I've submitted several software reviews to these sites and those that were positive were readily posted, while negative ones were ignored. Needless to say I did not use inappropriate language and backed up my opinion with evidence. The only explanation for such selectivity is conflict of interest. The reviews are about as useful as the buy recommendations for stocks from investment-banker "analysts" (read salesmen).
I've spent hundreds of dollars on software through these sites (mainly Palmgear) but no more. From now on I purchase directly from the author and will bypass these sites.
<sendspamh...@yahoo.com> wrote: >I've submitted several software reviews to these sites and those that were positive were >readily posted, while negative ones were ignored. Needless to say I did not use >inappropriate language and backed up my opinion with evidence. The only explanation for >such selectivity is conflict of interest. The reviews are about as useful as the buy >recommendations for stocks from investment-banker "analysts" (read salesmen).
>I've spent hundreds of dollars on software through these sites (mainly Palmgear) but no >more. From now on I purchase directly from the author and will bypass these sites.
>Adam
Forgive me for saying, but what did you expect? They sell software, why would they knowingly post something that would impede that? I agree with you that it's annoying to deal with a one-sided supplier but the vendor/programmer is sure not going to put any negative review on their site... you will have to rely on a true 3rd party review site for unbiased reviews. The only use I have for Palmgear and Handango is to acquire the product. I rarely even scroll down far enough to see the reviews, much less read them. You will also find that while many products have their own web sites, they still will direct you to a "clearing house" site like PG or Handango when it's time for the sale. I'm with you about the reviews, however until they can separate "church and state" (sales and reviews) I would judge the applications upon only what they exactly claim they do. If there's reviews, ignore 'em.
<sendspamh...@yahoo.com> wrote: >I've spent hundreds of dollars on software through these sites (mainly Palmgear) but no >more. From now on I purchase directly from the author and will bypass these sites.
>Adam
I try before I buy, but then I do buy. If a company does not offer a trial or 30 day refund for its products, then there are other ways to try before you buy. But if you use them, make sure you buy. That way, you can save the money you would have spent on the products you wouldn't have used.
On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 07:07:36 GMT, no address on file (un-named user) wrote:
>Forgive me for saying, but what did you expect? They sell software, >why would they knowingly post something that would impede that?
It's false advertising. (Duh)
>I agree with you that it's annoying to deal with a one-sided supplier >but the vendor/programmer is sure not going to put any negative review >on their site... you will have to rely on a true 3rd party review site >for unbiased reviews.
The reviews on Palmgear and Handango are from users. All sides should be represented.
>The only use I have for Palmgear and Handango is to acquire the >product. I rarely even scroll down far enough to see the reviews, much >less read them.
Well you are missing some important information then because the reviews sometimes do state some of the limitations of the products, and not all products on those sites get good reviews. I recently gave an application 1 star and the review showed up.
On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 08:10:50 -0600, Sonja <newacct1274...@aol.com> wrote:
>On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 07:07:36 GMT, no address on file (un-named user) >wrote:
>>Forgive me for saying, but what did you expect? They sell software, >>why would they knowingly post something that would impede that?
>It's false advertising. (Duh)
Or, posting the reviews that are only the good ones. Is that false advertising? Does leaving out the complaint reviews make the postitive ones false? No, but yes one-sided.
>>I agree with you that it's annoying to deal with a one-sided supplier >>but the vendor/programmer is sure not going to put any negative review >>on their site... you will have to rely on a true 3rd party review site >>for unbiased reviews.
>The reviews on Palmgear and Handango are from users. All sides should >be represented.
All sides *should* be represented yes, but the site owners (handango, palmgear, etc.) are in control of what reviews are accepted or rejected, just as the software developers are on their sites, and as per discussions of Cliesource at least, the reviews are slanted to the postive side, so what you see in reviews is not necessarily 'all sides'. And how does one know that the developers don't post fake reviews on all the software sites? ;)
>>The only use I have for Palmgear and Handango is to acquire the >>product. I rarely even scroll down far enough to see the reviews, much >>less read them.
>Well you are missing some important information then because the >reviews sometimes do state some of the limitations of the products, >and not all products on those sites get good reviews. I recently gave >an application 1 star and the review showed up.
Would be nice if that were always the case, but don't think so. :^)
So, best to take all reviews lightly, try the software thoroughly, if there is a demo of it, and make sure the software appears to do as advertised. If no demo of it, make sure in advance that there is an easy and quick way to get a refund if dissatisfied, before clicking on the BUY icon.
Sonja wrote: > Well you are missing some important information then because the > reviews sometimes do state some of the limitations of the products, > and not all products on those sites get good reviews. I recently gave > an application 1 star and the review showed up.
I guess the products that are allowed not to get good reviews are - surprise, surprise - the products not backed up by an appropriate sum of money from the developer to Handango/Palmgear. This is not a mere speculation but an educated guess based on various policy statements issued previously by these companies. If you have read this group for the last year or so, this should be quite clear.
And if you care to read the Handango rules for posting reviews, you'll immediately know they do not deserve the name of a "review".
"Out of fairness to the software developer, do not recommend other products or mention any alternative solutions." In practice this means not only that you cannot compare the product to any competitive but also that in fact you cannot mention functions that the product lacks (even if it is clear that it tries to achieve its purpose in a most awkward way) - this is implied in the prohibition against "mentioning alternative solutions". If you want to be in line with their review policy you cannot critize a program for being a bloatware - much bigger, slower and buggier than competition (and perhaps costing twice as much) because you cannot mention its task could be carried out otherwise...
"Bug reports are not allowed and should be directed to the software developer", this seems logical, yet there are applications with lots of bugs that have been reported to the developer and nothing has been done to remedy them. "If a product has a significant problem with functionality, however, please tell us and our customers!". I have written a review of a program that had _severe_ problems with its functionality, but the review didn't show up.
On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 16:16:16 GMT, krewl <kr...@invalid.com> wrote: >On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 08:10:50 -0600, Sonja <newacct1274...@aol.com> >wrote:
>>On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 07:07:36 GMT, no address on file (un-named user) >>wrote:
>>>Forgive me for saying, but what did you expect? They sell software, >>>why would they knowingly post something that would impede that?
>>It's false advertising. (Duh)
>Or, posting the reviews that are only the good ones. Is that false >advertising? Does leaving out the complaint reviews make the postitive >ones false? No, but yes one-sided.
>>>I agree with you that it's annoying to deal with a one-sided supplier >>>but the vendor/programmer is sure not going to put any negative review >>>on their site... you will have to rely on a true 3rd party review site >>>for unbiased reviews.
>>The reviews on Palmgear and Handango are from users. All sides should >>be represented.
>All sides *should* be represented yes, but the site owners (handango, >palmgear, etc.) are in control of what reviews are accepted or >rejected, just as the software developers are on their sites, and as >per discussions of Cliesource at least, the reviews are slanted to the >postive side, so what you see in reviews is not necessarily 'all >sides'. And how does one know that the developers don't post fake >reviews on all the software sites? ;)
>>>The only use I have for Palmgear and Handango is to acquire the >>>product. I rarely even scroll down far enough to see the reviews, much >>>less read them.
>>Well you are missing some important information then because the >>reviews sometimes do state some of the limitations of the products, >>and not all products on those sites get good reviews. I recently gave >>an application 1 star and the review showed up.
>Would be nice if that were always the case, but don't think so. :^)
>So, best to take all reviews lightly, try the software thoroughly, if >there is a demo of it, and make sure the software appears to do as >advertised. If no demo of it, make sure in advance that there is an >easy and quick way to get a refund if dissatisfied, before clicking on >the BUY icon.
Forgot to say, that if a demo is not available at palmgear or handango, try the developer's site. Sometimes they have a demo there, but opt not to have it available at the palmgear or handango, for whatever reason.
<no> wrote: > On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 06:29:27 GMT, "Adam Helberg" > <sendspamh...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >I've submitted several software reviews to these sites and those that > >were positive were readily posted, while negative ones were ignored. > >Needless to say I did not use inappropriate language and backed up my > >opinion with evidence. The only explanation for such selectivity is > >conflict of interest. The reviews are about as useful as the buy > >recommendations for stocks from investment-banker "analysts" (read > >salesmen). > >I've spent hundreds of dollars on software through these sites (mainly > >Palmgear) but no more. From now on I purchase directly from the author > >and will bypass these sites. > Forgive me for saying, but what did you expect? They sell software, > why would they knowingly post something that would impede that?
The simple answer is that it encourages users to trust the reviews. I have a lot of faith in the reviews on Amazon which are frequently critical of the goods.
I agree. I've hated Palmgear every since they took over stingersofts site. I remember the good ole days of REAL palm news and REAL palm reviews. It seems lately that there is hardly any news worth reading on the site, and if it goes to a product they don't carry... well forget about it. If you search many years ago via this newsgroup you'll find I predicted this very thing... only onesided reviews of stuff palmgear could profit from. Nobody listened then, welcome to the future. For now, I surf palminfocenter since palmstation no longer appears to work. Any other worthwhile info/news/software sites out there? Whats on' the cutting edge now?
> I've spent hundreds of dollars on software through these sites (mainly Palmgear) but no > more. From now on I purchase directly from the author and will bypass these sites.
It is a good idea to buy directly from developers site. Not all developers prefers to sell through Handango or PG. If you are not buying from HG/PG, you are not supporting them for their bad work ;) Try http://freewarepalm.com for really unbiased reviews. Only freeware, no sales, no lies.
> > On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 06:29:27 GMT, "Adam Helberg" > > <sendspamh...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > >I've submitted several software reviews to these sites and those that > > >were positive were readily posted, while negative ones were ignored. > > >Needless to say I did not use inappropriate language and backed up my > > >opinion with evidence. The only explanation for such selectivity is > > >conflict of interest. The reviews are about as useful as the buy > > >recommendations for stocks from investment-banker "analysts" (read > > >salesmen).
> > >I've spent hundreds of dollars on software through these sites (mainly > > >Palmgear) but no more. From now on I purchase directly from the author > > >and will bypass these sites.
> > Forgive me for saying, but what did you expect? They sell software, > > why would they knowingly post something that would impede that?
> The simple answer is that it encourages users to trust the reviews. I > have a lot of faith in the reviews on Amazon which are frequently > critical of the goods.
> Cheers, > Luke
Yes I agree. Amazon does not seem to have the same censorship policy of these corrupt web sites.
"Adam Helberg" <sendspamh...@yahoo.com> crawled to the nearest keyboard and summoned the courage to write:
>I've submitted several software reviews to these sites and those that were positive were >readily posted, while negative ones were ignored. Needless to say I did not use >inappropriate language and backed up my opinion with evidence. The only explanation for >such selectivity is conflict of interest. The reviews are about as useful as the buy >recommendations for stocks from investment-banker "analysts" (read salesmen).
Maybe they only filter on the number of stars. Has anyone tried writing a negative review but giving 4 or 5 stars?
>I've spent hundreds of dollars on software through these sites (mainly Palmgear) but no >more. From now on I purchase directly from the author and will bypass these sites.
Yes, even if the price is the same I'd rather give my money to the author than to a middleman.
On Fri, 02 Apr 2004 01:29:16 GMT, chawt...@hotpop.com (Charles
Hawtrey) wrote: >"Adam Helberg" <sendspamh...@yahoo.com> crawled to the nearest >keyboard and summoned the courage to write:
>>I've submitted several software reviews to these sites and those that were positive were >>readily posted, while negative ones were ignored. Needless to say I did not use >>inappropriate language and backed up my opinion with evidence. The only explanation for >>such selectivity is conflict of interest. The reviews are about as useful as the buy >>recommendations for stocks from investment-banker "analysts" (read salesmen).
>Maybe they only filter on the number of stars. Has anyone tried >writing a negative review but giving 4 or 5 stars?
I doubt it is an automatic "filter". If you post a review, it does not show up immediately, so someone must be reading and approving them on an individual basis.
>>I've spent hundreds of dollars on software through these sites (mainly Palmgear) but no >>more. From now on I purchase directly from the author and will bypass these sites.
>Yes, even if the price is the same I'd rather give my money to the >author than to a middleman.
I've had negative reviews posted on PalmGear - http://www.palmgear.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=software.showsoftware&SI... In this case, the product already had a 5* review, which turned out to be from the developer! Palmgear were VERY quick to have this removed, once I'd pointed this out to them.
Handango, on the other hand, have never posted my 1* review...
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