September 30th, 2008
Welcome to the new ZDNet Reviews Beta
I’m happy to announce that today, ZDNet Reviews got a much-needed overhaul. In addition to some strictly cosmetic design changes, we’ve added tons of new product review content.
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While we still feature best-in-breed content from our sister site, CNET.com, we’re now incorporating reviews and analysis from websites and publications around the world. We recognize that not everyone has time to scour the web to learn everything there is to know about a product, so we’re trying to do as much of that legwork for you as we can.
You’ll also notice a new “ZDNet Score” on many of our reviews. That score is a weighed average that incorporates ratings from all of the sources you’ll find on ZDNet Reviews. If you don’t see a ZDNet Score, it means we don’t yet have enough reviews for that product to calculate one.
We also continue to build out our network of bloggers who are focusing on products in key areas, which include:
- Desktops and Laptops (John Morris)
- Digital Cameras (Janice Chen)
- Home Theater (Sean Portnoy)
- The Mobile Gadgeteer (Matthew Miller)
- SOHO Networking (Sean Portnoy)
- Smartphones and Cell Phones (Matthew Miller)
And last, and yes, probably least, there’s The Toybox, which I write along with ZDNet Assistant Producer, Andrew Nusca. We’ll all let you know what products you should be considering, which ones to avoid like the plague, and also call your attention to specific reviews that we find particularly enlightening - or find especially flawed.
As you have probably noticed, we’re officially in a beta launch of the product, so there are bound to be myriad odds and ends that we’ll be tweaking over the next couple of weeks. If you see anything that seems screwy to you, please shoot me an e-mail - you’ll find a form to use here - and tell me what you found.
Thanks, and happy review-reading.
jt
Josh Taylor is director of CBS Interactive Business' technology sites – ZDNet and TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
| 09/30/08
