15 Tech Facts You Need to Know

Are you ready? Here's an informal test of your knowledge of today's tech world. Warning: if you get all the questions right, you're truly a geek's geek.

And now, sharpen your virtual pencils and let's begin.

(Oh, and please don’t visit the answers page until you’re through with your quiz.)

1) Which company is the No. 1 server vendor in terms of market share and sales?

A) IBM
B) HP
C) Sun
D) Dell
E) Fast Eddie's Server Hut

2) Sales in the PC industry are pretty much flat, right?

A) Yes. Sales are strong but the growth ain’t what it used to be.
B) PC sales are expected to grow by a respectable 3-5 percent this year.
C) PC sales are robust, with a forecast of double digit growth.
D) Surprising all analysts, PC sales are actually trending down.

3) What’s the average salary for U.S. tech workers?

1) $56,400
2) $73,308
3) $86, 515
4) Whatever Bill Gates makes, divided by a million.

4) When it comes to broadband speeds, the U.S. is the top of the heap, right?

A) Yup, we rock at top speed!
B) Well, we’re near the top – right behind those speed demons the Canadians.
C) The U.S. average broadband speed lags almost every industrialized nation.
D) Dude, what’s ‘broadband’?

5) IBM employed about 3,000 people in India in 2002. What’s the number today?

A) 14,000
B) 38,000
C) 53,000
D) 78,000

6) Instant messaging is on the rise as an enterprise communication tool. By what year is IM projected to be the de facto communication tool among 95 percent of employees?

A) 2009
B) 2013
C) 2017
D) As soon as today’s 15-year-olds take over, all forms of communication except IM will be banned. Anyone who writes a complete sentence will be summarily fired.

7) Google accounts for what percentage of U.S.-based Internet searches?

A) 54.9 percent
B) 62.7 percent
C) 81.4 percent
D) All of them. Google rules the world. All hail our Google overlord.

8) The virtualization services market is, by all accounts, enjoying major growth. Valued at $5.5 billion in 2006, it is expected to grow how large by 2011?

A) $8.1 billion
B) $11.7 billion
C) $14 billion
D) It’s actually expected to shrink by 2011
E) It’s all to virtual to really know

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