Contest #2 - Techgage Survey

[Rob Williams]

With the site growing at a steady rate, we want to make sure we provide you with what you want to see. Head over to our forums, and post just that! We want your opinions on what you would like to see on the site, whether it be higher quality articles, more linux related articles, some kind of database, better layout.. etcetera.

We welcome any constructive criticism, because we want to continue to be a valuable technology resource! You can win this contest simply by posting your comments in the related thread. If you post comments or suggestions there, your name will be thrown into the proverbial hat, and a random number generator will be used to pick the winner.

Neosurge has been our loyal host since way before the site opened, and I have been extremely pleased with their service to date! If you win this contest, Neosurge will give you a lifetime free hosting account! You will be able to use the account for whatever you want, whether it be for a personal site, forums or your own content site.

[maddmaxx]

I'm down with that shizzle for sure. Lifetime? What a prize. I lubs me some free stuff.

[madmat]

You need to make with the suggestions then. Think of this contest as a huge "Suggestion Box" to enter.

[BLuKnight]

Not too bad at all. This site is put together very well.

While I make no claims of being worthy to review sites, I would make the following recommendations:

1. It would be nice to see the ability to view and add comments at the end of each review. It'd bind things together and allow users to post their personal experiences.

2. The forums don't fit the site very well. You've got this great style and look for the main site. I think it would be a good idea to wrap the yellow border around the top and left. Include the logo, the add and the links on the left. The logo you have in the top left should be dropped. Anyone that clicks the forum link should know that their in a forum area.

3. Lastly, I've always thought it would be neat to have a section for Brand Wars. People come in and click links to what brand they use. Do people buy ATI or Nvidia. Asus or Abit. Intel or AMD. That'd be a cool slogan.

Techgage - Home of the Brand Wars

Something simple that just hits the major brands. I got it!!! A Brand-o-meter.

Anyways, keep up the great work!!!

BLuKnight

[maddmaxx]

Okay, how about a dedicated OS section in Software? Hmm. How about that? There's a suggestion for you. Did I win yet? Just send me one of them electronic mail messages when I do.:D

[dibene]

What do I want to see?

More dedicated head to head benchmarking! And I’d also like to see Techgage include more articles on the lifestyle of computing.

And maybe some novelty Tech, too. Keep us smiling, we’ll keep coming back for more.

Tech glitch of the day! Maybe you can be the Snopes of tech!

[Flipi]

As I am new to this site, I cannot spot any major problems. However I like the speed and the readability of information

But I could make a little observation about the graphics of the site wich is in my opinion a little bit too simple. Maybe after you get a valid slogan you can take a real decision about the future looks and go with the design hand in hand with the slogan

I promise that if I spot other things you are the first to know.

[Lothar]

I would like to see a continuation of product reviews.

Would like to see product category roundups - best heatsync, best memory, etc

Would like to see an easy way to get from the forums back to the main page (the yellow bar on the left).

Maybe a few more smilies (although the basics are there). :)

[sbrehm72255]

Everything seems to be laid out nicely, I like it alot.

I think it would be nice if the OCing and Cooling topic were their own topics.

I kind of like the idea of having a stand alone joke thread.

And the biggest thing would be to have a photo gallery, I know this one is expensive because of storage space and bandwidth, but maybe later after things grow a bit more.

[liqnit]

The site is great
the forum looks good and here is what i think could add .

OS section as mentioned before

Check spelling button on the reply - Look here (http://www.spellingcow.com/)

Option to see last 12\24 hrs posts

RSS feed for last 10\20 posts

OnSite Chat option

Add the line of options "User CP ,FAQ..." also on the bottom of the page

hope i helped
great beeing around

[YawK]

First of all:
- Update the design of the Forums, it looks sooo mainstream.
- Compare Coolers with a few more things (Accelerato: just it and stock cooler?)

[PUTALE]

The overall look of the site is pretty good. I like the fact that we are constantly giving back to the readers by all the contests/giveaways. This is a nice way for people to come to the site. I think in order for people to stick, we need to have more reivews and possibly some unique reviews so that people will notice the site as a big review site that has a lot of features and stuffs.

[madstork91]

Tank an Effin review already... I havent seen a review score < 6 so far... Ill be the bad guy if you want. Send me a mouse pad. "its sticky and doesnt even serve as a good coaster"

Also... Ive tried to search though previos revies in the past and i find that it lacks two things...

1. A way to look at specific items at a time. Like fans, cases, ram... we need a way to sort it.

2. A way to look at the score of a review without clicking it, then selecting the last page. How about showing the score to the far right of the link?

I like the idea about having a photo thing... Limit it to 4-5 pics and limit the pixel size?

Edit: Oh and one more thing... I need to win this contest, and the other two. KthxBye

[Tech-Daddy]

RSS feeds.
feedback on articles.
a refresh on the forums. (look at what HardOCP just did... wow!!!)
ability for users to submit news
when I think of more, i'll post em up... need sleep right now...
;)

[maddmaxx]

Definately a "Contest" section.

[Lothar]

Would like to see a "Posts in the last X hours" option, either with a hard number for X or maybe a pulldown menu.

[=CDU=Above]

You don't have to enter me in this contest but I think that a shout box is always cool. Give your members a chance to talk a bit in real time. Meet on gaming servers and such.

[(cf)Eclipse]

probably just me, but i'd personally like to see a bit more detail on the overclocking side of things..

but then again, if you do that, it kinda takes away from my audience :p :D

[GeekGirl]

I'd love to see blasts from the past - reviews on the PET (http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=191), and other stuff to show our age.

Have a TiVo section yet? While I love my TiVo, I could rant for hours on why not to buy the Humax DVR TiVo.

Lets see, what else - oh well there's always a need for more pictures of Rob :D (and I don't mean you trussed up in your olthoi armor either hehe)

~GeekGirl

[=CDU=Above]

Both of mine are Hughes....love'em.

[=CDU=Above]

Again, no need to enter me in this contest but I have one other suggestion. You might want to set the links on the site and in the forums to a color a little more abstract from the normal text....just to make things a little more user friendly.
And maybe place a link to the home page at the top of the forums. Right now there's only a small one at the bottom.

[GeekGirl]

And maybe place a link to the home page at the top of the forums. Right now there's only a small one at the bottom.

*whistles innocently* gee where have I heard that before Rob? :D

[=CDU=Above]

I change my mind. Go ahead and throw my name in the hat for this contest. Just got an idea for it's use.
Thanks.

[BlackAndy]

How about a vendor review section? I.E. rate different web site's service like newegg, etc... That way we could share good and bad expiriences with others who are new to the online hardware game, and want to choose a quality supplier for their new hobby.

[CoolZone]

the things that should be extra:

RSS feeds
Online chat per product reviewed
A small video describing the product

[Cool Barn]

Definately a "Contest" section.
I agree (if it is logistically and financially viable that is). In my opinion it would be nice if the forums were a bit busier than they are at the moment. Having a minimum post limit every contest ensures that people post often during contest periods, but then they tend to slacken off when the contest is finished.

Having constant contests means that new members will always be signing up and contributing to the forums, which is good. People like to win free stuff, it doesn't matter if it is a second-hand mouse which has just been reviewed or an entire system. Maybe you could make it that the more valuable the prize, the higher the minimum post entry requirements for example?

[Jakal]

A contest section sounds cool, but could end up quite expensive. The minimum post idea, I think, would just make users post pointless or useless stuff just to up their post count. Spam. Contests are nice, yes, winning prizes is nice, yes, but trying to have constant contests would plague the forums.

[Cool Barn]

A contest section sounds cool, but could end up quite expensive. The minimum post idea, I think, would just make users post pointless or useless stuff just to up their post count. Spam. Contests are nice, yes, winning prizes is nice, yes, but trying to have constant contests would plague the forums.
I agree on the surface a contest section looks like it might be expensive, but surely it wouldn't be too difficult to get one free review sample from a sponsor every month? There are 30 sponsors listed on the front page, if Techgage could get one item a month from a different sponsor I don't think that sponsor would complain about having to give away a cheap component every two and a half years! Not to mention that they would get a free review, and a month's worth of advertising, thrown into the deal as well. It's potentially a win-win situation.