* "BWA" trips up test-takers
Drumroll…the results of the 2002 year-end pop quiz are in!
I have to confess that getting revenge from my school days is feeling sweet. I’m absolutely reveling in the role of the omniscient teacher who gets to impose multiple-choice tests on victims, who, though knowledgeable, are at the mercy of my wording choices when selecting their answers.
About 50 of you responded, and most everyone did well. No one scored 100%. But not to worry: In the sadistic spirit of the instructors from my school days, I purposely threw in a couple of curve balls.
Three readers, though, did miss just a single question – and it was the very same one! It’s also important to note that their answers weren’t inaccurate; these folks simply didn’t choose the BEST answer. Now remember, I’m the teacher, so I can play these unfair head games. Nah, nah, nah-nah, nah!
The three top scorers all selected a partial answer to question 8, which was “What is ‘BWA?'” They all chose (b), “wireless high-speed ‘last-mile’ Internet access.” This description is true. But, BWA, which stands for “broadband wireless access” now also applies to public Wi-Fi wireless LAN hot-spot services (which didn’t exist a couple of years ago). So answer (e), which includes both fixed last-mile and public wireless LAN access services, is the “most correct” answer.
Now, I’m going to award extra credit to one individual who, per the original instructions, used his option to embellish. I found particularly intriguing his innovative suggestion for a “clap-on, clap-off” feature for WEP security keys.
This gentleman gets one extra point for humor, effective writing and basically making my day, launching him into first place. And the winner is…
* JOHN BRASSIL, a network engineer at Vanderbilt University (applause)!
The other individuals who missed only question 8, tying for 1.5(th) place, are:
* BILL CARNEY from Texas Instruments
* ERIK DAGEMARK from Ericsson
Six of you missed just two items, and deserve an honorable mention here: Keith Beisecker, Luc Gadbois, Herbert Hamblen, Peggy Mooney, Alan Rothberg and Geoffrey Stevenson. Kudos!
Next time: a full review of the issues and answers in the quiz.
