Why any hardware site sucks.

[Quinn1981]

I was wondering what any of you guys thought about what makes a hardware site bad. I've got a thread open at EB here (http://www.elitebastards.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1788) if any are intresting in going into depth about specific sites.

It's all open at our forums, but don't fill up the nV News forums with filth or trouble please. Keep it general and constructive. I will follow up with my views.

REMEMBER TO KEEP WITHIN NVNEWS'S RULES IF YOU POST HERE THOUGH!!! POST ONLY GENERAL VIEWS HERE AT NV NEWS!

[intercede007]

So let me see if I have this straight. On your site you had a flame war over opinions on hardware review sites, so now you want to spread the vile infection around to everyone else??

Smooth. I love it. Good idea :rolleyes:

More useless :spam:

If you want to have a shoot-out with [H]ardOCP, have a nut. I can guarantee you'll lose. But don't spread it around. This site has had it's own run-ins with Kyle, and I think it's mostly resolved. Keep your bickering in house, if you please.

Respectfully yours,
nV News fan.

[Quinn1981]

Well that's fine. Perhaps just general views then. Anyone is welcome to bring the part over to EB.

I've already added my bit if anyone wants to read it, but as this kind gentlemen has said, keep the big hardware site comments to yourself. I will ajust the original post accordingly.

[Quinn1981]

Well, I don't like sites that can't open up and really get down a dirty with their readers. Some choose not to post in their forums and some don't have the time. Not being totally truthful with your readers is not cool with me.

Perhaps being honest with your readers is out of the question if you're running a business. I wouldn't know, I don't run one. I do think that people will end up respecting a more truthful site than a site that hides certain things... big or small... it's not cool.

I also wish most hardware would stop being so harsh and cold on design. There's too much blandness. Just a few little spots of colour and special frills here and there couldn't hurt. Maybe some fun sections for people to read will inspire brighter colours.

I really haven't seen one cool looking hardware site. I think too many sites focus on the logos.


Getting on to reviews. I don't think enough reviewers really care about what they are doing. They would rather just show how much they love the card rather than showing good or bad qualities. There are too many quality screen shots and not enough commentary on them too. It's what everything is coming down to... IQ. It's already there really. The more it is important, the more serious people need to get about it. It's like the chip of paint missing on my new car.

By golly... we need originality. I don't see many original reviews, much less original testing methods. True, you need to have standards to benchmark, but they can be your own if you offer the ample amount of results with constants and variables required (I learned that in science class).

Anyone missing out on neat stuff reviews? I like Envy News for that. We need more neat stuff reviews around.

I don't like sites that limit their facts to their opinions. I don't know if that makes sense to anyone else.

I would like to see a circle (pie) graph used at least once for performance results.

I don't like big forums either. Who can keep up? Too much reading.



Too many sites try to look edgy instead of fun. That's the biggest one for me.

[MikeC]

Originally posted by Quinn1981
[B]I was wondering what any of you guys thought about what makes a hardware site bad. I've got a thread open at EB here (http://www.elitebastards.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1788) if any are intresting in going into depth about specific sites.

I got a kick out of reading your thread on your evaluation of the layout of certain web sites. But I agree with your analysis on nvnews and would like to add that the design is based on a late 70's/early 80's style. :afro:

I was in my late teens at that time, the music was good, and I was laying down Fortran and COBOL code using a text editor. I was making pretty good money too! Then along came this funky language called HTML and I coded it with Notepad. :type:

I ran across a free text editor called EditPad which literally blew me away. Instead of running 20 sessions of Notepad when I was editing web pages, EditPad packaged them all in one session and tabs were used to switch between the files being edited. :super:

But you don't want to ask me about what happened when I discovered the power of server side includes :eek:

So basically, what I'm saying is that I'm from the old school of programming and what you see is what you get :)

[saturnotaku]

Originally posted by MikeC
So basically, what I'm saying is that I'm from the old school of programming and what you see is what you get :)

And galdernit, we love it! :D

[digitalwanderer]

I dunno, I think a website is basically just a reflection of the people who run it and those who frequent it. Quality people=quality site, crap people=crap site. :)

[-=Gib-McFragger=-]

Getting on to reviews. I don't think enough reviewers really care about what they are doing. They would rather just show how much they love the card rather than showing good or bad qualities. There are too many quality screen shots and not enough commentary on them too. It's what everything is coming down to... IQ. It's already there really. The more it is important, the more serious people need to get about it. It's like the chip of paint missing on my new car.

I for one don't. I base my reviews on the product, and only the product. People make their buying decisions based on reviews, so why would you want to do anything but tell the straight goods? As for the doing it for the free stuff, no way. Although at Envy News, most of our smaller stuff are keepers, the larger review items, such as the LCD I just reviewed are loaners and get sent back. So we are not in it for the free stuff. Even if I was, why lie about a piece of crap to get it free? If it's a piece of crap, i sure as hell don't want it. :) If a product is good, I will say so. If it sucks, I will say so. I wouldn't want to buy a crappy product that I read a GOOD review of, so why do that to others?

Anyone missing out on neat stuff reviews? I like Envy News for that. We need more neat stuff reviews around.

Thanks, glad you like it. :afro:

[Quinn1981]

Originally posted by MikeC
I got a kick out of reading your thread on your evaluation of the layout of certain web sites. But I agree with your analysis on nvnews and would like to add that the design is based on a late 70's/early 80's style. :afro:

I was in my late teens at that time, the music was good, and I was laying down Fortran and COBOL code using a text editor. I was making pretty good money too! Then along came this funky language called HTML and I coded it with Notepad. :type:

I ran across a free text editor called EditPad which literally blew me away. Instead of running 20 sessions of Notepad when I was editing web pages, EditPad packaged them all in one session and tabs were used to switch between the files being edited. :super:

But you don't want to ask me about what happened when I discovered the power of server side includes :eek:

So basically, what I'm saying is that I'm from the old school of programming and what you see is what you get :)
Totally understandable. :) I'm just glad I'm not old. :angel:

I might get bored one day and come up with a really small gif enhanced layout and see if you like it. I remember how you talked (typed) about how you liked to keep bandwidth usage down.

If a product is good, I will say so. If it sucks, I will say so.
Exactly the strait shooting point.

Since you mentioned getting stuff for review. I've offered a few places to send things back (LCDs, full systems), but it's still no go. I seem to have no problem getting software to review. :rolleyes: We've got more and more people coming along and enjoying the site, so that makes me happy. Maybe we will start to get more regulars sooner or later and I can put my excellently unique review plans into effect.

I want to put consumer reports' tests to shame. If that is at all possible. :rolleyes:

[saturnotaku]

Originally posted by Quinn1981
I want to put consumer reports' tests to shame. If that is at all possible. :rolleyes:

That ain't too hard. Consumer Retards is the worst, most freaking biased place ever. It makes Rage3D look like the bloody Wall Street Journal. I never trust any of their reviews on anything.

[Quinn1981]

This is true, the Consumer Reports computer stuff is crap. I'm talking about the kinds of test they do on washing machines and other stuff. They develop things that are going to test every aspect of use... including durability testing and what not.

They beat all when I read this last month on laptop reviews when they rated a Centrino system faster than a P4 system. While this could be true if you related the RAM to how fast a system might respond, it just doesn't speak much good about their testing methods and explaining things to the consumer.

[-=Gib-McFragger=-]

Originally posted by Quinn1981
Totally understandable. :) I'm just glad I'm not old. :angel:

I might get bored one day and come up with a really small gif enhanced layout and see if you like it. I remember how you talked (typed) about how you liked to keep bandwidth usage down.


Exactly the strait shooting point.

Since you mentioned getting stuff for review. I've offered a few places to send things back (LCDs, full systems), but it's still no go. I seem to have no problem getting software to review. :rolleyes: We've got more and more people coming along and enjoying the site, so that makes me happy. Maybe we will start to get more regulars sooner or later and I can put my excellently unique review plans into effect.

I want to put consumer reports' tests to shame. If that is at all possible. :rolleyes:

It takes a long time to build up the reputation to get companies to send you g34r to review. You have to start small, like coolers, case accessories etc. Companies are NOT going to send you $1000 LCD's etc without trusting you, and that has to be earned.

Write up a template email, a very professional one requesting (fill in the blank) product, explaining a little about you, the site, the amount of hits, Alexa score, etc. THAT is what companies look for. Readership. ;) :)

[Quinn1981]

I've tried a few ways of requesting things. Sometimes I'll suggest the type of review I'm looking to do and what points of the product I wish to emphasize on (like with a HTPC type video card, you would need to test it on a home theatre... and not just a few opinions on what it looked like, but full details on how easy it was to setup, colour comparisions based on how it compares to modes of display it has and other devices for HT. That doesn't seem to work as well as you would think though.

But, I'm just going to have to continue to wait until we get more numbers. I'm going to need to get more site news emails to email to on my list for one thing. I only have like 10 or 12 emails right now and that's not much at all. I've borrowed some from somebody elses list though. :)

To be truthful, I would like to just see a good number (maybe 25-50 active forum users) to just hang out. Building up slowly with a group of friends is ideal for me since you have a higher quality group (per the site) and it will grow from there.

I was going to get a Trident XP whatever it was... the latest one, but they cancelled on that because it sucked for various reasons. I was going to get the HDTV gear that would let me test that and check it out on a Sony Trinitron WEGA TV. I had a few other unique ideas for testing too, but it feel through. I was going to get a freaking modded xbox too, but MS started to crack down on the stuff in the US, so there went that idea. I was going to have "My adventures with the modded xbox." or something like that. :rolleyes:

As long as I'm having fun though, it can only get better. It's mainly an opinionated and laid back hang out (which some people don't seem to get). It's kind of like a group of friends club house of female woman haters. :D

[digitalwanderer]

I'm loving writing letters begging for hardware to play with, I take it totally non-seriously and keep it as real and honest as possible.

Granted I get some weird reactions from it sometimes since I tend to lean a bit away from "professional" and sort of border on "anti-professional", but I figure when it finally does work it'll be the beginnings of a beautiful friendship. :cool:

Besides, I'm still just in this for the fun of it....for another week or so.... ;)