We rate software on a scale from 1 to 5 compared to other products in it's class, with 5 obviously being the best. All reviews are based on our personal judgement and experience, other reviewers may have different opinions.
All programs are downloaded, installed and tested by us before they are listed.
We do not list "junk" just to fill our categories with a quantity of product listings. Even a (by our standards) low rated program is usually worth your time, otherwise we would not include it in our selection.
Excellent
Very Good
Good - met our expectations but did not exceed them
Fairly basic program. Could use obvious improvements.
This program was not yet rated
Half star ratings are in between levels.
What are your criteria when you rate software?
The following criteria are used when reviewing a program:
- Features and Performance (compared to competitive products)
- User Interface design and usability
- Ease of Use and Documentation
- Uniqueness and Innovation
- Efficiency
- Pricing
- Personal opinion
Is freeware rated differently from shareware (Free Trials)?
Yes we don't overlook fact that freeware is provided to you at no cost, we don't expect the same kind of "perfection" that we would from a commercial product.
Why bother downloading a 2 or 3 star program?
First of all, not every software is designed to become a 5 star product in the first place. The 3 star rating is our standard rating for good, quality software.
If you are looking for the most feature rich and complete package, the 5 stars ratings are a good orientation.
However not everybody is looking for the same features and functionality... our 3 star rating may very well become your personal 5 star product since it is "just what you needed" and the price is right.
What about programs that have not been rated?
A few programs requires special equipment that we do not have access to (e.g. remote controlled lawn sprinklers, or specialized network hardware). In this case we install and review the software, but we do not issue a rating, since we cannot fully test the all functionalities.
Other programs (very few) may have core features disabled and we were not able to fully test the functionality.
