ReadWriteCloud

What do a Russian math professor, a Harvard neurobiologist, a French actuary and British finance quant all have in common? They all were recently identified as some of the top 10 Kaggle data scientists.

Each received the designation as part of their efforts in developing some of the best solutions to the website's crowdsourcing analytics competitions. Learn why three of them participate in Kaggle, and how they became the alpha data geeks that they are:

We want to extend a big thank you to our loyal readers and community at ReadWriteWeb. To do so, we've partnered with ThinkGeek to give away a few fun, geeky prizes. Here's how it works: We'll give you a few trivia tidbits of interest, and then close with a trivia question that we hope is a brain-teaser.

Dig deep into the recesses of your brain (or your favorite search engine), and answer via the comments on this post. The best answer, according to RWW staff, wins the prize of the day, kindly donated by ThinkGeek.

The moment many of you have been waiting for is here. We're pleased to announce the last two winners of the MacBook Air contest! Give a big hand to Aaron Meyers and Marshall May! If you're not Meyers or May, don't lose hope: We're extending the last MacBook Air contest for 2011 through Thanksgiving Weekend.

Meyers, senior business systems analyst for a government contractor, responded to "tell us how you won management over to virtualization." Meyers provided an in-depth response that contest judge Roger Levy, SVP of product at Engine Yard, deamed worthy of a MacBook Air.

What workloads are you running under virtualization, and what are you holding back?

That's the question for ReadWriteCloud's October contest. Virtualization providers like VMware and hardware partners like Intel say that almost all workloads are suitable for virtualization. What workloads are you running under virtualzation today, and what are you holding back? Do you have workloads you're worried about moving to virtualization? If so – why?

What were some of the most successful virtualization implementations, and what made them successful – other than cost savings?

That's the question for ReadWriteCloud's October contest. The prize? A light, sleek MacBook Air. All you need to do is submit the best comment right here on this post, and you'll be taking home a MacBook Air – just like Julie Begey, who won the September contest. Participating is easy, you just need a Disqus account, and make sure you follow the rules.

It's hard to believe that another month is nearly over. September is just about over, and that means time is running out to win a MacBook Air. All you need to do? Give us the best answer to the question, "what was the most compelling reason that you used to win over management to switch to virtual infrastructure?"

All you need to participate is a Disqus account and to leave a comment on the original post announcing the contest.

What was the most compelling reason that you used to win over management to switch to virtual infrastructure?

That's the question for our latest ReadWriteWeb Cloud contest. The prize? A light-as-a-feather MacBook Air. All you need to do is submit the best comment right here on this post, and you'll be taking home a MacBook Air. Participating is easy, you just need a Disqus account, and make sure you follow the rules.

Last month we asked, "What are your top three features for virtualization solutions?" The incentive? An Apple MacBook Air to the commenter with the best response. We've got more where that came from, too.

You answered, and we had Erica Brescia of BitRock do the judging. We got a bunch of great responses, but only one person could win – and that was Michael Schade. Schade's picks for top three features? Policies, preconfigured images, and a robust API. (He had more to say, of course – head over to the post and check it out!)

What suggestions do you have for implementing Big Data sorts of projects using virtualization? We want to know, and you want to tell us – because if you have the best answer, you might just be the proud winner of a MacBook Air!

It's as simple as that, really. The best answer to the question, wins a MacBook Air. Note that you need to post here, but all you need is a Disqus account to participate. You might also want to read the rules before entering, but they're short and sweet.

Earlier this month, we asked "What are important considerations when managing hundreds of virtual machines?" The stakes were high – a MacBook Air, to be exact. We received plenty of responses but only one rose to the top.

Chad Fulton responded, that the most important thing when managing hundreds of virtual machines is managing people." Actually, he had a bit more to say, but he nailed it. If you're not Fulton, don't worry – you still have two days to enter your comment.