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Maximum PC's Geek Quiz 2009

The Maximum PC Staff — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:30:00 -0500

We like you. We spend all year being nice to you—giving you the scoop on hardware, software, games, and news from the industry. We may not always be nice to companies or products, but we’re always nice to our readers.

Well, nearly always. You see, every year the editors at Maximum PC get together in a big room with no windows or doors or air and hash out a series of questions for our annual Geek Quiz. Some are easy. Some are not. Some might have you pulling out your hair in frustration (those are our favorites).

But we’re not doing this just to be cruel. See, if you do well, you get the satisfaction of showing us up, plus a standardized score that you can show people to prove how awesome you are. And if you don’t do so well, hey, you get to learn stuff! Looking up answers on your favorite search engine, by the way, is strictly verboten.

Mom jeans from Lands End; Zelda belt buckle from Hot Topic; Three Wolf Moon T-shirt from The Mountain Company; glasses from the Six Flags guy.

So, whip out those #2 pencils and that slide rule, step away from the Google, and get ready to prove your mettle.

maximum_pc_-_geek_quiz

Satisfy Your Internet History "Crave" with the Top 50 Moments

Mark Edward Soper — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:24:41 -0500

Cnet.UK's Crave blog decided to dig around in the Internet history attic recently and bring us what it calls the "50 Most Significant Moments of Internet History." Before you click the link (at the end of this article), let's try a little quiz to see what you know about your favorite time-waster/research tool:

Which of these building blocks of the Internet predate the first Super Bowl? A. WWW B. GIF image C. Arpanet
Which came first? A. Apache B. Mosaic C. RSS
How old is the MP3 file format? A. Old enough to drink (21). B. Old enough to be in college (19). C. Old enough to get a driver's license (16).
Which search site was originally known as "Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web"? A. Yahoo! B. AltaVista C. Google

Go to page 2 for the answers.

Now, let's see how you did.

1. Which of these building blocks of the Internet predate the first Super Bowl? The correct answer is C, Arpanet.

Arpanet, a Department of Defense data sharing network that's an important predecessor to the Internet, began in February 1966 (the first Super Bowl was played in January 1967). CERN's WWW proposal is the youngest of the three (introduced in November 1990), while the GIF image format dates back to June 1987.

2. Which came first? The correct answer is B, Mosaic. Mosaic, developed by Marc Andreessen (who later founded Netscape), was the first successful web browser, and was introduced in early 1993. You can still download it from the NCSA archives. The Apache web server is just a couple of years younger (introduced in 1995), while the ancestor to RSS, the scriptingNews format, is actually over 10 years old, seeing the light of day in December 1997.

3. How old is the MP3 file format? If you selected B, It's old enough to be in college, you're right! MP3 was introduced in 1989, making the format 19 years old.

4. Which search site was originally known as "Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web"? Let's be thankful that Yahoo! (A) is the correct answer. I just can't see a lot of web surfers typing a URL like jerryanddavidguidewww.com, can you? Google (C) needs no introduction, but if you forgot about AltaVista (B), click the link to try it.

Check out Crave's complete list of all of the most significant moments, as well as some honorable mentions, but don't forget to hit the Comment button here for your nominations.

April 2008: Build Your Own No-Compromises $1500 PC!

The Maximum PC Staff — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:51:16 -0500

In the PDF archive of the April 2008 issue, you can find:

How To Build Your Own No-Compromises $1,500 PC
The 2008 Geek Quiz
Media Suite Face-off: Roxio vs. Nero
How To: Sync Your Online and Offline Calendars
14 Awesome Product Reviews!
Ask the Doctor
Rig of the Month
The Watchdog
And a whole lot more!

Click the big giant cover image to the right to download the PDF archive today!

April 2005: How to Pick the Best PC Parts

The Maximum PC Staff — Fri, 01 Apr 2005 00:00:00 -0600

In the PDF archive of the Holiday 2005 issue, you can find:

Hardware Gospel
The Geek Quiz
Turn your Videotapes into DVD's
Head2Head - Smartphone square off
Product Reviews including the M-Audio StudioPro 4!
Ask the Doctor
Rig of the Month
The Watchdog
And a bunch more!

Click the huge cover image to the right to download the PDF archive today!

June 2004: The Speed Issue

The Maximum PC Staff — Tue, 01 Jun 2004 00:00:00 -0500

In the PDF archive of the June 2004 issue, you can find:

Speed Matters
Power Supply Primer
Geek Quiz
Awesome Game Reviews, including Unreal Tournament 2004 and Far Cry!
Ask the Doctor
Rig of the Month
The Watchdog
And a whole lot more!

Click the flippin sweet cover image to the right to download the PDF archive today!