Hardware
Operating Systems
Computing in the News
PSU
Potpourri
100
What system is currently ranked #1 in the TOP500 Supercomputer list?
The Tianhe-2 (Milkway 2) at the National Supercomputing Center in Guangzhou, China. Rmax = 33.863 Pflops
100
What is the codename of the latest version of Google's Android operating system?
Kitkat
100
This government organization recently changed it's rules to allow the use of electronic devices on flights.
FAA (though cell phones will still need to be in airplane mode per FCC regulations)
100
When was Penn State founded?
1855
100
What interstate highway connects Boston and Seattle?
I-90
200
Within about 15%, how many transistors are in an i7 (Quad-Core + GPU) processor released in 2012?
1400000000. That's 1.4 billion transistors occupying an area of 160 square millimeters
200
What is the version number of Windows 8.1?
6.3
200
The official website for this web-backend language was recently compromised, causing thousands of websites to infect their visitors without their knowledge.
PHP
200
What were the original colors of the football team?
Pink & Black
200
What is the name of Hogwarts' Transfiguration professor?
Minerva McGonigall
300
What IEEE standard, whose base version was released in 1997, provides the basis for wireless network products using the Wi-Fi brand?
IEEE 802.11 (although there are many amendments)
300
The earliest Linux distro that's still being actively developed.
Slackware
Its mascot is a pipe-smoking penguin.
300
The mayor of this city recently stated that he was upset with the level a service Comcast provided his city
Seattle
300
Who is the only person to receive a two flavor creamery ice cream cone?
Bill Clinton
300
What determined the direction of clock-hand movements?
Sun dials / The sun's movement across the sky
400
What method for the minimization of Boolean functions was developed in 1956 is functionally identical to Karnaugh mappings?
The Quine-McCluskey Algorithm. This was designed to be more efficient for a computer to calculate.
400
What is the price of the latest version of OS X?
$0 - it's now free
400
This car manufacturer recently received the highest safety rating ever given.
Tesla
400
Which university president added engineering to the curriculum? (There's a street named after him)
Atherton
400
Which song did Carl Sagan request be included on the Voyager spacecraft, that was excluded because the band wouldn't license the rights?
Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles
500
What was the first Multi-Core processor, introduced in 2001?
Everything about IBM’s Power4 processor is amazing. Amazing technology, amazing size (680 million transistors), amazing power requirements, amazing performance. And it’s amazing that anything so complex can work at all. - PC Magazine 2/2002
500
Who is the creator of GNU?
Richard Stallman
500
This top website recently announced they would be tracking the location of their users mouse cursors at all times as they move across the screen.
Facebook
500
Which college has a larger football stadium than Penn State?
Michigan
500
Which planet has only completed one revolution around the sun since it was discovered?
Neptune
M
e
n
u