Most Active Member

Get some Amazon.com gift cards for your holiday shopping

Now is your chance to win an Amazon gift certificate based on your activity in the IT Knowledge Exchange community. Remember, the more you ask, answer or discuss questions, the more Knowledge Points you will earn.

The top 10 most active members from noon today (November 3rd), until the end of November, that reach the following Knowledge Point levels will be eligible for:

• 3000+ Knowledge Points: $200.00 Amazon gift card
• 2000+ Knowledge Points: $150.00 Amazon gift card
• 1000+ Knowledge Points: $75.00 Amazon gift card
• 500+ Knowledge Points: $50.00 Amazon gift card

Knowledge Points will only be rewarded for actual questions, answers and discussion that are relevant to the site.

So hop on over to our Contest Rules, then most importantly, ask, answer and discuss questions and earn those Knowledge Points!

Not sure where to start? Refer to this blog post for links to all categories of unanswered questions. And remember — we need your smart questions just as much as we need smart answers!

September Member contest: Win a Microsoft Xbox 360 or Chumby

After a long, stressful day in IT, video games can be a great way to unwind and relax. That’s right, you know where this is leading. It’s time for a cool new contest on IT Knowledge Exchange. The month of September ( Sept 1-Sept 30) is your chance to get your hot little hands on your very own Xbox 360 game system.

Let me recap how our Most Active Member contest works. Each time our members ask, answer or discuss a question, they automatically earn Knowledge Points for their participation. Keep in mind we will be reviewing all entries and adjusting Knowledge Points.

Looking for unanswered questions? You can find them by topic here.

This contest runs for the entire month of September. So shortly after September ends, we’ll award one of the great prizes below to the top three Knowledge Point earners. You could be our next winner!

Here are the sweet prizes we’re offering…

1st Place → Microsoft Xbox 360 game system

Xbox 360 puts you at the center of the most exciting games and entertainment experiences on earth. Xbox 360 not only has the best, highest-rated games, and the most robust title library, but it also offers access to the industry-leading Xbox LIVE service and tailored digital entertainment experiences that revolve around you.

2nd Place → Chumby – Interactive media player

Chumby takes your favorite parts of the Internet and delivers them to you in a friendly, always-on, always-fresh format. It’s a window into your Internet life that lives outside your desktop, so content like weather, news, celebrity gossip, podcasts, music, and more has a place to play away from your world of documents and spreadsheets.

3rd Place → $100 Amazon gift certificate

Redeem your gift certificate for whatever you wish. You’ll find lots of geek gear and toys on Amazon.com and we’re paying.

Our contests are our way of thanking the top members who put a lot of effort into sharing their hard-won knowledge and expertise. This is a brand spanking new contest so everyone has an equal chance of being the next Most Active Member. As usual, read the Contest Rules and start participating today to be eligible to win one of these cool prizes. Thanks!

Community Manager

If it has a plug, it’s IT stuff

Alessandro Panzetta is a systems administrator who recently joined our community. He sure didn’t waste any time and has not only started his own blog but taken home a Nintendo Wii for placing 1st in our recent Most Active Member contest.

With 10 years experience on Microsoft platforms, Alessandro provides miscellaneous tips, helpful resources and news for IT personnel on his blog, If it has a plug, it’s IT stuff.

Maybe it’s time you considered starting a blog of your own on IT Knowledge Exchange, too? Fill out a blog request and start sharing your expertise with the community. Thanks.

Community Manager

Announcing the winners in the Nintendo Wii contest

Our Nintendo Wii contest has ended and the winners have been determined. Congratulations to the 3 outstanding members below that won some very cool prizes for being the most active during the contest period.

Click on the username of our winners to view their most recent IT answers and discussion or read their blogs to see what IT issues are most on their minds.

1st Place – Nintendo Wii game system
Alessandro Panzetta (Alessandro.panzetta)
ITKE Blog: If it has a plug, it’s IT stuff

2nd Place – Canon PowerShot Digital Camera
Troy Tate (Labnuke99)
ITKE Blog: IT Trenches

3rd Place – Amazon $100 gift certificate
Melissa (Technochic)

Everyone enjoys winning a prize, especially some of the cool prizes we offer, but the important thing is that our community is growing and providing our IT pro membership with a forum to share expertise and exchange knowledge.

Got an idea for a new contest or prize? We’re always open to suggestions from our members. Email us or post it right here. Thanks.

Community Manager

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)

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

And the winner is . . .

Congratulations to Mrdenny who beat out some tough competition to win the XBox 360 contest.

After reviewing all the questions, answers and discussions and adding up the points on the ones we felt added to the community Mrdenny earned a total of 6,595 Knowledge points. Coming in a close second place was Buddyfarr with 5,425 Knowledge points and third place went to Jlees with 2,455 Knowledge Points.

Thanks to everyone who contributed. Prizes will be shipped out in the next few weeks.

Don’t forget that you can receive a free IT Knowledge Exchange t-shirt just by earning 500 Knowledge Points.

Stay tuned for our next exciting contest and unfortunately the 1st place winner of previous contests are not eligible for the following 2 contests.

Sean

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