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CoolSW Help

CoolSW is an online community of people passionate about software. Members post information about an interesting new software company and, more important, the community votes on whether they think a software company is, well, "cool." Companies that receive a lot of votes get elevated to the site's front page where the casual visitor can see what community members consider the most interesting software. Contributors are putting "Collective Intelligence" to work. You are welcome to visit, enjoy the postings and conversation, but if you would like to be part of community and post, vote and/or comment, then you'll need to take the easy membership plunge. The site has free membership and although CoolSW shares some common features with other voting communities, we are different in practice.

CoolSW FAQ

Q. What is Cool Software?
A. An online community of people passionate about software. Members post information about an interesting new software company and the community votes on whether they think a software company is, well, "cool." The site is designed to engage anyone interested in identifying and ranking innovative new software companies and applications that are pushing the boundaries of compute technology and/or forming compelling new usage models - in short, cool software.

Q. Where is the site located?
A. http://coolsw.intel.com

Q. Why is Cool Software relevant?
A. Just like search engine web crawler's search and index documents on the internet, the cool software site performs a similar indexing or categorization based on user defined content. Besides the pure entertainment value, CoolSW gives users opportunity to find, identify and vote on compelling new software companies.

Q. How does Cool Software work?
A. The basic concept of this site is simple and based on three key activities:

1. Post a cool software application URL (home page) with a headline and brief paragraph that will let everyone know what's exciting.
2. Review other member posts and vote for those you think are really interesting (feel free to add comments too!) If enough members agree, the URL will be promoted to the Cool Software home page where even more votes could make it the coolest software ever!
3. Look at the coolest SW list by clicking on the relevant time period Under "Sort software by:" to see which companies/applications are getting the highest rate of votes. The software applications are submitted by members, and then promoted ("voted") to the front page through a user-based ranking system. When you first post a new software application/company on Cool Software it is automatically placed in the queue to be voted on. It receives one vote per your original post. As more members view the post and vote on the "coolest" software the application or software company will rise in popularity through the number of votes. To see the coolest software of all time, click on "All Software" and then "Most Popular".

Q. Who can use Cool Software?
A. Any one can use Cool Software. To post a company or software application which you find cool you are required to register and follow the instructions on the site.

Q. What if I make a mistake when I enter the software company. How can I correct my entry?
A. You can update the description or title of software entry you've submitted or by contacting isn.support@intel.com and request that the original entry be deleted. You can then post a corrected URL.

Q. How do I know if someone else submitted the same company?
A. Search the site before submitting to see if the application/company has already been posted. Duplicates will be *discarded. A duplicate post is one that shows a portion of or the entirety of content already on CoolSW.

Q. Why do I have to register to use this site?
A. You can view without registering but if you want to have an impact, you need to register on the web site to submit information or "vote" on cool software applications.

Q. Are my results/feedback tracked or am I anonymous?
A. We will track overall site statistics for determining success of the web site, however, personal data is not tracked.

Q. If I have a problem who do I contact?
A. Send email to isn.support@intel.com

Q. I'm unclear what you mean by "innovative" or "cool." What is your definition of an innovative company?
A. Our definition of cool isn't important - yours is. If you think it's cool, post it. If a lot of members agree with you, you'll see the vote count go up. Part of the fun is seeing if you can find or point to "the" application that gets peoples attention. If you get good at picking winners (check out the "Coolest Users" section), who knows what could happen!

Q. Is there a "finders fee" or a reward if I supply you with company information?
A. No. We may occasionally run a contest to pump-up the fun factor but the primary motivation is members who have a passion for cool software and the personal satisfaction you get from finding/picking winners.

Q. Once I supply the company or application information what updates and/or notification will I receive?
A. The CoolSW site provides tracking information on the status of any submission.

Q. I want to make changes or share new information that I've previously submitted about a company. How can I do this?
A. If you submitted the software application or company you can return to the original post, log in and then edit and/or add comments.

Q. I'm interested in learning more about Intel's role in innovation. Where can I find more information?
A. More information can be found at http://www.intel.com or please contact isn.support@intel.com.

Q. Is Intel a sponsor of this site?
A. Yes. We wanted to create something fun for the software industry and developers who are passionate users and looking for a place to post their cool "finds" and share it with others.

Q. I'm interested in learning more about Intel's role in innovation and the Software Partner Program. Where can I find more information?
A. More information can be found on Intel Software Network at http://www.intel.com/software/ and on the Software Partner Program or please contact isn.support@intel.com.

Posting Guidelines:

1. Comments
   1. What can't I say in a comment?
   2. We like a good fiery comment thread, but sometimes they go overboard. Please avoid personal attacks. It's okay to criticize ideas but refrain personal insults. Please avoid blatantly racist speech, threats, or other verbal abuse. This goes for comments in public arenas as well as private member profile comments. If a comment is bad enough it will probably be deleted due to negative feedback. If these types of comments are regular occurrences, we will ask you to leave the community.
   3. Can I cast votes for comments? Any member can "applaud quality" for a great comment in the comment section, however, currently there is no voting on comments.
2. Posting on CoolSW
   1. So you have a cool software application you'd like to post. That's great. We appreciate all of the additions that help keep CoolSW alive and kicking. With that in mind, we've put together a few guidelines to which you should adhere whenever posting a company or application. Please read these before you make your first post!
   2. Please do not self link. While you may see this site as a great way to promote a project, your company or your application a list of the world's software products would make for pretty boring reading. However, if you are associated with a project you think is truly amazing and must be shared then take a chance and post it.
   3. What exactly constitutes a self link? If any of the following is true about a particular post you are considering submitting, it is a self link:
      • You played any role, no matter how large or small, in any development aspect of the application/company.
      • You are in any way responsible for or involved in marketing, promoting, or any other manner of proliferating the application and/or company.
      • You could receive any form of compensation (monetary or otherwise) as a result of the submission or subsequent views.
   4. Search the site before submitting to see if the application/company has already been posted. Duplicates will be *discarded. A duplicate post is one that shows a portion of or the entirety of content already on CoolSW.