated at the University of Minnesota and is named after the university's mascot? 44 Who introduced a ``worm'' program into the Internet on Nov. 2, 1988? 45 Before it changed to its current name in 1924, what was IBM called? 46 In a 1984 lawsuit, Berkeley Systems was sued for using the winged toaster image taken from the cover art of which rock group's album: A) The Grateful Dead; B) The Moody Blues; C) Jefferson Airplane? 47 During the 1980s, was the per-capita divorce rate higher in the heart of Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County, or in Boston's Middlesex County where Boston's Route 128 is located? 48 Of the following companies, which conducted business in tents following the 1989 California earthquake: Apple, Borland, Sun or Tandem? 49 Before it became animated, what time was the Macintosh watch icon set to? 50 The HP-35 calculator was the first handheld calculator to include scientific functions. What does the number 35 refer to? ***** ANSWERS ***** Well, smarty, how did you do? (Answers to Computer Bowl questions on pages 1E and 3E.) 1. Kevin Costner 2. The PDP-11/70 3. 1981 4. The Commodore VIC-20 5. Windows, Icons, Mouse, Pull-down (or pop-up) menus 6. Warren Zevon, from Traverse City 7. A CM-2 Connection Machine from Thinking Machines Corp. 8. The Intel 80386 9. Pink Floyd 10. InfoWorld 11. Shockwave Rider 12. Ted Nelson 13. a) Atari and IBM; b) Apple; c) Texas Instruments; d) Commodore 14. Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder 15. Oklahoma City 16. Hewlett-Packard 17. Unix 18. The Machine that Changed the World 19. The Chang modification 20. The TX-0 21. The Commodore Amiga 22. ``The Flounder'' 23. Texas 24. The Micral 25. HERO 26. a) DEC; b) Apple Computer; c) Coleco 27 `` . . . still can't get a date.'' 28. Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems 29. A Japanese-made calculator 30. Eight inches 31. Chess 32. Ohio Scientific Challenger 33. a) Dallas; b) Portland, Ore.; c) Scotland 34. SErvice GAmes 35. Centipede -- for Atari 36. Sperry Rand 37. Sir Clive Sinclair 38. Physics 39. Bucky 40. Chuck E. Cheese 41. Severe Tire Damage; The group performed Nov. 18, 1994, on the Internet 20 minutes before the Stones began their first-ever on-line concert. 42. Computer, Communications, Compatibility 43. Gopher 44. Robert T. Morris Jr. 45. The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. 46. Jefferson Airplane 47. Santa Clara County 48. Sun 49. Nine o'clock 50. The number of buttons on the keyboard. Scoring 45-50 questions correct, certified propeller head. 40-44, naturally nerdy. 35-39, technically trying. 30-34, wonk-in-waiting. 25-29, better brush up on geek-speak. 20-24, DOS deficient. Below 20, keep your day job. Reprinted with permission from The Official Computer Bowl Trivia Book by Christopher Morgan, Foreward by Bill Gates. Copyright(C)1996 by The Computer Museum. Published by Crown Trade Paperbacks.