Test Your Nerd Knowledge — April 19, 2022
Here’s a review of this week’s questions:
- What is DHCP and why is it important?
- What daily newspaper was the first to “go online”?
- What technology-themed magazine published its first edition in 1993 with science fiction writer Bruce Sterling on the cover?
And here are the answers:
- Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. DHCP is a network management protocol used to automate the process of configuring devices on IP networks. It is important because the DHCP server does the work of an IT pro in no longer needing to manually configure each client before it can use the network. It also optimizes the IP addressing plan, meaning that addresses no longer being used are freed up and made available to new clients connecting to the network.
- The Columbus Dispatch. History informs us that you could read an online newspaper as early as July 1, 1980. All a reader needed was a computer, such as an Apple II or the TRS-80 desktop model, and a modem with access to the online CompuServe dial-up service. The first newspaper to go online was The Columbus Dispatch. It was part of a unique partnership between CompuServe and Associated Press (owners of the Columbus paper), allowing both parties to experiment with the potential of online newspapers. Though that partnership ended in 1982, CompuServe thrived for many years, eventually becoming one of the largest systems in the industry for electronic bulletin board (BBS) access.
- Wired Magazine. Throughout technology’s explosive growth over the past 25 years, no other publication has tracked this journey and its impact on society like Wired Magazine. Launched in San Francisco in 1993 by American journalist Louis Rossetto and his partner, Jane Metcalfe, it started out as a bi-monthly publication. It featured articles written by leading authors, journalists, and thinkers. Bruce Sterling, who graced the magazine’s first cover, was one of these innovative creators. Sterling is a popular author in the science fiction genre and is credited with creating the subgenre “Cyber Punk.” Wired magazine lives on today and is still presenting fascinating stories and images related to how humans and computers interact.