Welcome to TechMan's infrequent Tech News Quiz. Answer the questions below about current technology news and see your Geek Ranking based on your score. Good luck.
1. General Motors has announced a major new "green" initiative. What is it?
a.) A mini-Hummer hybrid
b.) Bringing back the Corvair
c.) The Volt, a plug-in electric car in 2010
2. Microsoft has chosen a spokesman for its multimillion-dollar ad campaign for the Windows Vista operating system. Who did it pick?
a.) Weird Al Yankovic
b.) Alfred E. Neuman
c.) Jerry Seinfeld
3. Apple said it would have a major announcement in September. What will it be?
a.) The pope will beatify Steve Jobs.
b.) Mobile Me finally works.
c.) Who knows? Apple is tighter than the NSA.
4. The FCC recently ruled that Comcast was blocking Internet customers using the BitTorrent download service. What was Comcast's penalty?
a.) Cut the number of shopping channels on cable TV.
b.) A free on-demand Pauly Shore movie to every subscriber
c.) Nothing
5. The recent Olympics were a technological triumph for China, but what surprising facts came out of the Olympics?
a.) All 2008 participants in the opening ceremonies were prisoners.
b.) Michael Phelps' uncle is Flipper.
c.) The cute little girl singing in the opening ceremonies was lip-synching.
6. A judge is considering a new trial for Jammie Thomas, a single mother of two convicted of illegally sharing 24 copyrighted songs on the Internet. What was the penalty for her conviction?
a.) Must read all news coverage of Britney Spears
b.) Must download and listen to Yoko Ono's greatest hits
c.) $9,250 per song for a total of $222,000
7. The Beatles and Apple Inc. have been negotiating about making Beatles music available on iTunes. What is the sticking point?
a.) Demand that the iPod Nano's name be changed to the iPod Ringo
b.) Paul is dead
c.) Who knows? Apple is more secretive than the Mossad.
8. The Asus Eee mini-PC has proven to be so popular that other manufacturers are imitating it. What names are the wanna-bes sold under?
a.) The Lenovo Mmm
b.) The Compaq Arrrrrgh
c.) The Dell E
9. The Democrats just completed their convention. All of the Democratic Senate candidates have said they support one major technology policy. What is it?
a.) A proclamation that Al Gore did invent the Internet
b.) Universal broadband initiative called No Computer Left Behind
c.) Net neutrality
10. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates retired this summer. What does he plan to do now?
a.) Buy a country and govern it
b.) Buy Harleys with his buddy Warren Buffet and re-enact "Easy Rider"
c.) Give away bales of money
Correct answer to all questions is c. If your score was: 9-10 correct, face it, you're a geek; 6-8 correct, you know your way around a motherboard; 4-5 correct, casual surfer; 2-3 correct, baffled by using a mouse; 0-1 correct, VCR flashing 12:00.
First Published: August 31, 2008, 4:00 a.m.
