This is a computer motherboard.
You know what all these components are called, what they do, who invented the microprocessor?
If you're into computer history and trivia, you are in the right place.
For in just a few minutes, we're going to bring you 10 of the smartest guys in the computer
industry who will be matching wits to find out who knows more about computer trivia,
the guys from the East Coast or the folks from the West Coast.
Stay tuned for the Computer Bowl All-Star Game on this special edition of the Computer
Chronicles.
Computer Chronicles is made possible in part by the Software Publishers Association, providers
of educational materials to help manage software.
Don't copy that floppy.
And by Hewlett Packard, Personal Computer Division.
Now ladies and gentlemen, the host of the PBS television series Computer Chronicles,
here is Stuart Shafae.
Thank you very much.
And thanks to the Computer Bowl Orchestra, otherwise known as the Peter Morgan Band.
Thank you very much.
Okay, ladies and gentlemen, hackers of all ages, good evening and welcome to the Computer
Bowl All-Star Game presented by the Association for Computing Machinery.
Who knows more about computers?
The East folks guys, the East folks, the East Coast folks, who knows how to speak tonight
is the question.
Who knows more about computers?
The people from the East Coast who brought us mainframes and mini computers?
Or is it the people on the West Coast who brought us silicon chips and personal computers?
I wonder what they're doing in Boston right now.
Tonight we're going to find out once and for all.
We're here tonight in the San Jose Civic Auditorium, site of many famous sporting events, but none
so spectacular as what will follow in this next hour.
Tonight we feature the pro bowlers, the hall of famers, the final four, well I guess it's
the final five from each side, the absolute smartest of the smart when it comes to tech
talk.
For this is the Computer Bowl finale.
It's the Super Bowl, Game 7 of the World Series, the Stanley Cup Final, the Olympics of hackerdim,
all wrapped up into one tonight.
It is the revenge of the nerds, the ultimate moment of geek glory for the winning team.
So far we've had five Computer Bowl contests and the West has won the regular series by
a score of 3-2.
But what does that matter?
What have you done for me lately, right?
That is all forgotten after tonight's contest.
Gathered here in San Jose, I gather, is a partisan crown.
Who's going to win, audience?
Okay.
A couple of you.
All right.
Up in Redmond, Washington, we have a group of Northwesterners joining us tonight live
via satellite.
You guys hearing us loud and clear?
We could only afford two-way audio.
One year we'll be able to do this.
Back in Boston, the bastion of East Coast computer wisdom, we have a live audience watching
via satellite.
You guys in Boston, better root for the East Coast because the Westerners are outnumbering
you here.
Okay.
Let's get to it.
Joining the East Coast and their great tradition of pocket protectors, white socks, red socks
in Boston, from Foundation Technologies Limited, Neil, clean up Colvin.
From Microsoft Corporation, Bob the Babe, Frankston.
Author and computer historian, Pamela, Mighty Duck, McCorduck.
From Novell, from Novell Multimedia, David, the giant killer, Nelson.
And the captain of the East Coast team, from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Mitch,
wild thing, Kapor.
Now from the West Coast, with their great tradition of sunshine, earthquakes, the San
Jose Sharks.
Go Sharks!
From Microsoft Corporation, Bill, the goalie, Gates.
Industry consultant, Jeff, the cruncher, Kalb.
From Interval Research Corporation, David, slam dunk, Liddell.
From Smart Valley Incorporated, Harry, the sinker, Saul.
And the captain of the West Coast team, from Sun Microsystems, Bill, the jammer, Joy.
Now normally in a computer bowl, we have one or two judges to rule on the difficult cases.
That means when Kapor or Gates disagree with the official answer.
But with this panel of all stars, we figured we better bring out the whole Supreme Court
tonight.
So let me introduce to you our panel of judges, otherwise known in this venue as our referees.
And here they are, Charlie Bachman, from Bachman Information Systems.
John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers.
Pat McGovern of the International Data Group.
Heidi Roizen of TeamMaker Company.
And John Schock of the Asset Management Company.
It is now my pleasure and honor to introduce to you the official examiner for tonight's
Computer Bowl All-Star Game, the only man whose medical alert tag says Intel inside.
From the Intel Corporation, Dr. Andrew Grove.
Ladies and gentlemen, all-star teams from the East and West, it's time to boot up.
Andy, for 10 points, here's the first toss-up question.
Some men in the computer business wear earrings of the following.
Who does not wear an earring?
Jean-Louis Gasset, Stephen Wallach, Philippe Kahn.
David Liddell, West Coast.
David?
Philippe Kahn does not wear an earring.
And you are right for 10 points.
Andy, only one person in all of computing's history has ever won both the ACM Turing Award
for lasting technical achievement and the Grace Murray Hopper Award for work done prior
to reaching the age of 30.
Who is that person?
Bob Frankston, East Coast.
Bob Metcalfe?
That is not the correct answer.
Somebody on the West Coast would like to take a shot.
Who is the only person to win the ACM Turing Award and the Hopper Award?
David Liddell, West Coast.
David?
Donald Knuth.
Donald Knuth is right for 10 points.
A 5 1⁄4 inch floppy disk has a right protect notch on its left side when held for insertion
into a horizontal disk drive.
On an 8 inch floppy disk, there is a right enable notch.
Where is it located on the disk?
Mitchell Kapoor, East Coast.
Mitch, on the right side.
That is not correct.
You have a couple of sides left, West Coast.
Anybody like to take a shot at it?
Where is that notch on the disk?
Anybody want to try?
Going quickly now.
You have nothing to lose.
Let somebody take a shot.
Jeffrey Kalb, West Coast.
Jeff, I'm sorry?
The left side.
That is not correct either.
We have one or two more shots.
I think somebody will get it.
It is on the leading or front or top edge of the disk as you put it in.
Bonus Round.
All right.
Time for the first Bonus Round.
The score right now before we begin this Bonus Round is 20 for the West, 0 for the East.
Here is a chance for the East to pick up 30 points in this Bonus Round.
All right.
If you guys can huddle together now.
This is only for your team.
There will be eight of these.
We will go up and back evenly and fairly.
Only answer through your captain, Mitch.
The category is Programmers and Programming Languages.
Here is the first part of the question.
There are three questions, 10 points each.
The 18th Annual International Collegiate Programming Contest was held earlier this year in Phoenix.
The following four universities were among the entrants.
Harvard, MIT, Yeshiva University, and the University of Waterloo.
Which one came in first?
Harvard, MIT, Yeshiva, University of Waterloo.
Waterloo.
That is correct.
10 points.
Okay.
Another chance to get more 10.
You guys are catching up now.
I can think of at least three programming languages which were named after real people.
Can you name three?
Programming languages named after real people.
I need three of them for 10 points.
And I need an answer now.
Ada, Pascal, Euler.
One, two, Euler.
Judges say Euler will do, John.
Euler will do.
Another 10 points.
Well done, guys.
Another one would have been Euclid.
Euclid.
Euclid.
Euclid.
Euclid.
Euclid.
Euclid.
Euclid.
Euclid.
Euclid.
Euclid.
Okay.
Last chance for another 10 points.
You guys are catching up.
The programming language FORTH is spelled F-O-R-T-H.
When it was first introduced, it was called FORTH, F-O-U-R-T-H.
Why did they change it?
Trademark.
Trademark.
That's not correct, I'm afraid.
It can only handle a maximum of five letters in a name.
So they had to get rid of one of them.
Okay, so the score right now is 20 points for the East, 20 points for the West.
We're all tied up.
Let's get back to our toss-up questions.
Any side can answer.
Andy.
A recent report on computers in public schools rated the 50 states on how many computers
are available in school per student.
Of these four...
Neal, Colvin, East Coast.
Neal.
Texas.
That is not correct.
Continue.
Continue the question, Andy, and anybody on the West can take a shot at this.
Of these four states, which one ranked number one?
Alaska, California, Minnesota, or Massachusetts?
Which state had the most computers per student in school?
I need an answer quickly, guys.
Harry, Minnesota.
That's not correct.
The correct answer is Alaska.
All right, go ahead.
According to Red Herring Magazine, one high-tech company led all others last year in raising
venture capital, raising $35 million in the first three quarters of 1993.
What company was that?
Jeffrey Kalb, West Coast.
Jeff, what do you think?
Kendall Square Research.
That is not correct.
Anybody on the East would like to take a shot at that.
Who raised the most venture capital last year in 93?
$35 million in the first three quarters of 93.
Anybody want to take a shot for 10 points?
Going once.
No ideas.
The answer is...
David, Nelson, East Coast.
David?
Not correct.
Open Vision Technologies.
Bonus round.
All right, time to give you guys a chance.
Let's see, the score right now is, what, 30 East Coast, 20 West Coast, so you're behind
by 10.
Let's see if you can catch up now.
Chance, three questions, 10 points apiece.
Why don't you guys gather together?
You can consult.
Only Bill can give me the answer.
The category is IBM.
1993 may not have been the best year for IBM, but the company did distinguish itself by
being number one worldwide in a very significant way.
In what way?
In what was IBM number one in 1993?
I need an answer pretty soon.
Let's have it.
Made the most PCs.
Not correct.
The answer is they had the most U.S. patents issued of any company in the world.
All right, let's try for another 10 points now, again, in IBM.
IBM has been traditionally a stock favorite.
I'm sorry, judges, yes?
A reprieve for the West?
We think that may not be the answer we're looking for, but it may in fact be correct,
so we're cognizant of that.
10 points for the West Coast.
Okay, thank you, judges.
You guys are sharp.
We're rewriting the script.
Why not?
All right, here's another chance for 10 points.
Now, is there a chance for 10 points?
Here's another chance for 10 points.
Now, as I said, IBM has traditionally been a stock market favorite, but in this decade,
it announced its first ever quarterly loss.
Give me the year and the quarter of that loss.
In what quarter did IBM announce its first ever loss?
The only clue is it is this decade, of course.
I need an answer.
Second quarter of 1990.
No, that's not correct.
Fourth quarter of 92.
Fourth quarter of 92 is the answer.
All right, you've got a chance at another 10 points now.
Judges, no reprieve there, right?
I can keep on going here?
Here's a good one.
At IBM San Jose Labs, while developing the platters for their Ramach hard disk, they
had to figure out a way to control the grain size of the oxide particles.
They came up with a very innovative solution.
This will be multiple choice, so listen.
Was it using a colander, sifting them through a pair of nylons, or polishing each grain
to size?
Which of those three did they use to solve the problem?
We guessed the nylons.
Of course, that's correct.
10 points.
It was the star on the plate.
All right, the score, East Coast 30, West Coast 40.
Time.
All right, that's the end of round one.
The score is the West Coast ahead by a score of 40 to 30.
And don't go away.
We'll be right back.
All right, as we get ready to start round two of tonight's Computer Bowl All-Star Game,
the score once again, the West ahead by a score of 40 to 30.
We go back to 10-point toss-up questions, and Andy.
Robots have been popular characters in movies for many years.
Of the following four movies, Target Earth, Silent Running, Journey to the Center of the
Earth, and Space Cam, which one did not feature a robot?
Neil Colvin, East Coast.
Neil?
Journey to the Center of the Earth.
Well, you're a good one.
10 points.
All right, score's tied.
Here we go again.
According to the book, The Green PC, what is the annual cost for generating the electricity
it takes to run all the world's personal computers?
Is it $900 million, $1.5 billion, $4.6 billion, or $10 billion?
How much electricity does it take to run the world's PCs?
All of them.
Multiple choice.
I'll take one.
Going once, going twice.
Bill Gates, West Coast.
Bill?
$4.6 billion.
That's the right answer.
10 points for the West.
What is the result of the multiplication in base 89 of these two numbers?
11 and 11.
Thinking, thinking, thinking.
Listen to that question carefully.
Mitchell, Capehorn, East Coast.
Mitch?
It's gonna be one and then whatever stands for 22.
Judges, I can't take that.
No.
Okay, we've got to go to the West Coast.
You've got a shot at that.
The result of the multiplication in base 89.
Bill Gates, West Coast.
All right, Bill?
$132.
That's not the correct answer either.
The answer is $121 because it's always $121 except for base 2.
11 and 11.
Judges, yes?
Thank you.
Okay, next.
It's obvious.
Obvious, Andy says.
One of the earliest word processors was written by a company named
LifeTree Software.
What was it called?
Bill Gates, West Coast.
Bill?
Easy Rider.
That's not correct, Bill.
Anybody want to take a shot on the East?
Bob Frankston, East Coast.
Volks Riders.
Bob?
Volks Riders.
Correct for 10 points.
Bonus round.
All right, it's time for another bonus round.
Guess what?
The score is tied 50 for the East Coast, 50 for the West Coast.
All right, East Coast time.
You guys get to pick a prize.
You're gonna have to do it.
You're gonna have to do it.
You're gonna have to do it.
You're gonna have to do it.
You're gonna have to do it.
You're gonna have to do it.
You're gonna have to do it.
All right, East Coast time, you guys get together.
You're gonna answer through Mitch.
The category is computers in print.
One of today's well-known computer trade magazines used to be called The Intelligent Machines
Journal.
What's that magazine called today?
For 10 points.
The Intelligent Machines Journal is now called what?
Give it a shot.
Info World.
All right, 10 points.
Well done.
Second chance to get 10 points, computers in print.
Way back in 1945, it's nearly 50 years ago, an article appeared in the Atlantic Monthly
entitled As We May Think.
In the article, the author predicted the PC, distributed databases and hypertext.
Who wrote the article?
Vannevar Bush.
That's right, Vannevar Bush.
Another 10 points.
Well done.
Last chance for 10 points, in the book Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, a supercomputer is
used for DNA sequencing.
What brand of supercomputer is used?
I'm tempted to say Cray.
What do you think?
Cray.
Cray is right.
Okay, well done.
You got all of them.
So right now, the score is East Coast, 80.
West Coast, 50.
West Coast, 80.
West Coast, 80.
West Coast, 80.
West Coast, 80.
Okay, Andy.
The following three movies, all at least 25 years old, all have computer themes.
Death Set, Gog, and Billion Dollar Brain.
Can you list those movies in chronological order?
Oldest first.
Three movies with computer themes, and we need the order of those three.
And they were Death Set, Gog, and Billion Dollar Brain.
David Liddell, West Coast.
David's gonna take a shot.
Go ahead.
The order was Death Set, Billion Dollar Brain, Gog.
That is not correct.
Anybody on the East like to try again?
List those three movies about computers in chronological order, oldest first.
Mitchell Kapor, East Coast.
It was the order you read them in.
Nice try, but even that's wrong.
No, it was Gog first, which goes back to 1954.
Death Set was 1957.
Billion Dollar Brain was 1967, so nobody did get that right.
All right, next question, Andy.
The PVP-10 is a well-known minicomputer.
What was its immediate predecessor called?
Bill Gates, West Coast.
Bill?
PDP-6.
Absolutely right.
Bonus round.
All right, time for another bonus round, and it is the East Coast ahead, 80 to 60, so it's
for the West now.
You guys can use this.
You're 20 points behind.
The category is computers in the movies.
I'm going to give you the computer angle in the movie.
You give me the title of the movie.
Actor George Segal has a computer implanted in his brain in this 1974 movie based on a
book.
Terminal Man.
You got it, 10 points.
Here's the second computer theme.
Two teenagers use a computer to create a woman in this 1985 movie.
Weird Science.
Right, another 10 points.
You guys are good.
Last chance for 10 points now is an important one.
In this Walt Disney movie, an electrical accident dumps the contents of a computer's memory
into the brain of a college student played by Kurt Russell.
Tron?
Not correct, I'm afraid.
The computer wore tennis shoes.
The computer wore tennis shoes.
Okay, the score right now, though, is tie score, East Coast 80, West Coast 80.
Here we go.
This is a tight one.
We are all familiar with the term ATM, standing for Automatic Teller Machine.
David Liddell, West Coast.
Asynchronous Transfer Mode.
That is not correct.
All right, Andy, you can finish the whole question and somebody from the East can take
a shot at it.
Okay.
But way back in the 1950s, the Bank of America installed one of the first computerized banking
systems built by GE.
It was called ERMA, E-R-M-A.
What did the letters E-R...
David Nelson, East Coast.
David?
Electronic Record Method of Accounting.
Electronic Recording Machine Accounting.
Okay, you had two of the four words, Dave, but not all of them.
Electronic Recording Machine Accounting.
You got it?
No, I'm sorry.
Andy, that's the signal for the end of Round 2.
With a score of 80 for the East Coast, 80 for the West Coast.
What a great contest.
That concludes the first half of the Computer Bowl All-Star Game.