Should dotTech start a “Best Free Windows Software” section? Let me know what you think
October 11, 2012 34
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Hey dotTechies,
Last week Janet, a loyal reader, made a striking comment. She more or less questioned why dotTech would review anything but the best software in each category. I fired back that we like to provide our users with choice and that the “best” for someone may not be the “best” for someone else. However, Janet has a point — while we can continue to regularly review new programs, shouldn’t we have some way to indicate what we feel is *the* best in a specific category? You know, something like what we have already done for Android in Best Free Android Apps.
I’ve been thinking about it for a while and Janet’s comment has reignited the dream about dotTech having its own “Best Free Windows Software” section, similar to how we already do Best Free Android Apps. The kicker, however, is I’d like this new “Best Free Windows Software” section to be community-sourced. There is no way I alone can identify and review the best software across all categories. The advantage of having an active, knowledgeable, and diverse community is that everyone has their own interests and thus can bring something different to the table; different people may know more about a specific type of program and so they can provide us with what is the best in the that category. You know, sort of like what happens over at TechSupportAlert/Gizmo’s. So, I ask your opinion on the following:
- Should dotTech start a “Best Free Windows Software” section?
- Would you be able and willing to take charge of at least one program category (e.g. best free web browser) in this new section?
For those that are on the fence about if you can/will contribute or not: rest assured this isn’t very demanding in terms of time or energy. The initial work would be upfront writing an article (anywhere from 2 to 5 hours, depending on the software category); after that it is simply a matter of updating the article as you see fit (e.g. maybe once a month). This would be a voluntary position.
Please cast your vote in the poll below and leave a comment to let me know how you feel. If you know you can for sure assist dotTech on this endeavor, drop me an e-mail at admin [at] dottech [dot] org letting me know what category you want to be incharge of.
Thanks everyone!
@vandamme: I agree. I’d also like to see more of everything re: Linux, including reviews of the many OS varieties themselves.
There’s a lot of older rigs out there that can’t run the new RAM/CPU greedy Windows offerings–and using certain brands of Linux is the only thing that will bring them back to life.
Well, I’ll buck the trend. I frequent Gizmo Richards site(s), and one (1) of his offerings is a “Best Of” evaluation – that gets updated on almost a weekly basis. There’s always something newer, brighter, shinier, better, …
Maintenance would be a nightmare, methinks.
And, then, there’s the fact that what you might consider best might not be at all best for my usages.
I just don’t consider a “Best of …” worth the effort.
this doesn’t pertain particularly to this thread, and it may be a lot more work, but assuming community involvement, I’d also like to see a “This Week’s Top Trending Deals” or something.
Every time someone sees something worthwhile, they could contribute? This can go from software to tech products (mice, keyboard, computers, hard drives)…
to be honest, I’m not sure myself if I want this on dottech but just something out there i guess?
@kelltic: Maybe a Dottechie will find something new. Maybe you don’t agree with the picks of other best of lists but maybe you will agree with the person doing the reviews here. Maybe someone who thinks like you will do the reviews and maybe they will have found something you have not heard of before. Its not going to be the best list for everyone but it might be the best list for some of us. At least it is an alternative.
@ArtKns: Absolutely it should not be just a single program and I would not even put a number on it. Just list the stuff that is good. Maybe have an honorable mention section that is covered in much less detail.
Maybe there should even do sub categories within each program type, possibly maintained by different people. Say a powerful and complex subcat and a quick and easy subcat or something like that.
Just an idea, but sometimes Wikipedia has charts on certain pages pertaining to software features. Maybe we could do something like that. Like a chart for file managers showing if they are multi tabbed, multi paned, or have file filtering etc.
I would appreciate a “Best of …” series. Naturally, each article would end with asking your readers to vote on their favorite.
I’m not being critical, but I would also appreciate being able to opt out of the comics and amazing pictures series.
@Everyone asking to opt out of comics and photos: If you are subscribed to one e-mail a day, there is a way to opt out — look for a link at the end of your e-mail and opt out of “Miscellaneous”. If you are subed some other way, there is no way to opt out — sorry!
Hello, yeah why not, I think that’s a good idea.
I think that it would be great if such a string as Best Windows Freebies could be a regular part of mailings from the list. But I wonder if it is do-able when there already seem to be problems with having someone be responsible for the other ones, like iPhone/iPad/iPod, Andriod, Mac, etc.
I would not be able to contribute, but I appreciate the emails from the list very much, even though I don’t own any Android products or Mac….though I do use an iPad and use Windows XP and Windows 7.
Thanks for all you do, Ashraf.
Yours,
Mary Yasuda
1. I just came across this article quite by accident (!) and would very much like to know what I should check–that is, what unchecked category do I have that prevented me from getting this article? I wish the categories had a bit of explanation. Like ‘Announcements’—what kind of announcements?? And what’s the difference between General Tech News and Headlines??
2. Didn’t dotTech used to have, on the Home page, a link to DotTech’s 10 Favorite Free Apps??? FastStone Capture was one of them–and it still remains my favorite capture app, though I have tried then all…:-)…
3. I don’t think I ever called for ‘Best” reviews–certainly not in the sense of single best…:-)….! I think we all agree (and have from the very beginning) that ‘best’ is a function of one’s particular needs, and we all have different needs. I think it’s more a matter of ‘favorites and why’. Or ‘best’ in the sense of plural (=best few). I think Asraf’s regular old system was just right–Pros and Cons and leaving the readers to decide what is best for them.
4. I think it will be very difficult to get enough people to take on whole categories. I think people should simply write about whatever app(s) they find particularly useful (i.e., their favorites)—especially lesser-known free apps—using the Pros/Cons strategy. But each time anyone writes about an app, they should compare it to previous articles in the same category. Thus, a) the comparison will be cumulative, and consequently growing, without one person having to do all the work; b) each article will help us to know if the app(s) being reviewed has(have) advantages over apps reviewed in previous articles so we can know if we should bother trying it out; c) the Pros/Cons system will enable each person to decide what is best for him; and d) each person can decide if he wants to tell us about one app or compare a few similar ones. Along with this, reviews should always compare the reviewed app to previous dotTech and GOATD offers in the same category! Like many regulars on this site, I got here through Ashraf’s daily GAOTD reviews in order to know whether the GAOTD offer was worth downloading. His reviews were written in a way that allowed people to determine what suited them.
So perhaps we should switch from “Best” to “Favorite”…:-)…..