Contests

Filter to see only answered or unanswered IT questions

In case you hadn’t noticed, we recently added some new features to the homepage. We’ve upped the list of most recent questions and answers on the homepage from 60 to a whopping 200. Plus, you’ll also find a new tab for filtering unanswered questions.

In addition to the homepage, you’ll now find these 3 tabs on every major topic: Recent IT Questions, Recent IT Answers and Unanswered IT Questions.

So now, if you’re looking for questions to answer within your specific expertise, simply click the Unanswered IT Questions tab on any of the topics of your choice below.

Recent IT Questions
→ This tab displays the most recent 200 questions, both unanswered and answered. This is the default view.

Recent IT Answers
→ This tab displays the most recent 200 questions that have an answer or a partial answer. The answer may be rated, improved or reverted by fellow members.

Unanswered IT Questions
→ This tab displays the most recent 200 unanswered questions. This is a handy tab, especially during contests, to quickly view only unanswered questions.

We currently have a Most Active Member contest during the month of May, so jump to your area of expertise and start answering questions to build up your Knowledge Points and you could be our next winner. Thanks.

Community Manager

VIEW UNANSWERED QUESTIONS ON THESE TOPICS

VIEW ANSWERED QUESTIONS ON THESE TOPICS

Don’t let the taxman crimp your geek budget

Benjamin Franklin said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” If Uncle Sam has just taken a bite out of your geek budget, keep reading, as today marks the start of our newest Most Active Member contest. Our previous winners are already kicking back and enjoying their prizes — and you could be our next winner.

Check out the sweet new prizes we’re offering…

1st Place → Nintendo Wii game system

To truly understand how Wii revolutionizes gaming, you have to try it for yourself. Quite simply, Wii is for everyone. The ease of use and interactivity of the Wii Remote and Nunchuk allows for a unique social gaming experience for the whole family. You don’t just play Wii, you experience it.

2nd Place → Canon PowerShot SD100 IS 8MP Digital Camera

With 8.0-megapixel technology at its heart, PowerShot SD1100 IS Digital ELPH brings you high resolution images that maintain their sharpness and vivid impact even when they’re enlarged and cropped. The 3x Optical Zoom is a clear winner when it comes to getting up close and personal. And Canon’s invaluable Optical Image Stabilizer reduces the blur of camera movement, even in tricky low light situations.

3rd Place → $100 Amazon gift certificate

Redeem your gift certificate for whatever you wish. You’ll find a huge variety of geek gear on Amazon.com and this shopping spree is on us.

You’ve heard it said that April showers bring May flowers? All I know is that April Knowledge Points bring May prizes. Each time you ask your own question, answer or discuss IT questions, you are automatically earning Knowledge Points. Whoever is sitting in the top three spots at the end of the day on May 31st will claim the title of Most Active Member and win one of these great prizes.

So be sure to visit the main unanswered questions section on IT Knowledge Exchange often during the contest period and ask, answer or discuss an IT question and earn Knowledge Points. You can also find unanswered questions for specific IT topics.

The prizes are our way of thanking the top contributors for sharing their expertise and helping build the ITKE community knowledgebase. It’s a brand new contest and everyone has an equal chance of being the next Most Active Member. So read the Contest Rules and start participating today. Thanks!

Community Manager

p.s. And don’t forget about our other “Link to ITKE” Contest that ends on April 30th. All you have to do is add IT Knowledge Exchange to your blogroll or homepage. It’s that simple and you could win an Apple iPod shuffle. Enter today for the random drawing.

Visit these links to find unanswered questions in these categories
AS/400 (unanswered questions)
Channel (unanswered questions)
CIO (unanswered questions)
CRM (unanswered questions)
Database (unanswered questions)
Data Center (unanswered questions)
Data Management (unanswered questions)
Development (unanswered questions)
Exchange (unanswered questions)
Linux (unanswered questions)
Lotus Domino (unanswered questions)
Microsoft Windows (unanswered questions)
Mobile (unanswered questions)
Networking (unanswered questions)
Oracle (unanswered questions)
SAP (unanswered questions)
Security (unanswered questions)
SQL Server (unanswered questions)
Storage (unanswered questions)
Virtualization (unanswered questions)
Unified Communications/VoIP (unanswered questions)

Linking to us could be music to your ears

Starting on April 1st (no fooling!) and running for the full month of April – our readers are eligible to win an Apple iPod shuffle. All you need to do to enter is add IT Knowledge Exchange to your blogroll or link to us from the homepage of your website. Then simply let us know where you’ve added our link and bada bing — you’ll be entered in our random drawing for a sweet little iPod shuffle.

If you have a Blog — Add IT Knowledge Exchange to your blogroll and then send me an email showing where, so I can enter you in our iPod giveaway.

If you have a Website — Add a link to IT Knowledge Exchange on the homepage of your website and send me an email showing where, so I can enter you in our iPod giveaway.

Linking to us could be sweet music to your ears, because if your name is drawn, we’ll be sending you an oh-so-cool Apple iPod shuffle (1GB model).

The 1GB model iPod shuffle lets you wear up to 250 songs on your sleeve. Or your lapel. Or your belt. Clip on iPod shuffle and wear it as a badge of musical devotion. Put some music on: iPod shuffle is the only iPod that’s wearable right out of the box.

You may enter once for each blog or website that you use to link to us. So for instance, if you have 2 blogs and you add IT Knowledge Exchange to the blogroll of both blogs – you’ll be entered twice in the drawing.

How simple can it get, right? You love getting answers to your IT questions on IT Knowledge Exchange, so help spread the word by linking to us – and you may just win an iPod for doing so. So add that link today and be sure to let us know where.

For more information, please read the full contest rules. Thanks.

Community Manager

Announcing the winners in the Xbox Elite contest

Our Xbox Elite contest has ended and the winners have been calculated. Kudos and congratulations to the 3 outstanding members below that will claim some very cool prizes for their high level of participation. Our 1st place winner, Denny Cherry, has now surpassed 10,000 Knowledge Points. Congratulations on both the Knowledge Point milestone and winning the Xbox Elite, Denny!

Be sure to click the username of these members to view their most recent IT answers and discussion.

1st Place – Microsoft Xbox Elite game system
→ Denny Cherry (Mrdenny)

2nd Place – Apple 8GB iPod Touch
→ Buddy Farr (Buddyfarr)

3rd Place – Amazon $100 gift certificate
→ Jerry Lees (Jlees)

Prizes are a great incentive – but getting answers to your toughest IT questions is even better. A big “thank you” goes out to all of our members on IT Knowledge Exchange. Everyone wins as the collective knowledge of our IT community is expanded more each day.

We’re busy thinking up the next member contest, so feel free to leave a comment or suggest a prize. I welcome your feedback. Thanks.

Community Manager

Xbox Contest: Current Member Ranking 02/26/08

With less than 3 weeks to go until the Xbox Elite contest ends, our members continue to jockey for position for the top slots on the Knowledge Points chart.

Who will be listed in that final tally? It could be anyone. It could be you. There is still ample time for any member to win. Each time you ask, answer or discuss a question, you are earning Knowledge Points. On March 15th we will tally the Knowledge Points up and the top 3 members will walk away with some cool prizes.

Here’s the current member rankings in our Xbox Elite contest.

Current Top Contenders (as of 02/26/08)

1. Mrdenny (4,595)
2. Buddyfarr (3,875)
3. Bvining (850)
4. Jlees (700)
5. CGarcia26C (620)

The cool contest prizes:
1st Place – Microsoft Xbox Elite game system
2nd Place – Apple 8GB iPod Touch
3rd Place – Amazon $100 gift certificate

Community Manager

Xbox Contest: Current Member Ranking 02/11/08

Here is the current tally of Knowledge Points for the Xbox Elite contest. Remember, the contest doesn’t end until March 15th, so there is still plenty of time to join in and beef up your Knowledge Points.

Top Knowledge Points (as of 02/11/08)

1. Mrdenny (1,710)
2. Buddyfarr (585)
3. Wrobinson (575)
4. CGarcia26C (500)
5. Bvining (410)
6. Xanader (285)

Here are the contest prizes:
1st Place – Microsoft Xbox Elite game system
2nd Place – Apple 8GB iPod Touch
3rd Place – Amazon $100 gift certificate

Each time you ask, answer or discuss a question on IT Knowledge Exchange, you’re earning Knowledge Points. And those Knowledge Points are the key to your winning the Xbox Elite or one of the other great prizes we’re offering. It’s our way of thanking our members and the ITKE community.

Feel free to leave a comment below to let us know what other prizes you’d like to see offered on ITKE. Thanks …and good luck in the contest!

Community Manager

Most Active Member - Announcing the December winner

The December winner of our Most Active Member contest is Denny Cherry, a Senior Database Architect from Los Angeles, California. Click on Denny’s name to view his profile and to browse all his answers.

Denny Cherry has over a decade of experience managing SQL Server, including MySpace.com’s over 175 million user installation, one of the largest in the world. Denny’s primary areas of expertise are system architecture, performance tuning, replication and troubleshooting.

Our congratulations and thanks to Denny, who accumulated 1,210 Knowledge Points, as he shared his extensive expertise with other ITKE members. An IT Knowledge Exchange beverage mug is on it’s way to you, Denny.

And don’t miss his helpful blog on ITKE, called SQL Server with Mr. Denny. Remember, if you’d like to share your own expertise by blogging with us, you can request a blog for yourself.

So what’s all this Knowledge Points stuff, you ask? You automatically earn Knowledge Points when you contribute to the ITKE community. You can check your own points or anyone else’s by clicking on a username to display a member’s Public Profile.

Knowledge Points are earned based on your community participation. So each time you ask a question or share your expertise, points are automatically added to your profile.

Answer a Question (15 Knowledge Points)
Discuss a Question (10 Knowledge Points)
Ask a Question (5 Knowledge Points)

The contest starts over fresh each month, so every member in the community has a chance to be the Most Active Member and win an ITKE beverage mug or t-shirt. Want some bragging rights with your IT buddies? Then start sharing your expertise on IT Knowledge Exchange.

Community Manager

Most Active Member - Announcing our November winner

It’s time to announce the winner of our first monthly Most Active Member contest here on IT Knowledge Exchange. The envelope, please… and the winner is HCream, a Network Admin/Analyst from Tampa, Florida.

Kudos and congratulations to HCream, who racked up an impressive 1,160 Knowledge Points and secured first place. HCream will receive a choice of IT Knowledge Exchange beverage mug or t-shirt – not to mention bragging rights with IT buddies for making our Top 10 list.

By now, you’re no doubt salivating for a mug or t-shirt of your very own. So how do you earn Knowledge Points, you ask? You automatically earn Knowledge Points when you contribute to the community. You can check the total Knowledge Points for yourself or anyone else by clicking on a username.

Knowledge Points are earned based on community participation. Each time you ask a question or share your expertise, points are added to your profile based on the following point system.

• Answer a Question (15 Knowledge Points)
• Discuss a Question (10 Knowledge Points)
• Ask a Question (5 Knowledge Points)

Each new month begins a new contest, so everyone has an equal chance to climb to the top of the Most Active Member heap. What are you waiting for? Start sharing your expertise by answering questions and you’ll not only be helping out a colleague but also earning points and moving up the list.

Community Manager