Just how far is your life ruled by technology? Test yourself with our fun questionnaire to discover your true level of geekness.
For each answer score 1 point for ‘A’, 2 points for ‘B’ and 3 points for ‘C’.
Walking down the street one day you bump into an old friend. After catching up for a while, you agree to swap details. Do you:
A) Grab a pen out of your bag and jot down their number.
B) Type their number into your mobile and save as new contact.
C) Ask them to turn on Bluetooth, before trying to pair the two devices and wirelessly exchange business cards.
You hear a new song on the radio that you like the sound of. Do you:
A) Sit through 5 minutes of adverts to hear if the DJ gives the name of the song.
B) Dial up Shazam and get the song title texted to your phone.
C) Whip out your radio equipped MP3 player for an impromptu recording before setting it as your new ringtone.
You are holidaying in Europe. Do you stay in touch by:
A) Sending a postcard (you left your mobile switched off at home to save on roaming charges).
B) Spending all day giving your mates details of your nightly conquests with Twitter.
C) Sitting in a Starbucks using Facebook on your netbook keeping up to date on what everyone else is going and wishing you’d stayed at home.
In the electrical section at Tesco’s you notice a deal on a DVD player. Do you:
A) Decide you like the look of it, check the price and put it in the trolley.
B) Do a quick search on a mobile price comparison site to see if it’s cheaper somewhere else.
C) Use your phone to find out how to make it multiregion, remove the macrovision copy protection and get it delivered tomorrow from another supplier, while a large puddle forms under your trolley as your frozen goods defrost.
You’re driving down to the coast for a day on the beach. Do you:
A) Follow the seagulls and rely on your ‘sixth sense’ of direction.
B) Pack a map and check the radio for any hold ups.
C) Program your sat-nav with a scenic route to Brighton taking in points of interest along the way, not forgetting to pack your laptop for some Wi-Fi from the beach.
A friend asks if you’ve seen any good games lately. Do you:
A) Say: ‘Yes, I was at the football just last week for the derby.’
B) Say: ‘I just got Call of Duty: World at War for my phone the other day, it’s a cracker.’
C) Admit your secret identity as Valvidor the Impaler and barely pause for breath as you recount last night’s, eight-hour, online, game playing session.
You hear a really funny joke on the bus and can’t wait to pass it on. Do you:
A) Try to remember the joke as best as you can in order to re-tell it at work.
B) Use the notepad function on your mobile phone so you don’t forget the punchline.
C) Pull out your laptop, rewrite the joke to make it funnier (well, you think it is) and upload it to your blog for the world to see.
At a friend’s house for a dinner party, you notice their laptop in another room. Do you:
A) Think nothing of it; you’re there for a meal and to have fun.
B) Take a peek to check out the model and say smugly to yourself that they went for the budget version.
C) Grill your friend about their set-up and spend the rest of the night formatting the computer, installing Linux and recommending cool apps that they absolutely must have.
You’re partner suggests going to see a film at the cinema. Do you:
A) Go to the cinema, see what’s on and buy two tickets for a film you both agree looks good.
B) Check what’s on at the local cinema via your mobile so you won’t arrive too early or too late.
C) Pull out your PDA, visit IMDB and spend the next hour checking the current releases, downloading movie trailers, browsing forums for opinions and concluding there’s nothing good on so you may as well stay in.
Whilst out shopping your partner suggests going for a coffee. Do you:
A) Pop into the nearest café for a cappuccino and a bun.
B) Check out upmystreet.com on your PDA to find the best coffee shops in the area.
C) Find a coffee shop with free Wi-Fi and spend the next two hours surfing the net for free, as your Latte goes cold and your partner goes home.
At work a colleague mentions the good weather. You reply:
A) “Yes, it’s turned out nice again.”
B) “I’ll have to load my iPod with a summer tunes playlist.”
C) “Hold on, I’ll check out the week’s forecast on the web. Shall I set-up SMS weather alerts to your mobile?”
It’s your partner’s birthday and you’ve forgotten to get a gift, do you:
A) Nip down to the garage for a card and pretend the pressie’s lost in the post.
B) Bag a last minute flight on the Internet and whisk them off for a romantic weekend.
C) What partner?
You’re out at the pub quiz night. Do you:
A) Switch your phone off to avoid missing questions and losing valuable points.
B) Keep the phone on and pop off to the toilet every few minutes to ‘phone a friend’.
C) Whip out your smartphone and Google the answers from under the cover of your table.
You’re walking past Big Ben and two tourists stop and ask you to take their picture with their camera. Do you:
A) Ask where the shutter button is, line up the shot and take the picture as best as you can, remembering you’re not David Bailey.
B) Notice they’re using automatic mode and quickly switch to manual focus and exposure mode to get things right. If they only get one excellent picture during their holiday, this will be it.
C) Take one look at the camera and realise it’s only 8 megapixels! Pah! You hand it back in disgust and pull out your 50 megapixel Hasselblad that cost the same as a small topical island. After taking an assured International Photography Award winning snap, you ask for their email address and tell them it will be waiting in their inbox by the time they get home (as long as they can accept 200MB email attachments).
So how did you score?
14-16 points
Wake up! Don’t you know we’re in the 21st Century? You are a technological Neanderthal – get with the program!
17-24 points
You are a well-rounded individual who is not afraid to use gadgets when required, strictly on a needs-must basis.
25-34 points
A highly evolved techie, you are totally at home with technology and use a wide variety of gadgets in your everyday life.
35-42 points
Congratulations, you are a fully-fledged geek! A master of gadgets, no task is complete without some kind of technological assistance. Just remember to get out in the sun now and again.
Based on a questionnaire first published in What Mobile in March 2004.
