OK its been two months since we first asked, Who Wants to Be a CIO?, and provided a few simple questions so you could see whether you were truly worthy of that lofty appellation. Our premise is that weird though they may be, geeks can easily sniff out imposters, pretenders, and frauds. You can probably fool senior management with an MBA and some techno-speak, but that wont hack it in the trenches. When it comes time to deal with the guys who are going to save your butt, you better be able to walk the walk as well as talk the talk. I had a high-school football coach whose favorite expression was, Talk is cheap. He used to yell it in my face from a distance of two inches while he was beating his fist on the side of my helmut. Likewise, talk is cheap for the CIO. If you dont know your technology, leave the propeller heads alone and go back to marketing where your ineptitude may go unnoticed.

On to the quiz

1. The United States government in its infinite wisdom often attempts to dismantle successful companies (e.g., Standard Oil, Microsoft). In 1984, the Justice Department forced the breakup of another company that threatened one of the richest sources of computer research in the last century. What is the company, and (Part 2) what difference does it make?