How Does Infopackets Select Software for Review?

Infopackets Reader Leslie D. writes:

“ Dear Infopackets Team,

How do you choose the software your review? Do you find new products or do people bring them to your attention? I am curious because I see there are many programs reviewed through infopackets.com. ”

Doug's answer:

Great question! ;-)

While I can't speak for everyone on the Team, most of us find things by looking over download sites, seeing what is available through search engines, and by listening to others who have found software gems in their computing travels.

For example: Dennis finds software through Snapfiles, recommendations from friends and Readers of this newsletter, and by Googling. He also browses through the "lesser known" shareware gems through eSellerate and Regnow.

My method for acquiring software is a bit more exploratory. When I receive a request for a certain program to accomplish a specific task, I often scan through several dozen download sites such as CNET’s Downloads and Tucows.

Both sites have large collections of programs, drivers, macros, and add-ons for Windows, Mac (including OS X), and Linux. And most importantly: both sites have user-friend search engines that allow me to find a number of well-written and usable packages.

I then select from my 'pool' of candidates and if it looks and sounds good, I grab a copy. If the software meets my expectations, is easy to use, and has clearly written manual(s), it goes into my 'recommended' bin for mention in an article. Some even make it onto my systems for my daily use!

But there's one additional reason for going through all of this. I am The Handicapped Computerist and my mission is to find 'adaptive' software for the disabled and 'handicapped' user.

On my blog, I try to write my articles for users who may have only one hand, poor vision, or other "problems." I also try my best to shed light on things computing for any interested user from the newbie to the heavily experienced. It is a challenge but it keeps me 'off the street' at night.

We invite you to keep reading. If there is a particular task or function solution you would like us to look for, let us know and we'll see what we can find!

Have Fun!