New LinuxQuestions.org Contest
 

I am happy to announce a new LinuxQuestions.org contest! This contest is being sponsored by the folks at VMware. I'd like to thank Stephanie from VMware for working with me on this. The prize will be a free copy of the soon to be released VMware Workstation 4.5. There will be two winners for this contest. So how do you win? It's simple. On March 30th I will select 2 members at random from the LinuxQuestions.org DB. You must have at least:

1 post in the forums - http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/
1 entry in the HCL - http://www.linuxquestions.org/hcl/
1 entry in the reviews section - http://www.linuxquestions.org/reviews/

That's right, you are eligible simply by contributing to LinuxQuetions.org. Remember, the script that chooses from random will be run on March 30th, so make sure you have meet the criteria by then. Also remember, entries to the HCL and the reviews section are moderated, so please do not add fictitious entries - they will not be counted. If you have any questions let me know.

--jeremy

BTW, if you have never heard of VMware or would like more info you should check out http://www.vmware.com/ as they really do produce a fine product. If you *have* to dual boot for some reason VMware is the way to go. They do have a 30 day trial if you'd like to try it out.

--jeremy

'New LinuxQuestions.org Content' should be 'New LinuxQuestions.org Contest'

You do have a way to change the news title, right...?

Updated, thanks.

--jeremy

WOW, this is so COOL.

cool.... lets see who are the lucky ones..

Oooh, me, pick me! :D

Cool

Just a little thing, what happens if a member which has not been active in a year wins it? :) Does it still count, because if you dont come here in a year, would that not mean you are not longer interested in this place?

I don't think a member that hasn't been active in a year would have an entry in the Reviews or HCL section, especially the HCL because, IIRC, that hasn't been around that long.

rberry88

Ahh. Good point. But since I havent been a member here for 2 weeks, I wouldn't know how old the HCL is :)

hey jeremy, just a couple of questions outta curiousty ...
is this going to be a new ongoing contest, with different prizes (or same) ...
or is this a one time deal ?! and if this only a one time thing .. are you going to
be starting a contest such as the affero one which used to run !?

This is a one time contest that VMare was kind enough to sponsor. The Affero contest is coming back soon!

--jeremy

thats cool, thx for the info ..
and thanks to VMware for there generosity ;)

review requirement
 

How long should the review be? Any length minimum?

Craigwd, there is no official mimimum. Succinct is fine, as long as you get your point across.

--jeremy

Btw, I was just wondering is VMware Mac OS X compatible? I've got a spare copy of WinXP Home lying around so if it works that would be a great use for it. What does succinct mean?

From the VMware website
--jeremy

Wow, this is pretty cool. And let me get this straight, you're going to pick one out of 100,000 users or so? Hmmm, odds are still a lot better than the lottery at least :D.

So, what is new in VMWare 4.5? I can't see anything on their site, already own 4.0 and am interested in what is new. Anybody?

that's aussem :cool:

Actually, no. Isnt there only like 1000 things in the HCL? Maybe less? It is pretty good odds. Plus you need a review.

Pauli is correct, as of now your odds are very good. Still some time to get one of each in though!

--jeremy

Ooo Ooo. Jeremy, while your here.

I did a review of fedora, but I do not get a mark in my review counter because it wasnt a new product. Is it going to check a review for linux or a new product submitted for linux in the reviews section?

When you look at the info under your name in a forum post you need to have a non-zero number for "Posts", "HCL Entries" and "Reviews" to be eligible.

--jeremy

That means I have to enter a new product into the review section, correct? There are not too many linux products which are NOT enetered into the review section? Does this not give a VERY small number of people a chance to win?

You can enter any Linux distro or any Linux related book (that isn't already there). I'd say at this point we really haven't even scratched the surface.

--jeremy

my review
 

Does this mean that the review I just did for Debian Woody 3.0 R2 doesn't count? If so I'm not to happy about that.

Craigwd, sure it counts in that now anyone who comes to LQ will benefit from it. If you mean are you eligible for the contest now, the answer is no. You need to enter one new product. The good news is you still have plenty of time.

--jeremy

I'm in right?

Correct, if you have non-zero numbers for the three items quoted above you are eligible. If you see any zeros you are not.

--jeremy

Oooo. I have a hellova chance then. There are 120 review (approx.) in the review section. Jeremy has 20, so thats 100. I have about a 1 in 50 chance in winning :)

Who says Jeremy doesn't want to win the contest, hint hint.

J/K

rberry88

I am the one LQ member that is not eligible ;)

--jeremy

Nono. Thats not my point. Having more entreis in the reviews or HCL doesnt get you a better chance. I took away the 20 because it is ONE person that has 20. That means only ONE person gets put in the run for putting in 20 reviews. That means only about 100 people have a chance.

Then its a double, so divide by two, 1:50 chance in winning. And you dont even have to buy a ticket :)

Well you should also knock off another 11 total Reviews off the tally as that will better your odds as I have submitted that many myself. But unfortnately I'm still eligible to win.. ;)

Hehe. I think this is all a ploy by jeremy to get more things in the HCL and Reviews section :)

And w00t. Another 10 gone, thats 90 now.

1:45 current odds :)

And then you dont even know if the people who did the reviews have thinsg in the HCL. Well, I highly doubt Ill win though, I have never ever won something in a drawing. :(

Actually I'll admit it is a way to get more members active in submitting their hardware and reviews. It makes them aware that its there and most likley allows them to realize that even that one piece of hardware that they submit might help 100 or so people, knowing that its either worth their time in trying to get it to work with linux or not, etc.

I think contests like this to get something back for work you put in is an excellent way to not only build up a database that is only giving back to the community, but a way for those to enjoy a little something with little effort they put in. Cause its not like Jeremy is making money off their entries or anything... ;)

Cheers.

Yeah, I know :) Its a good thing to have thses contests.

Its a good way for Vm to promote its product, its a good way for jeremy to promote the HCL and Reviews section :) It works out good for everybody!

EDIT: and if it works out as planned, it could work out good for me too :)

There now I have the first and only review of THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO Linux Second Edition making me elegible. Btw Jeremy do you think there's any chance I could get VMware to work on Mac OS X if I should win since it like Linux is a *nix? Also Jeremy could you please change it's product page so the, complete, and to in the book's title are caps like they're supposed to be and if you please take that last line of my description out about xfree86? The last line is definitely wrong as confirmed by visiting Caldera's hardware compatibility web site for OpenLinux 2.3. Also you should add spell check to the reviews and hcl section of LinuxQuestions.org.

Last sentence removed (I left the caps, looking at the Amazon entry it should be fine as is). As for VMWare working on MacOS I have no idea - you may want to contact VMWare.

--jeremy

Anyway, this place ROCKS. I'm glad I went on an entry spree a month or two or three ago. I just entered everything that I had and knew worked with linux, not that hard, not too time consuming, then something along these lines comes along, and it makes you feel warm and fuzzy, I suppose... But anyway, 1:90 for me, and I like those odds. Really it's 1:45 because there are two winners. So those with 1:45 really have 2:45, because it's two winners. Is my math making sense to anyone other than me?

how to post a review
 

I need help here. I feel kind of stupid for submitting this question but...

How do I post a new distribution review? (Since there is no new thread or new product button.)

By the way, I’m using Opera 7.23.

Go the the review section, I will do an example with Debian.

http://www.linuxquestions.org/reviews/showcat.php?cat=5

Go to that link.

In the top right, there is a "new product" button.

Remember that in the review section, you ahve to be in one of the sub forums to post a new product. You cannot make a new part (aka in the Debian, Arch, Caos, Slackware etc...) section. If you have a disto which does not have a section, go to the "other" section for distos.

Jeremy said before, that if there are three products for a disto, it becomes a new sub-forum.

Just a reminder - there's not too much time left to get your reviews/HCL entries in!

--jeremy

I can't see it
 

Pauli,

Thanks for your reply but I didn't see any new product button in there as I see it in HCL for example. Maybe it's because I'm still a newbie in LinuxQuestions.org, I don't think so, but I don't know...

I can upload a screenshot if it helps. What else can I do?

Where is What I did ;)

I reconstruct the link using the new product button at the HCL section as a reference. I submitted my review, and then after the page loads the new product button was there, just like in the HCL section. And yes I was logged all the time... Isn't it weird?

I use the following URL to add my review:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/review...uct.php?cat=13

I also try with Mozilla and get the same results. Jeremy, maybe you could take a look at this issue.

Umm. I do not know what you are refering to. Could you be a bit more clear?

Do you mean that your product didnt show up? bceause that is normal, it has to be approved by the big cheese before it appears :) You will get an email from linuxquestions saying that it was approved, and also, you will get a link to it.

Was that your problem?

Nope, the problem was that the "new product" button didn't show up, for some reason I don't know. So in order to post my review I had to write the mentioned url in my browser's address bar.

Then after I'd submitted my review the new product button finally show up, just like it should always do. It only happens in the reviews section as I mentioned.

Wait a sec! Todays the 30th, right?

It sure is...
<drumroll>

--jeremy

...and the winners are:

jaa1180
troj

Congratulations to both of you (please contact me) and thanks everyone for participating. I'd also like to once again thank VMware for sponsoring the contest. Stay tuned for the next contest ;)

--jeremy