You don't know tech: The InfoWorld news quiz

Newegg ends up getting fried; AT&T fandroids still denied

What happened this week? Online retailer Newegg leaped out of the frying pan and into the fire after it was found to be selling ersatz silicon. AT&T released its first Android handset to a less-than-rapturous reception. MySpace announced it's attempting yet another comeback, and it turns out that sex doesn't sell on the Internet -- at least, not for as much as it used to. Have you got the skinny on all things tech? Prove it by acing our quiz. Correct answers are worth 10 points, and no, you don't get extra credit for owning an iPhone -- sorry. Now begin.

1. Online retailer Newegg has discovered some Intel Core i7-920 CPUs it sold last week were fakes. Which of the following is not one of the clues the chips were bogus?

a. Typos on product packaging

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What happened this week? Online retailer Newegg leaped out of the frying pan and into the fire after it was found to be selling ersatz silicon. AT&T released its first Android handset to a less-than-rapturous reception. MySpace announced it's attempting yet another comeback, and it turns out that sex doesn't sell on the Internet -- at least, not for as much as it used to. Have you got the skinny on all things tech? Prove it by acing our quiz. Correct answers are worth 10 points, and no, you don't get extra credit for owning an iPhone -- sorry. Now begin.

1. Online retailer Newegg has discovered some Intel Core i7-920 CPUs it sold last week were fakes. Which of the following is not one of the clues the chips were bogus?

a. Typos on product packaging

b. Heat sinks made entirely of plastic

c. Manual filled with blank pages

d. The word "FAKE" stenciled on the outside

2. AT&T has finally got some skin in the Android game. What's the name of its new Google-fueled phone?

a. Backflip

b. Backflap

c. Backjack

d. FlapJack

3. The domain Sex.com, which sold for a reported $14 million in 2006, is back on the auction block. What's the minimum opening bid?

a. $15 million

b. $1 million

c. $100,000

d. $500 an hour, two-hour minimum

4. Geneticists have discovered chickens that are half male, half female. What's the scientific name for this condition?

a. Hermaphrafowlic

b. Gynandromorphic

c. Poultrasexual

d. Half cocked

5. ComScore has released its most recent smartphone market data. Which of the following reflects the leading U.S. smartphone platforms, in descending order?

a. Apple, RIM/BlackBerry, Microsoft, Palm

b. Apple, RIM/BlackBerry, Google, Microsoft

c. RIM/BlackBerry, Apple, Microsoft, Google

d. RIM/BlackBerry, Apple, Microsoft, Palm

6. "It's frustrating to see Apple, the original pioneer in generative computing, putting shackles on the market it (for now) leads. If Apple wants to be a real leader, it should be fostering innovation and competition, rather than acting as a jealous and arbitrary feudal lord." Who's comparing the iPhone maker to a tribal chieftain?

a. John Rubinstein, Palm

b. Fred von Lohmann, EFF

c. Eric Schmidt, Google

d. Olli-Pekka Kallasvu, Nokia

7. MySpace is on the comeback trail, baby. Summarize its new strategy in one word:

a. Youth

b. Updates

c. Location

d. Strippers

8. Which famous Madison Avenue brand-animal is at the center of a backdoor attack on our nation's computers?

a. Tony the Tiger

b. Elsie the Cow

c. Joe Camel

d. Energizer Bunny

9. A new cloud-based gaming platform will arrive in June. What's it called?

a. GameOn

b. CloudCrowd

c. OnLive

d. WastedLives

10. Take the miles of bike trails Google just added to its Maps app, and multiply by the percentage of U.S. smartphones made by Google partner Motorola, per ComScore. Add the retail cost of the first 50-inch 3-D HDTV sold at a Best Buy store in New York City, rounded to the nearest dollar. Put that in your fanny pack and start pedaling. What do you get?

a. 5.60

b. 56.60

c. 566.60

d. 5,660

ANSWER KEY

Question 1: Online retailer Newegg has discovered some Intel Core i7-920 CPUs it sold last week were fakes. Which of the following is not one of the clues the chips were bogus?

Correct Answer: The word "FAKE" stenciled on the outside

Though if it had been, it probably would have been misspelled. Apparently the online store got a shipment of 300 "counterfeit" Intel chips from its now-former supplier IPEX. And by "counterfeit," we mean more fake than the phasers they use on "Star Trek." Nicely done, Newegg.

Question 2: AT&T has finally got some skin in the Android game. What's the name of its new Google-fueled phone?

Correct Answer: Backflip

The Motorola Backflip will be available from AT&T with a two-year contract for $99, the same price as a starter iPhone. However, because this is AT&T, it won't have all the features other Google phones support, like the ability to add any Android-compatible app. Finally phandroids have a telecom they too can hate.

Question 3: The domain Sex.com, which sold for a reported $14 million in 2006, is back on the auction block. What's the minimum opening bid?

Correct Answer: $1 million

Apparently sex -- at least, on the Internet -- isn't what it used to be. Still, interested buyers can show up at New York law firm Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf LLP on March 18 with a certified check for $1 million and have at it. Don't expect them to kiss back, though.

Question 4: Geneticists have discovered chickens that are half male, half female. What's the scientific name for this condition?

Correct Answer: Gynandromorphic

These birds are of a different feather, and then some -- split evenly down the middle, with the rooster chromosomes on one side and the hen DNA on the other. In birds and other lower vertebrates, researchers have discovered gender is determined at the cellular level. So far there's no sign of this condition in mammals; then again, these researchers probably haven't met Perez Hilton.

Question 5: ComScore has released its most recent smartphone market data. Which of the following reflects the leading U.S. smartphone platforms, in descending order?

Correct Answer: RIM/BlackBerry, Apple, Microsoft, Google

Despite the Apple hype, the BlackBerry OS still runs 43 percent of the 42.7 million U.S. smartphones, followed by the iPhone (25 percent) and Windows Mobile (16 percent). The big news is that Google's Android leapfrogged Palm to jump into fourth place (7 percent) and is gaining on Redmond. Any bets on when Microsoft will launch a series of "Droid doesn't" commercials?

Question 6: "It's frustrating to see Apple, the original pioneer in generative computing, putting shackles on the market it (for now) leads. If Apple wants to be a real leader, it should be fostering innovation and competition, rather than acting as a jealous and arbitrary feudal lord." Who's comparing the iPhone maker to a tribal chieftain?

Correct Answer: Fred von Lohmann, EFF

The senior staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation made the charge in a statement posted to EFF's Website, along with a confidential copy of the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement, which the EFF obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request filed with NASA. Don't expect to see Fred at any invitation-only Apple events any time soon.