Quize About Facebook

1.    Who founded Facebook?

 Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook was founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg and a few friends created the site in their college dorm at Harvard, and he eventually dropped out to run the site full-time.

2.    How much did Facebook pay to get its current domain name?

$200,000

Facebook was originally called "thefacebook" and was open to a network of college students, but in August 2005, the company paid $200,000 to change its domain name to facebook.com.

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3.    Which similar social networking site sued Facebook for allegedly stealing source code?

ConnectU

Early on in the site's history, Facebook was sued by ConnectU, another site based out of Harvard. The Associated Press revealed that Facebook eventually settled with ConnectU for $20 million in cash (cash!) and more than 1.2 million shares of stock.

4.    When did Facebook extend its network beyond educational institutions?

 September 2006

Initially only U.S. universities -- and subsequently U.S. high schools -- could sign up to use Facebook, but as of September 2006, anyone with a registered e-mail address can become a member.

5.    Which major software company bought a stake in Facebook in 2007?

 Microsoft

Microsoft invested $240 million for a piece of Facebook. Doesn't sound like much, does it? That $240 million only accounted for a 1.6 percent stake in Facebook, placing the value of the company at $15 billion in 2007.

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6.    Where are Facebook's main offices located?

 Palo Alto, Calif.

Facebook calls Palo Alto, Calif., home, although it does have an additional office in New York.

7.    What revenue source does NOT make Facebook money?

 membership fees

Facebook does not make money with membership fees. In fact, anyone can maintain a profile for free, as long as they have an e-mail address. The company makes some revenue with banner ads, which you often see on the margins of the site, but the majority of Facebook's money comes from private investment.

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9.    Which of these is NOT a first-party Facebook application?

 chess application

Photo and gift applications are all developed by the Facebook team, but anyone using Facebook's application programming interface (API) can develop other third-party applications, including chess, Scrabble or even zombie games.

10.  About 30 million people access their Facebook profile using what?

 their mobile phones

According to Facebook, more than 30 million active members access their profile using mobile phones -- with 250 million members worldwide, that's about 12 percent of the whole site. Facebook hasn't developed a telekinesis application…yet.

11.  A Columbia Pictures film about the beginnings of Facebook called "The Social Network" came out in 2010. Who wrote the screenplay?

Aaron Sorkin

Aaron Sorkin, creator of "The West Wing," based his screenplay on Ben Mezrich's book "The Accidental Billionaires." J.J. Abrams is too busy with "Lost" and "Star Trek" to worry about social media, and Aaron Spelling passed away in 2006.

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Mark Zuckerberg

There's lots of chatter out there about Mark Zuckerberg. As one of the richest people in the world, and someone who made his fortune at a very young age, that's not surprising. It's also not surprising that many of us feel we know him pretty well -- even if we've never met him -- because we've seen the movie "The Social Network."

"The Social Network" portrays Zuckerberg in very stark, prickly terms. Many people who have seen the movie end up strongly disliking him, even if they also admire him a little for thumbing his nose at the status quo.

Of course, "The Social Network" is just a movie. And we all know movies, even biopics like this one, don't necessarily tell the entire truth. Furthermore, "The Social Network" was made without the cooperation of Zuckerberg or his close associates, with the exception of providing some biographical info and pointing out some of his past speeches [source: The Economic Times].

So what's the truth versus myth when it comes to hoodie-clad Zuckerberg? No one will know for sure except him. But here are five common descriptions of Zuckerberg that others strongly disagree with and say are made up, or pretty big exaggerations.

Everyone knows Zuckerberg is a big cheapskate. He wears jeans, t-shirts and hoodies all the time, doesn't he? He donned that attire for a meeting with somber Wall Street investors, and even when he met PresidentBarack Obama. OK, he upgraded a little for his meeting with the prez, keeping the jeans but swapping the tee for a shirt and tie [sources: Anderson, Gross].

But what about his wedding? The ring he gave his wife, Priscilla Chan, is a very modest-sized ruby with a diamond on each side; one jeweler estimated it to cost a measly $25,000. For someone of Zuckerberg's wealth (he's said to be worth at least $17 billion), Chan should have been given a boulder-sized beauty. Can't forget he also served inexpensive Mexican eats at the reception [source: Delfiner]. And when he and Chan were honeymooning in Italy, they ate at McDonald's once, and didn't leave a tip when they dined at two more formal spots [source: Squires].

The myth-busters dismiss all of this petty sniping. Maybe Chan didn't want a big ring. Maybe they both like Mexican food and McDonald's. And at one of the Roman restaurants where he and his wife supped without tipping (and maybe both), the gratuity was already included in the bill [source: Dalton]. So there.

The real proof he's no skinflight, though: Zuckerberg donated $100 million to start an education foundation to assist long-troubled schools in Newark, New Jersey. And Zuck has no connection whatsoever to the city [source: Pérez-Peña].

Anyone who's seen the movie "The Social Network" knows how arrogant Mark Zuckerberg is. In the flick, he's depicted as not only arrogant, but also devious and an ego-maniac [source: Rohrer]. Ick.

Films have the power to make us believe things that aren't necessarily true, even though our minds rationally know that we're simply watching a movie, and filmmakers quite often embellish the truth to suit their needs. Yet Zuckerberg critics say this depiction in the film is surely true, because anyone who wears hoodies and t-shirts to important meetings with investors and dignitaries is definitely arrogant. His arrogance is also borne out by the fact that he priced Facebook's IPO at the top of its projected range, they add [source: Ortutay].

But those who really know Mark Zuckerberg -- who have met him, worked with him, lived with him -- disagree. Joe Green, Zuckerberg's former college roommate, says Zuckerberg isn't arrogant, just very confidant. And David Kirkpatrick, a writer who spent a lot of time at Facebook while researching his book "The Facebook Effect," says Zuck is pretty funny, and has lots of friends. Hardly what you'd expect from an arrogant jerk [source: Miller].

How can Mark Zuckerberg notbe a business whiz? The guy is worth billions after launching Facebook, a social network that pretty much everyone in the world knows about, and that's used by 1 billion people today -- and he did it all when he was still a pajama-clad kid in college [source: Vance]. Heck, he was even named Timemagazine's "Person of the Year" in 2010 [source: Grossman].

True. But there are business whizzes, and there are technology whizzes. Many, if not most, business experts would agree Zuckerberg is a techno-whiz. But, say some, what business whiz would come up with the IPO that Zuckerberg did? Expected to earn him at least $846 million, Facebook's stock tanked shortly after it debuted, and Zuck's net worth actually fell by $8.1 billion instead [sources: Anderson, Forbes]. Why? He priced it way too high, and investors feel Facebook doesn't have a sustainable revenue model for the future, as people are currently switching from PCs and laptops to smart phones [sources: The Week, Golub].

If that isn't enough proof, Zuckerberg himself admitted he knew nothing about business a full two years into Facebook, when Yahoo! offered him $1 billion to buy it and he refused, infuriating employees and investors [source: Miller]. He's undoubtedly learned a lot since then, but certainly not enough to be called a business whiz.

Mark Zuckerberg is a nerdy geek, and we all know it. If you saw "The Social Network," you know he spent his college years skulking around campus in rumpled clothes, couldn't get into a prestigious social club and his few friends consisted of fellow geeks and loser types.

So not true, cry those who know him well. Harvard roommate Joe Green calls him über-confidant. Author David Kirkpatrick, who had access to Zuckerberg and the entire company while he researched his book "The Facebook Effect," says Zuckerberg is funny and not just social, but "extremely" social [source: Miller].

Another author, Karel Baloun, worked at Facebook for a year, then wrote a book about his experience. Baloun says Zuckerberg actually was rather socially awkward in the not-too-distant past, but he's been working hard at improving this part of his personality, and today's he's a pretty socially unawkward dude [source: Rohrer].

Everyone knows Zuckerberg is a big cheapskate. He wears jeans, t-shirts and hoodies all the time, doesn't he? He donned that attire for a meeting with somber Wall Street investors, and even when he met PresidentBarack Obama. OK, he upgraded a little for his meeting with the prez, keeping the jeans but swapping the tee for a shirt and tie [sources: Anderson, Gross].

But what about his wedding? The ring he gave his wife, Priscilla Chan, is a very modest-sized ruby with a diamond on each side; one jeweler estimated it to cost a measly $25,000. For someone of Zuckerberg's wealth (he's said to be worth at least $17 billion), Chan should have been given a boulder-sized beauty. Can't forget he also served inexpensive Mexican eats at the reception [source: Delfiner]. And when he and Chan were honeymooning in Italy, they ate at McDonald's once, and didn't leave a tip when they dined at two more formal spots [source: Squires].

The myth-busters dismiss all of this petty sniping. Maybe Chan didn't want a big ring. Maybe they both like Mexican food and McDonald's. And at one of the Roman restaurants where he and his wife supped without tipping (and maybe both), the gratuity was already included in the bill [source: Dalton]. So there.

The real proof he's no skinflight, though: Zuckerberg donated $100 million to start an education foundation to assist long-troubled schools in Newark, New Jersey. And Zuck has no connection whatsoever to the city [source: Pérez-Peña].

Mark Zuckerberg, seen here at a November 2010 press conference, strikes some people as arrogant.

Anyone who's seen the movie "The Social Network" knows how arrogant Mark Zuckerberg is. In the flick, he's depicted as not only arrogant, but also devious and an ego-maniac [source: Rohrer]. Ick.

Films have the power to make us believe things that aren't necessarily true, even though our minds rationally know that we're simply watching a movie, and filmmakers quite often embellish the truth to suit their needs. Yet Zuckerberg critics say this depiction in the film is surely true, because anyone who wears hoodies and t-shirts to important meetings with investors and dignitaries is definitely arrogant. His arrogance is also borne out by the fact that he priced Facebook's IPO at the top of its projected range, they add [source: Ortutay].

But those who really know Mark Zuckerberg -- who have met him, worked with him, lived with him -- disagree. Joe Green, Zuckerberg's former college roommate, says Zuckerberg isn't arrogant, just very confidant. And David Kirkpatrick, a writer who spent a lot of time at Facebook while researching his book "The Facebook Effect," says Zuck is pretty funny, and has lots of friends. Hardly what you'd expect from an arrogant jerk [source: Miller].

How can Mark Zuckerberg notbe a business whiz? The guy is worth billions after launching Facebook, a social network that pretty much everyone in the world knows about, and that's used by 1 billion people today -- and he did it all when he was still a pajama-clad kid in college [source: Vance]. Heck, he was even named Timemagazine's "Person of the Year" in 2010 [source: Grossman].

True. But there are business whizzes, and there are technology whizzes. Many, if not most, business experts would agree Zuckerberg is a techno-whiz. But, say some, what business whiz would come up with the IPO that Zuckerberg did? Expected to earn him at least $846 million, Facebook's stock tanked shortly after it debuted, and Zuck's net worth actually fell by $8.1 billion instead [sources: Anderson, Forbes]. Why? He priced it way too high, and investors feel Facebook doesn't have a sustainable revenue model for the future, as people are currently switching from PCs and laptops to smart phones [sources: The Week, Golub].

If that isn't enough proof, Zuckerberg himself admitted he knew nothing about business a full two years into Facebook, when Yahoo! offered him $1 billion to buy it and he refused, infuriating employees and investors [source: Miller]. He's undoubtedly learned a lot since then, but certainly not enough to be called a business whiz.

Mark Zuckerberg is a nerdy geek, and we all know it. If you saw "The Social Network," you know he spent his college years skulking around campus in rumpled clothes, couldn't get into a prestigious social club and his few friends consisted of fellow geeks and loser types.

So not true, cry those who know him well. Harvard roommate Joe Green calls him über-confidant. Author David Kirkpatrick, who had access to Zuckerberg and the entire company while he researched his book "The Facebook Effect," says Zuckerberg is funny and not just social, but "extremely" social [source: Miller].

Another author, Karel Baloun, worked at Facebook for a year, then wrote a book about his experience. Baloun says Zuckerberg actually was rather socially awkward in the not-too-distant past, but he's been working hard at improving this part of his personality, and today's he's a pretty socially unawkward dude [source: Rohrer].

Never turn your back on Mark Zuckerberg, or he'll plunge a knife deeply into it. (And probably twist it a bit as well.) Yes, it's true. According to "The Social Network," he agreed to work with the Winklevoss twins at Harvard on a similar social media project, then ran off and founded Facebook instead. And while he initially worked well with friend and partner Eduardo Saverin, once Eduardo disagreed with some of Zuck's moves, Zuck cut him out of the business to fly solo.

That's how the movie portrays things, anyway. Plenty of others in the know disagree with not only the versions of these events, but Zuckerberg's personality. David Kirkpatrick, author of "The Facebook Effect," says Zuckerberg is definitely not a mean, cruel person, and he should know, as he spent a fair amount of time with both Zuckerberg and company employees while he researched his book. And Karel Baloun, a guy who actually worked at Facebook for a year -- and very closely with Zuckerberg -- says Zuckerberg would definitely never deliberately betray a friend [source: Rohrer].

Trailer  "The Social Network"

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CPU Quiz

1.    What does CPU stand for?

Central processing unit

The central processing unit (CPU), or the microprocessor, is the heart of your desktop of laptop computer, a tiny chip that contains an entire computation engine on top.

2.    When was the first commercial microprocessor introduced?

1971

The first commercial microprocessor, the Intel 4004, was introduced in 1971. Although it couldn't do much -- it could only add and subtract four bits at a time -- it powered one of the first portable calculators.

3.    Out of what material are computer chips made?

Silicon

Computer chips are small pieces of silicon onto which transistors are etched. Much of the microprocessor-producing industry is located in the San Francisco Bay Area in Southern California and has earned the nickname of "Silicon Valley."

4.    The width of the smallest wire on a computer chip is typcially measured in:

Microns

The smallest wire on a chip is measured in microns. Current chips have wires that are less than one micron wide, while a human hair is about 100 microns thick.

5.    Which of the following is not part of a computer chip's job?

Starting up the computer

Although CPUs have many complicated tasks to run, they do three basic things: perform mathematical operations, move data between memory locations and follow sets of instructions. The job of starting up the computer specifically involves the bootstrap loader.

6.    To what do buses and lines connect in a computer chip?

ROM and RAM

Address and data buses, which send addresses and data to memory, and read and write lines, which tell the memory whether it wants to set or get an addressed location, can connect to either ROM or RAM and generally connects to both.

7.    What does ROM stand for?

Read-only memory

ROM stands for read-only memory. Unlike RAM (random access memory), ROM chips are programmed with a set of bytes that can't change.

8.    On a PC, what do the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) instructions do?

Both of the above

When the microprocessor starts up, it looks towards the BIOS for several instructions. Among other things such as storing the boot sector in RAM after it's read, BIOS instructions check the machine's hardware for errors and then load the operating system.

9.    Computer chip designers create language instructions that the microprocessor reads. What part of the computer can translate the words from the instructions into bit patterns the chip can understand?

The assembler

Because humans aren't very good at remembering complex bit patterns, the assembler translates semantic instructions developed by designers into a language the CPU can use.

10.  About how much address space can a 64-bit microprocessor access?

One billion GB

While 32-bit microprocessors can only address between 2 and 4 gigabytes of RAM, 64-bit microprocessors can address as much as one billion gigabytes of RAM if needed. Although that may seem excessive for something like home computers, such extra space may be necessary in the future for overloaded servers.

11.  The Intel 8086 processor, introduced in 1978, included what important advance?

It was one of the first 16-bit processors.

The 8086 popularized 16-bit technology, which helped make it the first of an influential series of CPU chips.

12.  How many transistors are included in the Intel Core i7 processor, introduced in 2008?

731 million

The i7 packs 731 million transistors onto its CPU chip. Count 'em.

13.  The CPU is included on a central component of the computer known as:

the motherboard

The motherboard holds the CPU, memory cards and various ports and controllers.

14.  What is a CPU’s clock speed?

the rate at which it can execute instructions

The clock speed indicates how quickly the CPU can execute instructions. The frequency is measured in megahertz or gigahertz.

15.  The memory that a CPU can use directly is called:

cache memory

Cache memory is faster than system memory. It stores copies of the most needed data for easy access by the CPU.

16.  The process size of a CPU refers to what?

the fineness of the manufacturing technique

Process size refers to how finely the CPU components are etched on to the chip. In 2012, the process size for chips had reached 22 nanometers.

17.  A turbo boost allows a CPU to:

run at a speed faster than that for which it’s rated

Turbo boost increases the power and speed of a CPU when more processing power is needed.

18.  Every CPU needs to:

dissipate heat

Getting rid of heat is important to keeping a CPU running. Passive heat sinks or fans are the most common methods.

19.  Which type of CPU was used in the first IBM personal computer?

16-bit

The original PC, introduced in 1981, used an 16-bit processor, but it only had an 8-bit bus to carry the data.

20.  The first commercial processor was used in:

a programmable business calculator

Intel Corp. created its 4004 programmable chip for calculators in 1971.

21.  Which of these is an important manufacturer of CPU chips?

AMD

Along with Intel, Advanced Micro Devices, known as AMD, is a major maker of microprocessors.

            

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Bill Gates

Microsoft Corporation co-founder Bill Gates often tops lists of the world's richest people. His computing and business prowess, and more recently, his staggering philanthropic acts have attracted immense media coverage. But living in the spotlight means more than just fame; it also means dealing with an Internet-age rumor mill that perpetuates half-truths and, in some cases, outright lies.

Rumors about Gates have been zipping around the Internet for years. They veer from unlikely to outlandish, but what's interesting about the Gates anecdotes is that they're often difficult to prove or dispel.

His colossal fame and worldwide impact means certain fabrications circulate for years, hidden in the deepest recesses of the Web long after other media outlets dismiss them. But not everyone who encounters a Gates rumor ends up reading or hearing the follow-up stories which dispel those tales.

None of the following rumors, listed in no particular order, are true, but they all serve as proof that Bill Gates is leaving an indelible mark on the world. Read on to see five of the most popular Bill Gates myths.

Bill Gates's wealth is estimated at around $40 billion [source:Forbes]. Perhaps it's no surprise that many Gates myths center on his piles of cash. One prevalent Internet tale seems to say that Gates is so rich he'd literally throw his money to the wind.

In one version of this story, Gates was on a city street corner when he accidentally dropped a $1,000 bill. A helpful passerby alerted Gates to the Grover Cleveland note floating on the breeze, but Gates, apparently indifferent to the loss of this relatively small bit of cash, simply walked away.

As it turns out, though, this particular story is false. And if Gates ever were to casually dismiss $1,000, no one has stepped up with evidence to verify such a thing.

The story is even more unlikely because the U.S. Treasury stopped circulating $1,000 bills -- and other large-denomination bills -- in 1969, due to their lack of use [source: U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing].

 There's at least one other incredibly common Gates myth that relates to his huge fortune. Perhaps that's why so many people think that an electronic version of a chain letter will help them tap into his bank account.

The trick e-mail promises that Microsoft and AOL are merging and that the new mega-corporation is conducting an experiment. Forward the test e-mail (which the company is tracking) and you'll receive credit for your participation.

For every person you forward the message to, Microsoft will pay you hundreds of dollars; and of course, it's all true because Bill Gates has so much money that he can write the project off as a marketing expense. So send the message to enough of your friends and you could become a millionaire overnight!

Well, that would be nice, if only it were true. The misleading e-mail is basically just a long-running practical joke targeting computer users who believe incredible claims. Though most people instantly recognize the message as a prank, it's probably the tie to Gates's name that makes a few gullible folks hope that maybe the e-mail really is true. And so the legend lives on.

It was a bold proclamation from the tech world's leading visionary. "640K is more memory than anyone will ever need on a computer," Gates reportedly said at a computer trade show in the early 1980s. Only he didn't really say it.

This rumor refuses to die in spite of his repeated public protestations. "I've said some stupid things and some wrong things, but not that. No one involved in computers would ever say that a certain amount of memory is enough for all time."

In addition to his vehement denials, there doesn't seem to be any real forthcoming evidence regarding this quote -- either for or against its existence. Numerous publications have attempted in vain to confirm the now-infamous 640K statement.

Thanks to the Internet and the way it continually regurgitates this information, Gates may be dealing with this myth for the rest of his life. "I keep bumping into that silly quotation attributed to me that says 640K of memory is enough. There's never a citation; the quotation just floats like a rumor, repeated again and again."

However, perhaps common sense should guide anyone who thinks this one might be true. Considering Gates's technical expertise and business sense, it seems likely that even in the beginning stages of the personal computer revolution, he would've known computers were going to get faster and better in a hurry.

In 1988, Apple Inc. filed a landmark lawsuit against Microsoft. The suit claimed that Microsoft Windows used graphical user interface (GUI) parts too similar to those in Apple products such as the Macintosh operating system.

At a judge's behest, Apple eventually named more than 200 GUI operating system components, such as resizable, overlapping windows, title bars and other features that it felt encompassed a specific "look and feel" protected by copyright. Considering the size and wealth of the companies involved, and the technological minutia that the case revolved around, it's no surprise that the case dragged on for about five years.

Apple had licensed portions of its GUI to Microsoft for Windows version 1.0. However, Gates' development teams took full advantage of those GUI elements for subsequent Windows operating systems, too. As the lawsuit progressed, newer versions of Windows based on those GUI components became more and more popular.

Apple lawyers argued that their licensing agreement (including GUI design) with Microsoft was in effect for only one version of Windows. Microsoft disagreed. As the case unfolded, Gates told InfoWorld newsweekly, "We're saying that these graphic interface techniques, the ideas, are not copyrightable."

In 1993, Judge Vaughn Walker with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Microsoft, throwing out all of Apple's arguments [source: Andrews]. However, despite the legal system's judgment, and similar to the other Gates myths we've mentioned, conspiracy theories and rumors about these events will probably be around for as long as we use the Web.

Gates has done a lot of public speaking over the course of his career, including many speeches at schools. One well-known myth is that Gates appeared in front of a high-school audience and pontificated on a list of rules that kids would never learn in school.

The rule list circulating on the Internet includes some succinct bits of wisdom such as, "Life is not fair, get used to it." Another supposed Gates imperative is, "Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had another word for burger flipping -- they called it opportunity."

Gates certainly has a history of passing down terse directives at those he thinks need guidance. However, he never created this list of rules. And he never read them in front of a group of students, either.

The real author of the list is Charles Sykes, a teacher who wrote books such as "Dumbing Down Our Kids" and "50 Rules Kids Won't Learn in School." If you review the rest of the supposed Gates list, you'll see another rule that may explain why the list wound up widely attributed to Gates. That rule is, "Be nice to nerds. You may end up working for them."

Thx:-Nathan Chandler

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