(Approx. 690 words)

A Little Computer Quiz
By Stuart Rabinowitz, Editor-in-Chief, Hartford User Group Exchange, Connecticut
www.huge.org
s.e.rabinowitz (at) att.net

This article has been obtained from APCUG with the author’s permission for publication by APCUG member groups; all other uses require the permission of the author (see e-mail address above).

The trivia and minutiae of the computer related world. The answers will appear next month or you can submit an answer sheet the General Meeting. Good Luck.

1 	Star Trek has been an inspiration for many tech advancements (i.e. the clamshell
Cell phone). The latest is the ‘JORDY’. What does it do and what does the acronym stand for?

A	 JORDY (Joint Optical Reflective Display) is a headset designed for people with “low vision,” meaning that their sight can’t be corrected by means of conventional glasses. The portable yet bulky JORDY goggles magnify objects up to 50 times, and the user can adjust contrast, brightness, and display modes.

2 	January 19, 1999 was a significant day in computer/tech history, what happened?

A 	RIM (Research in Motion) introduced the Blackberry with mobile text communications

3 	March 31, 1999 also offered a significant event, What?

A 	TiVo was launched.

4 	How many possible ports will the TCP/IP protocol support in total?

A 	65,536 (2^16)

5 	What was the keyboard connector on the original Macintosh?

A 	The original keyboard connector was a standard RJ11 telephone plug & jack 

1 	Some of you may remember "Bob" that 'cute' computer interface that has consistently been rated as one of the top ten worst software applications of all time, but what company released it?

A 	Microsoft in March, 1995

2 	Who was the Project Manager? 

A 	Melinda (French) Gates was the Product Unit Manager and Karen Fries was the Product Leader

3 	Before the Internet came into being, some amateurs invented an international network for exchange of mail and files using the public telephone network. What was it called?

A 	Fidonet.

4 	When did it get started?

A 	It was born in June 1984 when Tom Jennings (Fido #1 in San Francisco) sent a
trial message to his friend John Madil (Fido #2 in Baltimore). Fidonet consists of about 30,000 systems (in early 1999, down from 38,000 in 1996 due to advent and easy accessibility of Internet) worldwide grouped into six geographical zones. It is an amateur electronic mail system. As such its participants and operators are unpaid volunteers.

5 	What fictional search engine has appeared in multiple, unaffiliated Hollywood
television shows, effectively becoming an unofficial, open source stand-in for Google and its competitors?

A 	The make-believe search engine is Finder-Spyder, which has made appearances
in each of the following television programs:

Breaking Bad, Criminal Minds, Crossing Jordan, and Dexter among others.
: Finder-Spyder is used in the episode "The Cat's in the Bag."

: Finder-Spyder is used in the episode "Pleasure Is My Business" by Megan Kane (played by Brianna Brown) to look up information on Special Agent Aaron Hotchner (played by Thomas Gibson).

: Finder-Spyder is used in the episode "Hubris" by Nigel Townsend (played by Steve Valentine) to locate "The Hangman" at the Salmon Arms Horse Park.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Finder-Spyder is used in the episodes "Time of Your Death" and "Meet Market."

Hidden Palms: Finder-Spyder is used in the episode "Party Hardy."

Journeyman: Dan Vasser (played by Kevin McKidd) frequently uses a version of Finder-Spyder with the same logo style and typeface as Google. It appears in the episodes "A Love of a Lifetime," "The Year of the Rabbit," and "The Legend of Dylan McCleen."

Moonlight: Finder-Spyder is used in the episode "12:04 AM."

Prison Break: Finder-Spyder is used in the "Pilot" episode, "J-Cat," "Unearthed," "Dirt Nap," "Safe and Sound," and "The Legend."

Without a Trace: Finder-Spyder is used in "Baggage" (Season 6, Episode 4) by Martin Fitzgerald (played by Eric Close) and Samantha Spade (played by Poppy Montgomery) to find a website that was left in a coded journal of an undercover drug agent. In the episode "Cloudy with a Chance of Gettysburg" (Season 7, Episode 10), Vivian Johnson (played by Marianne Jean-Baptiste) uses Finder-Spyder to find information about American Civil War reenactments.