November 2nd, 2009

Did you dress up as your favorite gadget for Halloween?

Posted by Rachel King @ 6:05 am

Categories: Reader Poll, Toybox Highlights

Tags: Gadget, Smart Phones, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Rachel King

July 20th, 2009

Which mobile carrier would you switch to?

Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 8:15 am

Categories: AT&T, Mobile, Cell Phones and Smartphones, Reader Poll, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless

Tags: Mobile, Mobile Company, Carrier, Andrew Nusca

As the legal battle over mobile carrier exclusivity heats up in the nation’s capital, and carriers themselves fight over certain popular cell phones, it makes me wonder if any of ZDNet’s U.S. readers out there plan to switch carriers when your mobile contract expires.

I’m a big fan of surveys, so let’s gather some data to answer the question.

First: Which carrier do you currently use? (If you’ve recently switched, which one did you use?)

Second: What carrier would you switch to, if any?

Third: Tell me why, in TalkBack.

June 25th, 2009

ZDNet Readers' Choice: Top 25 free, lightweight apps

Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 10:43 am

Categories: Feature, Reader Poll

Tags: Apple Macintosh, Open Source, Site, Evernote, Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Software, Andrew Nusca

In February, I asked ZDNet readers for the free, lightweight applications they simply can’t live without. After tallying the suggestions in the comments and via e-mail — and there were an awful lot of good suggestions, believe me — here are the 25 most popular.

Read the rest of this entry »

February 24th, 2009

Reader poll: Which browser will you use?

Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 4:50 pm

Categories: Apple, Browsers, Reader Poll

Tags: Web Browser, Web Browsers, Internet, Andrew Nusca

Apple’s Safari 4 beta just hit the interwebs, and the new browser takes cues from Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Opera alike.

You’ve read my first impressions, you’ve tried it out yourself, and you’re familiar with the other options. So which one will you use as your primary browser?

Read more on ZDNet:

• Andrew Nusca: First impressions: Safari 4 beta
• Adrian Kingsley-Hughes: Safari 4 — this is one fast browser!
• Andrew Mager: Is Safari 4 the new default browser for web coding?
• Larry Dignan: Safari 4 beta? My browser portfolio is crowded
• Safari 4: ‘3X faster’ than IE 7, Firefox 3
• Gallery: Apple Safari 4 beta first impressions
• Gallery: Apple Safari 4 beta in depth

February 19th, 2009

Reader poll: Best free lightweight apps?

Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 7:28 am

Categories: Applications, Reader Poll

Tags: App, Netbooks, Nettops & MIDs, Hardware, Andrew Nusca

The world is moving slowly toward the cloud, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a bevy of wonderful, free lightweight desktop applications that help users get the job done better, faster and with more productivity.

It’s no stretch to assume that ZDNet readers have at least one free app on their hard drive that they can’t live without. And as we head toward a Netbook-flavored world, those favorite apps have to be lightweight, too (or maybe even portable).

We’re open to any app category, by the way: communication apps, word processing apps, photo apps, media managers, browsers, security apps, system managers, you name it. If you have apps that are a “must-install” on a fresh install of Windows, let’s hear those, too.

Leave your suggestions in the comments, and I’ll produce a follow-up post tallying the results.