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Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.

By | March 11, 2011, 4:00am PST

Summary: Today’s host Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols claims he’s been using and writing about Linux and open source for entirely too long Test yourself against some pretty tricky questions.

Hi, there Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols your host today. I’ve been using and writing about Linux and open source for entirely too long. Suffice it to say that while I didn’t use Linux 0.01, I was running Linux not long after that. So, with introductions out of the way, let’s move on to the quiz shall we?

Instructions: Click on your answer and then see how many others agree with you. Then click to see the answer and the next question.

Poll

Starting with acronyms, what does GNU stand for?

The correct answer is… »

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Topics

Correct, Answer, Linux, UNIX, Operating Systems, Open Source, Software, Andy Smith

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, aka sjvn, has been writing about technology and the business of technology since CP/M-80 was the cutting edge, PC operating system

Disclosure

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols is a freelance writer. He does not own stocks or other investments in any technology company.

Biography

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, aka sjvn, has been writing about technology and the business of technology since CP/M-80 was the cutting edge, PC operating system; 300bps was a fast Internet connection; WordStar was the state of the art word processor; and we liked it!

His work has been published in everything from highly technical publications (IEEE Computer, ACM NetWorker, Byte) to business publications (eWEEK, InformationWeek, ZDNet) to popular technology (Computer Shopper, PC Magazine, PC World) to the mainstream press (Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, BusinessWeek).

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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
facebook@... 1st May 2011
@wkulecz I actually enjoyed the Corel question. I thought that Corel was going to finally bring Linux to the desktop.
View in thread
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
wkulecz Updated - 11th Mar 2011
These are not guru questions, these are trivia questions.

I'm actually embarrassed about how many I knew!
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
cbstryker 11th Mar 2011
@wkulecz Exactly what I was thinking, I stopped wasting my time by question 4
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
Martmarty Updated - 11th Mar 2011
@cbstryker,

You should at least try until question 11, just to make use of SJVN's hard work. No offense, but I'm serious.

But I agree, I think real *nix quiz should include nearly a thousand of unix commands just to separate the men from the boys.
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
nickdangerthirdi@... 11th Mar 2011
@wkulecz I agree, this was NOT a guru quiz, most of these questions actually had nothing to do with the OS, only its history, and it wasnt called a linux HISTORY guru quiz...

still fun though...
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Contributr
RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
sjvn@... 11th Mar 2011
@wkulecz It was just meant to be fun. Now if you really want bash shell questions, how to pipe stuff through grep, etc. I can do that too.

Steven
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Issue with one
Tim Patterson 13th Mar 2011
@sjvn@...

I don't know about Corel but I was using Caldera Open Linux 2.3 on my desktop in 1999
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
nemesis9 14th Mar 2011
@sjvn@...

I was using Caldera in '96-'97
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
alsunseri@... 25th Apr 2011
@sjvn@...

Bash Shell?
Heck a real guru test would be to write a new multi-platform kernel module using sed in the Bourne Shell.
In fact, the test could be to take an old palm pilot and write a linux kernel for it, an IP stack, a ncat clone, and use it to submit the entry to zdnet. In other words, chillax people. This was supposed to be good clean geek fun. Dont ruin it by being a bunch of nerdy dorks.
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
jeremychappell 12th Mar 2011
@wkulecz Yes... ditto.
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
tonymcs@... 12th Mar 2011
@wkulecz

What next? An MS-DOS quiz?
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A Freedos quiz, actually.
peter_erskine@... 16th Mar 2011
@tonymcs@... Danger - Microsoft-free Zone. But you're fascinated...
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
facebook@... 1st May 2011
@wkulecz I actually enjoyed the Corel question. I thought that Corel was going to finally bring Linux to the desktop.
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the linux community should create a ranking
Linux Geek 11th Mar 2011
like:
1.Novice
2.User
3.Geek
4.Guru
5.Luminary
I scored maximum on these tests but that won't make a Luminary. It takes more than a test to advance and work your way up, like the activism pro Linux and OSS as I've been doing for years.
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RE: ...create a ranking
fatman65535 11th Mar 2011
@Linux Geek

May I add two more to the top of your list?

-1. Windoze (l)user
0. (l)user
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i have a linux question
sparkle farkle 11th Mar 2011
why does my firefox browser in ubuntu fragment and pixalate when I scroll?
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Contributr
RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
sjvn@... 11th Mar 2011
@sparkle farkle Good question.. I don't know. FWIW, it's working fine with my FF 3.6..15 & Ubuntu 10.10.

Steven
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beats me
sparkle farkle 11th Mar 2011
I have a 64 bit version, amd athlon, and a radeon 4350, with 2 gig of ram. It's mostly the browser, the desktop is fine. It's a recent development with ubuntu. Had the debian version of linux mint, no problems. Is it gdm? is it ati. Used ubuntu successfully for many years, lately not so much joy.
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up and down scrolling fine
sparkle farkle 11th Mar 2011
it's when you scroll side to side
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
balaknair 11th Mar 2011
@sparkle farkle
Do you have compiz enabled? ATI graphics used to have trouble with scrolling when compiz is enabled, back in 2009 or so, not sure if they've since fixed it.
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turned compiz off
sparkle farkle 12th Mar 2011
@balaknair
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
nickdangerthirdi@... 11th Mar 2011
@sparkle farkle you are probably running a composter (compiz) that doesnt play nice with your video card, turn off all the fancy pretty stuff and see if that fixes it...
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
Jimster480 11th Mar 2011
@sparkle farkle Idk i dont have that issue on my Firefox on Ubuntu
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MS and Unix
Martmarty Updated - 11th Mar 2011
Regarding Question 5, Looks like *a lot* of Linux geeks (majority are kids/teens) of quiz takers as of 1538 GMT 11 March, thought MS doesn't have its modified unix entry.


5) Which company has never sold a version of either its own Unix or Linux?

Answers of respondents:
A) Microsoft 47%
B) Dell 19%
C) IBM 9%
D) Lenovo 25%

Now I understand the reason why most Linux guys are always claiming MS *DOESN'T KNOW* anything about unix security and comparing WinNT to swiss cheese, because they haven't heard of xenix on the first place. This young kids probably got serious about computers only after xenix was gone.

Can't blame them either as I just heard about xenix last 1998 when my neighbor has xenix in her P1 166Mhz laptop issued by her employer, hsbc bank. She's telecommuting and doing all her work thru her laptop which was always connected to work thru dial-up.

Only proves that the majority of current Linux geeks are young and only learned computers after Xenix was abandoned/sold by MS so MS can continue and focus with WinNT.

So thanks for this update and quiz/trivia. Now I know there's no need to argue with those Linux freaks, as majority of them are just really kids.

edit: spoiler post
of course after mentioning this, stats of question 5 will change. In case you reached this line before answering the quiz, then just consider yourself a cheater happy
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
AndyPagin 11th Mar 2011
@Martmarty
Guess MS abandoned the wrong operating system.
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
kyleoster 11th Mar 2011
@AndyPagin

I think Microsoft's shareholders would argue that point.
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
snoop0x7b 11th Mar 2011
@Martmarty Xenix wasn't really all that popular, in all fairness... I've never seen a Xenix system in the wild. I knew the answer to that question though :P
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
dimonic 11th Mar 2011
@Martmarty Not to mention that MS had shares in SCO for a long time.

I would have hoped that most Linux geeks would have got this right. We are not blind MS haters you know - I fancy myself as an informed MS sceptic (and even an OS sceptic).
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Hey 47%, ever heard of Xenix from Microsoft?
Grayson Peddie 11th Mar 2011
It's Lenovo, not Microsoft. Lenovo is a very young company that was separate from IBM.

By the way, some questions are so stupid to me. happy

Gee, if only Dana Blankenhorn were still in Linux and Open Source blog... *shrug, sigh*
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Question 4 Seems Rather Subjective
CFWhitman 11th Mar 2011
Question 4 seems rather subjective to me. It depends on what you mean by "mass market" and "technical user." You could easily say that when Red Hat sold a desktop distribution in computer and software stores that they were targeting the mass market.

If you think that Red Hat desktop Linux was too much targeted toward technical users, then there are still arguments to be made for SUSE and Mandrake (now Mandriva) Linux, which were both available at software and/or bookstores before Corel Linux.
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Contributr
RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
sjvn@... 11th Mar 2011
@CFWhitman Not really. Corel was the first company to make a point of trying to sell Joe & Jane User, rather than Joe CIO (Caldera) or Jane SystemAdmin (Red Hat)

Steven
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Nope
Tim Patterson 13th Mar 2011
@sjvn@...

I got my Caldera Open linux in a shrink wrapped box marketed as a 'dektop' OS in 1999. This one is a little shaky sjvn. Of course Open Linux had it's challenges and I moved to Slackware within a year.
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
radleym 11th Mar 2011
A UNIX guru is somebody who knows how to use and administer UNIX systems. Seems like a Linux guru is somebody who collects Linux trivia??
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typo in answer of Q2
cflange 11th Mar 2011
Typo:
Answer is: B. ESR should be
Answer is: A. ESR
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
alexsm 11th Mar 2011
Boy, that was easy.
No one can be named a Guru with these questions, but I did like questions #5 and #10. I guess most techies will answer those wrong.
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
snoop0x7b 11th Mar 2011
I feel like 0% should be "Close friend of Loverock Davidson" :P
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
fatman65535 11th Mar 2011
@snoop0x7b

Speaking of "LD", that master of FUD, I think I have found out where he spends most of his time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCFMDLakxaY
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
michael@... 11th Mar 2011
This quiz is not what I would consider guru material at all. A bunch of dumb trivia questions rather than technical matters.
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
Jimster480 11th Mar 2011
I got 6 of 10 :/ Microsoft sold unix lol!
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
Tom6 11th Mar 2011
I enjoyed this quick quiz. Is a guru someone who helps people attain enlightenment or someone that knows a lot them-self? Often people are either 1 or the other but seldom both. Pointing to guides requires less knowledge than writing them but helps a lot.

The bazaar model enables people to help others gain skills and knowledge far beyond their own skill-set or knowledge-base. Proprietary models seem aimed at disabling people and holding back development. The Cathedral model seems a good middle ground.

The question about The Cathedral and Bazaar was one i got wrong so i looked it up. That is the value i find in things like this quiz = learn something new. The trick question about MS was cute. I guessed at Dell because they are reasonably famous for supporting linux.

Thanks for the quiz happy
Regards from
Tom happy
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
The Rifleman 11th Mar 2011
I have to agree with the statement that these are trivia questions and not Guru questions! I had better things to do after question two.
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ESR mixup
Reality-based 11th Mar 2011
ESR is (A) on screen 2, and screen 3 says correct answer is (B) ESR. Must have been edited on Windows.
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Too easy
SciFiDude79 12th Mar 2011
I got about a 75% to 80% score, that's too high considering that I've only been using Linux for a little over a year and I'm far from a guru. I even made logical guesses on a few and got them correct. A true guru test would involve questions that only people who knew the most obscure crap about Linux and had true insider knowledge of its inner workings could get right.

Having said that, it was a fun trivia test. I even learned a couple things for the few that I got wrong and the ones where I guesstimated and got them right.
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
YetAnotherBob 12th Mar 2011
Steven was wrong on two questions.

On Number 2, ESR is listed as A, not B (RMS) ESR is as SVJN noted the correct answer, but Steven's answer is still wrong.

On the earliest distribution, there were two that predated Slackware, both no longer extant.

So, Steven, you get 8 out of 10.

However, this test has nothing to do with running a Linux box. The award should not be Guru, it should be Lurker.
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Bluecurve
AdamWill 14th Mar 2011
Bluecurve wasn't anywhere near similar to Unity; it was just a theme. The idea was to create a consistent theme for both KDE and GNOME so that apps from each wouldn't look out of place in the other. It didn't _change_ either desktop on a code level, it only customized them through mechanisms both made available for this express purpose.
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
technology@... 15th Mar 2011
These questions are quite trivial. I was hoping for something that tested my knowledge of the OS itself, not of its history or culture. While laudable, that information is not helpful in actually using the OS.
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
paul.1 15th Mar 2011
Errr, did anyone else see the mistake in question number 2 and it's "correct answer"?
answers possible : A. ESR or B. RMS
answer "correct" : B. ESR (didn't exist)
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RE: Quiz: Are you a Linux guru? Find out.
mustaqeem@... 17th Mar 2011
Bad .. very bad !

It must be really questions in Linux OS not for some names or history nobody cares to study it now !
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this quiz is scored wrong!
techpraxis@... 18th Mar 2011
the answer to question 2 is...ERS....which is "A" not "B". Correct your answers if you want to presume to "test" the community!!!
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Still I need to know lot
Neelamegan 22nd Mar 2011
Superb......
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Answer 6 a is wrong
jessepollard 30th Apr 2011
The first distribution was SLS, Slackware took over the format shortly after SLS 1.2 (there were no more released after 1.3 later that year). I say they took the format, but did a complete repackaging.

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