Video #1 - The Machine That Changed the World - Part 1 (Giant Brains)
Watch this tape and answer these questions.
1. How did Babbage "program" his computer? Where did he get this idea from? (choose from the possible answers below)
| using an abacus / Chinese calculators |
| magnetic tape / Univac |
| hand wiring / telephone operators |
| punch cards / textile industry |
| his computer was not programmable |
2. How did the definition of a computer change between 1935 - 1945?
| it once used DC electricity and then switched to AC electricity |
| it was once a human and then became a machine |
| it was once powered by running water and then required electricity |
| it once could only add numbers but later could do add, subtract, multiply and divide |
| before 1935 there never was the word computer in our language |
3. What is meant by the binary system?
| it could represent any number using just 0 and 1 |
| it was a system which used 2 computers to double check any calculation |
| it could work with numbers and letters |
| it was a way to use either AC and DC electricity to operate the same machine |
| it consisted of two types of data - input and output |
4. What advantage is there to using binary in a computing system? What system did Babbage use?
| there were less moving parts / he used binary |
| it is easier for humans to think this way / he used binary |
| it is easier for humans to think this way / decimal (base 10) system |
| it uses much less electricity / he used binary |
| It could be implemented using an off/on switch / decimal (base 10) system |
5. What technology would speed up Zuse's machine?
| more training for his technicians |
| transistors |
| vacuum tubes |
| relays |
| zip disks |
6. What was the initial problem during WW II which required intense calculations?
| trying to determine where the enemy is |
| calculating firing tables for cannons |
| breaking secret codes |
| calculating casualties |
| determining the best time to attack |
7. What was the ENIAC and how was it originally programmed?
| a giant computer filled with vacuum tubes which had the first hard drive installed |
| a giant computer filled with vacuum tubes which was programmed by rewiring it for each new problem |
| the first transistorized desktop computer programmed by magnetic tape |
| the first computer that could program itself |
| a WWII German computer programmed by captured US scientists |
8. How was this programming problem solved?
| the tubes would burn out before the program would run so the solution was to write shorter programs |
| programs were too hard to write so someone invented FORTRAN |
| few people understood computers so someone started a school for programming |
|
instructions were stored in memory (which could be loaded from cards or magnetic tape) so the computer quickly did something different |
| programmers made too many mistakes so all programmers were hypnotized to reduce errors |
9. How did Turing's vision of the computer differ from his comrades?
| he thought that the computer could carry out any logical operation if given well defined rules |
| he believed that computers would eventually take over the world |
| he thought they would only do arithmetic and nothing else |
| he envisioned a day when we would go to war with computers |
| he believed humans and computers would merge to form a new species |
10. What was Turing's test for intelligence?
| if a computer can add numbers faster than a human, it is intelligent |
| if a computer can outperform a chimpanzee, it is intelligent |
| if a computer can beat the world chess champion, it is intelligent |
| if a computer can repair itself, it is intelligent |
| a machine can be considered intelligent if you can be fooled into thinking that you are conversing with a person rather than a machine |
Video #2 - Triumph of the Nerds (Volume 1 - Impressing Their Friends)
11. How is a "techie" work environment different from the standard work setting?
| you have to dress in a suit and work 40 hours a week |
| the work environment is less structured and very casual but the hours tend to be long |
| your job security is always questionable |
| you work only during the night when Japan is awake |
| you get paid for doing nothing because the boss really doesn't understand what it is you do |
12. What are COBOL, FORTRAN, and BASIC?
| names of three very old computers |
| famous inventors |
| higher level languages which made programming and debugging software much easier |
| parts of Univac |
| these are some of the names Bill Gates was originally going to name his company |
13. What company invented the microprocessor chip?
| Apple |
| IBM |
| Microsoft |
| Intel |
| Compact |
14. What was the microprocessor chip initially used for?
| running calculators and traffic lights |
| it calculated firing tables for the army |
| a paperweight |
| to guide astronauts to the moon |
| it controlled the Christmas lights at the Whitehouse in Washington DC |
15. Before the Altair 8800 (the first home PC) could be used, what had to be done first?
| it had to be assembled from parts stuffed in a box |
| you needed to convert the electricity from AC to DC |
| you needed a password which costs more than the computer itself |
| a technician had to come to your house to give permission to use it |
| it had to be paid in full or it would not work |
16. What kind of people would use the Altair?
| space scientists who needed to calculate lunar orbital data |
| top secret government officials who needed to break codes |
| doctors who were trying to find a cure for cancer |
| teachers who needed a way to calculate grades easier |
| maybe all of the above but definitely people who had way too much time on their hands and probably no other social life |
17. How useful was this early machine?
| it was fundamental to the lunar landing missions |
| it broke top secret German codes |
| it was so useless, people had to think of things for it to do |
| it found 5 cures for cancer |
| it made its inventor a multi-billionaire |
18. How was the Altair 8800 programmed?
| from magnetic tape on huge reels |
| flipping switches in a certain sequence |
| the same way you get your programs in modern computers |
| voice input |
| using a standard keyboard |
19. How did Paul Allen solve this programming problem (for the Altair 8800)?
| he invented the hard drive so software could be stored on it |
| he stole some other guys idea and got rich off it |
| programs were loaded over the internet |
| he developed the basic interpreter, which was an easier way to load software |
| he invented a better keyboard |
20. Bill Gates joined Paul Allen and started what company?
| Apple |
| IBM |
| Microsoft |
| Intel |
| Compact |
21. What company did Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak found?
| Apple |
| IBM |
| Microsoft |
| Intel |
| Compact |
22. Which one of the two was the technical wizard? Which was the salesman?
| Jobs / Wozniak |
| Wozniak / Jobs |
| neither, Bill Gates really should get the credit |
| no one really knows because they give each other the credit |
| Jobs used the name Wozniak as a pen name & both people are really the same person |
23. What was Arthur Rock's role in this story?
| he was the main competition |
| he gave free business advice |
| he was the father of the two Steves |
| he provided funding to finance the company's startup |
| he thought up the name of the company |
24. What was the "killer application" that sold home computers to the establishment? What did it do?
| Pong which was a stupid game but people loved it |
| Windows which was a great operating system |
| the internet which lets you send and receive email |
| VisiCalc which was a spreadsheet program |
| OS/2 which changed the display to color |
25. Why didn't the authors of this software become rich?
| they were blackmailed by a large company to keep quiet |
| they actually made a ton of money but invested it poorly |
| they actually made a ton of money but gave it all away to save the whales |
| after they wrote the program, the machines it ran on became obsolete |
| they chose not to patent their idea |