Tag: science & technology

Quizzes (551) Questions (11015)

Questions Related to science & technology

Multiple choice general knowledge science & technology

"You are the sleazebag I always suspected you were and should have listened more carefully to my gut instincts -- and to my friends. You are an absolute creep, and it was a colossal mistake on my part to have gotten involved with you." Which Web 2.0 bon vivant was scorned-woman Rachel Marsden furious at?

  1. Mark Zuckerberg

  2. Sean Parker

  3. Jimmy Wales

  4. Ariana Huffington
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Rachel Marsden's public outrage was directed at Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales. In 2008, Marsden (a Canadian columnist) had a brief relationship with Wales that ended badly, leading her to post private emails and harsh messages publicly. The quote appears to be from her public statements about Wales. Mark Zuckerberg, Sean Parker, and Ariana Huffington were not involved in this controversy.

Multiple choice general knowledge science & technology

What tech revolutionary said the following regarding the Federal Trade Commission's 1991 investigation into Microsoft's allegedly unfair business dealings: "Gates has clearly won, the revolution is over, and the free-wheeling innovation in the software industry has ground to a halt. For me, it's the Kingdom of the Dead."

  1. Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle

  2. New York Times reporter John Markoff in a flaming editorial

  3. Mitch Kapor, founder of Lotus, in his 1999 book, "Hard Drive"

  4. The late Ray Noorda, founder of Novell (the words are on his tombstone)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Mitch Kapor, founder of Lotus Development Corporation, was a prominent Microsoft critic during the 1990s antitrust era. The quote reflects Kapor's view that Microsoft's market dominance had crushed innovation in the software industry. While the quote's exact attribution needs verification, Kapor did author critical commentary about Microsoft's practices, including in his writings. Larry Ellison was also a Microsoft critic but the quote style fits Kapor's published critiques better.

Multiple choice general knowledge science & technology

Amanda Congdon, who once put the fuel in RocketBoom, has returned to the Net with a new video blog. What's it called?

  1. DailyDish

  2. Sometimesdaily

  3. Must-C-TV

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

After leaving Rocketboom in 2006, Amanda Congdon launched a new video blog called "SometimesDaily" (or sometimes written "sometimesdaily"). This was her solo venture following her successful run as the anchor of the popular video blog Rocketboom. The other options (DailyDish, Must-C-TV, DailyDouble) are not the correct name of her post-Rocketboom project.

Multiple choice general knowledge science & technology

In 1992, Borland CEO Philippe Kahn held a developer's conference in Palm Desert that was infamously infiltrated by Microsoft. In the San Francisco Chronicle, Borland alleged that Microsoft employees:

  1. Tried to get the developers drunk

  2. Lured them into busses and drove them off site

  3. Dressed them in Hawaiian shirts

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

In 1992, Borland accused Microsoft of orchestrating an infiltration of their developer conference in Palm Desert. The allegations (reported in the San Francisco Chronicle) claimed Microsoft employees got developers drunk, lured them onto buses and took them off-site, and even dressed them in Hawaiian shirts - essentially trying to sabotage Borland's event by any means necessary. This was part of the intense rivalry between Borland and Microsoft in the early 1990s software market.

Multiple choice general knowledge science & technology

"He is erratic. There is no vision beyond page views. He is obsessed with the Gay Mafia. Jesus spent three days in Hell. I could only handle one." Which blog impresario was journalist Richard Morgan talking about?

  1. Nick Denton

  2. Jason Calcanis

  3. John Battelle

  4. Josh Marshall
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Nick Denton, founder of Gawker Media and blog network pioneer, was the subject of Richard Morgan's critical quote. Denton was known for his volatile management style and obsession with traffic metrics. The 'Gay Mafia' reference and the overall description match Denton's reputation in the blogosphere during Gawker's heyday. Jason Calacanis, John Battelle, and Josh Marshall were blog/media figures but the quote doesn't fit them.

Multiple choice general knowledge science & technology

Hardware pioneers Lynn Conway and Carver Meade are best known for their revolutionary work on popularizing VLSI chip design. Lesser known is that:

  1. Lynn was once a man

  2. Carver was once a woman

  3. Lynn and Carver were secretly married on the IBM yacht, The Megabyte

  4. None of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Lynn Conway is a transgender woman who transitioned in the 1960s. Before her transition, she was known as Robert Conway and worked at IBM. After being forced out of IBM due to her transition, she co-authored the definitive textbook on VLSI design with Carver Mead, revolutionizing chip design. This personal history is the 'lesser known fact' referenced. Option B (Carver was once a woman) and C (secret marriage on IBM yacht) are incorrect.

Multiple choice general knowledge science & technology

He's credited (or blamed) with coining the phrase "Web 2.0." Who did it?

  1. Kevin Rose

  2. Tim O'Reilly

  3. Robert Scoble

  4. Michael Arrington
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Tim O'Reilly, founder of O'Reilly Media, is credited with coining the term 'Web 2.0' in 2004 during a conference brainstorming session. The term described the shift from static web pages to dynamic, user-generated content and social applications. O'Reilly Media subsequently hosted the Web 2.0 Summit conferences that popularized the concept. Kevin Rose (Digg), Robert Scoble (Microsoft blogger), and Michael Arrington (TechCrunch) were Web 2.0 figures but didn't coin the term.

Multiple choice general knowledge science & technology

What tech honcho was famously pictured enjoying his wealth in a Silicon Valley hot tub?

  1. Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari

  2. Steve Jobs

  3. Bill Hewlett, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard

  4. A young Bill Gates, fresh from writing a version of BASIC for the Altair
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Steve Jobs was famously photographed in a hot tub in the early 1980s, exemplifying the wealthy Silicon Valley lifestyle during Apple's initial success. The image became iconic, representing both the personal computer revolution and the excesses of tech wealth. Nolan Bushnell founded Atari but wasn't associated with a famous hot tub photo. Bill Hewlett was HP's co-founder but not known for this type of publicity. A young Bill Gates photo wouldn't fit the 'famous hot tub' description.

Multiple choice general knowledge science & technology

He's not yet 38 years old, yet he already has more than 233 million close personal friends. Who is this exceedingly popular guy?

  1. Tom Anderson

  2. Chris DeWolfe

  3. Om Malik

  4. Lawrence Lessig
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Tom Anderson, co-founder of MySpace, was automatically added as the first 'friend' to every new MySpace account. With MySpace's peak having hundreds of millions of users, Tom amassed the largest 'friends list' on the platform - the '233 million close personal friends' refers to his universal default friend status. Chris DeWolfe was MySpace's CEO but not the default friend. Om Malik is a tech blogger, and Lawrence Lessig is a law professor - neither had hundreds of millions of social media friends.