Tag: science & technology

Quizzes (551) Questions (11015)

Questions Related to science & technology

Multiple choice general knowledge science & technology

Which tech celebrity famously impresses dinner guests by whipping out an acoustic guitar and playing Beethoven's "Ode to Joy"?

  1. Oracle chairman Larry Ellison

  2. Netscape inventor Marc Andreessen

  3. Google CEO Eric Schmidt

  4. Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Larry Ellison, Oracle's chairman, is known for playing acoustic guitar at gatherings and often performs Beethoven's Ode to Joy. This quirky personality trait is well-documented in tech industry profiles. Marc Andreessen, Eric Schmidt, and Marc Benioff are not famous for this particular party trick.

Multiple choice general knowledge science & technology

Jason Fried is the founder of what 3N (number noun name) Web 2.0 firm?

  1. 43folders

  2. 37signals

  3. 30boxes

  4. 27jennifers
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Jason Fried co-founded 37signals (now Basecamp), a Web 2.0 company known for productivity tools and business philosophy books. The name follows the pattern of a number followed by a plural word, like 43folders, 30boxes, and 27jennifers. Jason Fried is a prominent figure in the Web 2.0 movement.

Multiple choice general knowledge science & technology

The central premise of this Web 2.0-ish book is that common culture is dead and the future of business lies in niches. Which of the following best sellers is it?

  1. "The Long Tail"

  2. "The Cluetrain Manifesto"

  3. "The Wisdom of Crowds"

  4. "The Tipping Point"
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The Long Tail by Chris Anderson argues that the future of business lies in serving niche markets rather than mass culture. The book's central thesis is that the internet enables profitable niche markets, making common culture less relevant. The Cluetrain Manifesto, Wisdom of Crowds, and Tipping Point are different books with different theses.

Multiple choice general knowledge science & technology

According to Steve Wozniak, what famous hacker wrote the first word processor for the Apple II?

  1. Then-imprisoned hacker and "phone phreak" John Draper (aka Captain Crunch)

  2. Kevin Mitnick, two decades before he went to prison in 1996

  3. Robert T. Morris, who also created the first known worm virus

  4. Jason Burks, aka v00d00, for whom 1976 was an extremely important year
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

John Draper (Captain Crunch) wrote the first word processor for the Apple II while he was imprisoned. This is documented by Steve Wozniak, who co-founded Apple. Kevin Mitnick, Robert T. Morris, and Jason Burks were not the writers of this specific word processor.

Multiple choice general knowledge science & technology

In college he started a Hot or Not?-style site for rating fellow students' physical attractiveness, which almost resulted in his expulsion. Since then he's founded a social network. Who is this mystery man?

  1. Jonathan Abrams (Friendster)

  2. Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn)

  3. Biz Stone (Xanga)

  4. Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Mark Zuckerberg created a Hot or Not-style site called Facemash at Harvard, which almost got him expelled. He later founded Facebook, which evolved from this early project. Jonathan Abrams founded Friendster, Reid Hoffman founded LinkedIn, and Biz Stone co-founded Twitter, not Facebook.

Multiple choice general knowledge science & technology

How did celeb hacker Kevin Mitnick get his start?

  1. Breaking into Bank of America's corporate account records

  2. Breaking into the Department of Justice's records on its U.S. v. Microsoft case

  3. Hacking into Social Security number account records

  4. Hacking the Los Angeles bus punch card system in order to get free bus rides
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Kevin Mitnick started hacking by manipulating the Los Angeles bus punch card system to get free rides as a teenager. This early social engineering exploit began his hacking career before he moved on to more serious computer intrusions. The other options are not the documented starting point of Mitnick's hacking activities.

Multiple choice general knowledge science & technology

This blogging pioneer once denied wasting $2 million a year on "hookers and blow." Who is he?

  1. Mena Trott, co-founder of Six Apart

  2. Brad Fitzpatrick, creator of LiveJournal

  3. Matt Mullenweg, creator of WordPress

  4. Evan Williams, co-founder of Blogger and Twitter
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Brad Fitzpatrick, creator of LiveJournal, made a famous statement denying that he wasted $2 million annually on 'hookers and blow' - a humorous response to rumors about LiveJournal's profitability. LiveJournal was one of the earliest and most successful blogging platforms. Mena Trott, Matt Mullenweg, and Evan Williams are other blogging pioneers but not associated with this specific quote.

Multiple choice general knowledge science & technology

In addition to co-inventing Ethernet technology at Xeroc PARC labs in 1973, Bob Metcalfe is famous for:

  1. Metcalfe's Law that a network system's value is proportional to the square of its user population

  2. Predicting in 1997 that the Internet would soon fail due to traffic or he would eat his words -- and did, mushing his paper with liquid in a blender a year later

  3. Predicting that Microsoft Windows 2000 would kill Linux, likening the open source movement to "utopian balderdash" with "open sores"

  4. All of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Bob Metcalfe is famous for all three accomplishments: co-inventing Ethernet, formulating Metcalfe's Law about network value, and making failed predictions about the Internet (which he literally ate his words about by blending his column). The 1997 Internet collapse prediction and his Windows 2000 vs Linux comments are both documented tech industry moments.

Multiple choice general knowledge science & technology

They met at Stanford, started an Internet company together, and are now worth gazillions. For which of these dynamic duos does this description NOT apply?

  1. Larry Page and Sergey Brin

  2. Chad Hurley and Steve Chen

  3. Jerry Yang and David Filo

  4. Scott McNealy and Bill Joy
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Larry Page and Sergey Brin met at Stanford before founding Google. Jerry Yang and David Filo met at Stanford before creating Yahoo. Scott McNealy and Bill Joy were both Stanford alumni who built Sun Microsystems. However, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen met while working at PayPal (then owned by eBay), not at Stanford, before founding YouTube. All four pairs became incredibly wealthy, but only the Hurley-Chen duo did not meet at Stanford.

Multiple choice general knowledge science & technology

What famous Microsoft-hater once led Microsoft's network software team and later founded a company that made him a billionaire?

  1. RealAudio CEO Rob Glaser

  2. Chuck Thacker, co-inventor of Ethernet

  3. Lotus CEO Mitch Kapor

  4. Google CEO Eric Schmidt
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Rob Glaser did work at Microsoft leading their network software efforts before leaving to found RealNetworks (maker of RealAudio). He became a vocal Microsoft critic and built RealNetworks into a major competitor in media software, becoming a billionaire in the process. The other options are incorrect: Chuck Thacker co-invented Ethernet at Xerox PARC, Mitch Kapor founded Lotus (and was also a Microsoft critic but didn't work for them), and Eric Schmidt was CEO of Google and Novell, not a Microsoft-hating billionaire founder.