Thanks for your interest in becoming a PACS Software & Product Reviewer !

 Here’s all you have to do:
1.    Use your product as the manufacturer states in the manual. 
        Try the various features, experiment with a few settings – get to know it a bit.
        You don’t have to exhaust every option or possibility.

2.     Fill in the template below with the specifics for your product.
3.     Delete anything that is not relevant. Add anything I left out.
4.     Save your review in text format, copy & paste it into the form that will be sent to Rob Friedman, PACS Software & Product Director at the link above for approval.
5.     Sit back and enjoy the applause!
6.     You get to keep the program, if you desire.

Don’t worry that it’s not perfect. You’re just letting other PACS members know about a program or product you’ve used, and whether it does what it’s supposed to do. If you ran into problems, that’s ok! You’ll be giving the rest of us a heads-up about what we might want to look out for.

Have fun!
 

Introduction

[Product] from [name of company], is a [type of hardware, utility, word processing program, etc.] that  [does this that and the other. You can quote some words off the company website. Just be sure to quote what you are actually lifting from them and do not overdo the quoted material. You’re the writer. If you are paraphrasing, you can say, "As noted on the XYZ website, blah blah blah.")

The software is provided on [a CD-Rom, diskette, whatever]  and includes (or does not include) a (x number of pages) instruction manual. Tell the reader whether or not you think the manual is clearly written and well organized. Note any specific features, like a quick-start list or troubleshooting guide, that are of particular interest. If the manual is available online, or on the CD, say so. If it’s available in paper also, say that.

Note the system requirements: operating systems supported, how much RAM and hard drive space you need, what speed processor etc.

It’s important to describe the computer that you are using it on: Brand, operating system, CPU, RAM, hard drive size, etc., so the reader can compare.

Also, does the manual include any information not strictly related to using the program – technical information the reader would like to know? If yes, you can describe that information with just bullet points: "The manual also provides valuable information on A, B, C..."
 

Installation

Just describe what you do to install it. For programs on CD, usually there are two alternatives: with and without Autorun. Just tell the reader how to start the installation if it does not run automatically when you close the CD drive door, or if the program is distributed on diskettes.  This is probably in the manual.  Do you have to reboot after installation? Is an Uninstall included? Did it install right the first time? Any problems at this point?
 

Operation

Describe how you yourself used it to do whatever it is designed to do. Describe the screens you see, and if you can include screen shots, that is always welcome. [To do that in Windows, get to the screen that you want to include in your review. Then press the Print Screen key. That will put the image into the clipboard. You can then open a word processing program like Word or WordPad and hit Paste, and the image will be on your page.] You don’t have to cover every option or setting or possibility.
 

Having briefly described how you use the program, tell the reader a few things: Is it easy? Are the instructions clear? If something is not clear, you might want to say how it could be better. Is using the product  "intuitive,"
or do you have to read the book carefully to get it right? If you made any goofs, describe them so the reader can avoid them. If you did goof, did the instructions lead you to do it or did you manage it on your own?  Did it crash
your system or create any other problems?

Include some description of the results, if this applies. Include how long it took to get those results, and whether you had to repeat anything. This section will be very different for a printer review vs. a defragmentation program review.

Describe any special or outstanding features and how you yourself used them. Describe any other major features and how they worked. You can be brief.

Describe what kind of tech support is provided: web only, email, phone, hours available if phone. If you could actually try out the tech support, that would be a plus.
 

Summary

[Company name’s] [product or program name]  is a [descriptive words, good/bad, useful/useless, etc] [product or program] that is/is not worthwhile for the members of PACS to consider. I found that it did/did not do the job it is advertised to do, and I was pleased/disappointed with its performance for the reasons noted above.

[Product or program] is available via [however - retail, web, download - check the website] at a list price of xyz. [Company name’s] website is www.whatever it is.com.
 

Add this disclaimer at the end of your review !

This article is solely the responsibility of the author and does not necessarily express the views of PACS, its board, or anyone else.