Geekery

[vakkotaur]

From mycroftb:

Computer Geek Quiz

1. Firsts

What was the first computer you or your family owned? (game consoles don't count)
Netronics ELF II

How many colors could it display?
None. Two if you consider black and white colors. One if you count the red LEDs.

How much RAM?
256 bytes. Just bytes.

Storage options?
RAM and a big capacitor at first. Tape capability was eventually added.

Speed of your first modem?
14.4k (On an IBM compatible)

What was the speed of the first IBM-compatible PC that you personally owned?
It was a 486DX33, so 33 MHz.

Generic, or brand-name?
Generic screwdriver shop thing.

How big a hard drive, if any?
120 M.

Your first sound card?
Some SoundBlaster compatible cheapie.

Speed of your first CD-ROM?
4X, I think.

2. Programming

What programming languages have you learned?
Assembly (1802,6502,8051,some 68hc11), Basic, Pascal, Fortran, Forth, and I once played with Logo for a bit before getting frustrated that it didn't really do anything.

What's the best game you've written, without the use of any game-specific toolkits or libraries?
Haven't really written a game, not beyond simple programming exercises anyway.

What's the most useful program you've written?
Probably the Forth stuff for the RD4100 and RD6100 remote displays (for scales). When someone asked if another product could be made to work "just like the '4100" I figure I must have done something right.

What languages do you know that are dead, or at least different enough from what you know to be a separate language?
I suppose Forth counts for this one.

What languages have you tried to learn, but not gotten far beyond "Hello, world!"?
Amazingly, C.

What languages would you like to learn?
C, Python, perhaps Perl.

What's the stupidest thing about your favorite language that you wish they'd change to make it easier to write in?
I can't say favorite, but I do wish that the version of Basic some of the scales use (to allow "anyone" to adapt them to their purpose) would be consistent about the word END. There's END SUB with a space, END IF with a space, and ENDTYPE with no space. Trying to use END TYPE causes a hang at startup with no useful error message.

3. Game Consoles

What was your first game console?
Never owned one or really used one, so this section doesn't apply.

What excited you more, the games, the console itself, the expansion capabilities, or the accessories?

Were there any games in which you liked to play around in, rather than complete the listed objectives?

Did you ever play a console through a video capture card in your computer?

Were there any cross-platform games that you preferred the console version to rather than the PC?

4. Hardware

x86 CPUs today - Which would you rather have for your main workstation, Intel or AMD?
AMD

Which would you recommend to a gamer friend?
That they ask a gamer.

Which would you build for a parent, or friend in the same age group as a parent?
Probably AMD.

Favorite non- Intel or AMD x86 CPU manufacturer (or which you hate the least):
I did like WinChip, but mainly for naming the processor Centaur.

nVidia, ATi, or other?
Whatever's on the mainboard now. I don't need anything too fancy. If I were to get a separate video card, I'd see which one had more reliable linux drivers first.

What was the easiest to install peripheral you'd ever installed for the first time?
Apple II game paddles.

Favorite non-mouse pointing device?
Trackball! With a large ball, none of this tiny marble nonsense for me. Also, it should be comfortable to use left-handed.

PC case - flashy and pretty, big and roomy, small and efficient, or quiet as can be?
Big enough, fairly quiet. It's not something I want to pay a lot of attention to. It's job is to just be there.

If you own a branded PC, do you like it? (trick question, if yes, kick yourself)
Some laptop. Not too bad, if rather old now. Using an HP Compaq at work which seems to be a decent machine.

5. Operating systems

What was the first version of Microsoft Windows you used for any length of time?
Windows 3.1

What was the most recent version you used?
XP

What was your favorite version, if any?
Windows 2000 Professional.

What was the first distribution of GNU/Linux you used?
None. Though I have used Linux. RedHat 5 was the first, I think.

What did you like most about it?
That it "just worked."

What did you like least?
That it seemed rather cryptic to me.

What is your current favorite distribution?
I suppose Mandrake since it's what I've been using for about a year on the desktop.

What versions of MacOS have you used?
Not entirely sure. Haven't really used any version for very long.

What versions of UNIX have you used?
AIX, HP-UX

Have you used any other operating systems for more than a month?
Yes, VMS.

6. Software

What's your favorite image editing application?
I don't really do image editing.

Favorite text input / word processing app?
Text editing - Linux: Nedit Windows: TextPad
Word processor: AbiWord

Favorite layout or pre-printing app?
Don't really use one.

Favorite web browser?
Opera.

Favorite email client?
mutt

Favorite chat/messaging client/service?
x-chat

7. Documentation

What's the first paper manual you read cover to cover?
RCA's manual for the CDP1802 processor.

How many paper manuals have you read more than 20 pages out of?
Lost count.

What was the stupidest and least useful paper manual you've ever read?
Tom Pittman's introduction to 1802 assembly. It was why I read the RCA manual.

How many README files have you printed out and bound for reference?
None.

Your best guess on the percentage of README files you completely ignore?
Completely ignore? Probably less than 1% of what I've encountered.

Number of times you've publicly posted asking about something, only to be told RTFM (and the answer in the manual solved your problem)?
None that I recall. My problem isn't reading TFM, it's finding TFM so I can read it.

8. Communications

What was the first commercial online service you connected to?
I have no idea. Does a BBS selling some features count?

What was the first non-commercial online service you spent any length of time with?
No idea. Does a BBS count?

What was your favorite door game?
Didn't have one.

Did you ever go to a BBS meet?
No.

Have you tried to run your own BBS?
No.

Did you ever have a second phone line installed before the WWW became popular?
No.

What's the slowest modem you've ever surfed the web with?
14.4k

What was the fastest modem you used to make a non-PPP connection with?
I suppose 33.6 for SLIP. Otherwise, I don't think I have.