The Daily Teaser — 12-8-14: The Personal Computer

Oh, now that’s sad: that is really, really sad.

Robin Williams* — actor, comedian and so much more — has lost the fight with his demons.

He’s been found dead, overnight, at his home in California: apparently a suicide, and — from what initial reports are saying — from asphyxiation.

After having struggling with depression, and bipolarity, for many years.

I never knew the guy, but always enjoyed his work: from Mork and Mindy, to Aladdin, to Patch Adams, to Mrs Doubtfire, to Bicentennial Man.

I feel … 

Well … 

I think the world’s lost a friend today: we’ve lost  a man who brightened our lives, by making us laugh, but who could never conquer his own demons.

Nanu, Nanu, Robin Williams.

Rest in Peace.

~≈É≈~

But let’s move on.

Yesterday’s Teaser saw Debbi† putting in her answers: and scoring five out of five.

Let’s see how everyone does with today’s questions, shall we?   Here they are, along with the the How To, License and  video … 

Q1) 12 August, 1981, saw the release of the original IBM PC.   What does PC stand for … ?

Q2) IBM stands for International Business … what?

Q3) IBM used which comedy figure to advertise their PCs?

Q4) The original PC — with the model number 5150 — had an 8088 chip as its CPU.   A CPU is a Central Processing … what … ?

Q5) More to the point, the 8088 was and is made by which company?

Q6) The early PCs had ‘Game Control Adapters’.   Those Game Control Adapters let you plug what into you PC: a joystick, trackpad or mouse?

Q7) IBM’s first portable PC was called what … ?

Q8) Its first LAPTOP PC was the … ?

Q9) The PC’s mother board is also called BIOS: or Basic Input Output … what?

Q10) Did that original PC come with a mouse?

Here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 11th August, 1984, saw who (jokingly) say “We begin bombing in five minutes” … ?

A1) President Ronald Reagan.

Q2) 11th August, 1968, saw the last what run on British Rail: steam hauled engine, first-class carriages or dining room cars?

A2) Steam hauled locos.

Q3) 11th August, 1919, saw the Weimar Republic adopt its constitution.   The Weimar Republic was interwar era where: France, Austria or Germany?

A3) Germany.

Q4) 11th August, 106 AD, saw south-western Dacia become a province of the Roman Empire.   Roman Dacia is now part of which European country … ?

A4) Romania.

Q5) Finally … 11th August, 1801, saw the birth of Cardinal John Henry Newman: one of the few English (almost) saints of the Roman Catholic Church.   Which Church had he originally been a member of?

A5) The Church of England.

I’ll leave you with this thought …

“What a computer is to me is it’s the most remarkable tool that we have ever come up with. It’s the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds.”

Steve Jobs February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011.

And this tune … 

Have a good day.

*        I know The Fisher King and One Hour Photo, along with Good Will Hunting, are supposed to be his best performances.   I’ve seen none of them … and feel I should remedy this.   It’s also saddens me that I’ve thinking that, after his death … 

†       Cheers, Debbi!   (Oh, did you hear about Robin Williams?   I think the world’s lost someone special, there.)