Applelust is looking to add writers to its staff. If you
are interested or want to be part of the Applelust community, drop us
a line with your resume or vita. We are always on the look out for good,
very smart, and reliable people to join the staff. If you think you have
what it takes, let us know.
Here is our rating scheme legend. We just began implementing it in October of 2001, so older reviews will have a different legend until we convert them to the new scheme. Reviews ultimately depend on the reviewer's judgment, and it is our hope that you will eventually trust our judgment in these ratings. But they are only guides to help you make a decision about where to spend your Mac money.
One Bounce: Lustless
Our readers should be thankful that we at Applelust wasted our lives reviewing this product, so you can spend your time doing something more rewarding, like getting a flu shot. It is one of the reasons that we get paid the big bucks...NOT. The only conceivable reason to waste your time and money on this thing would be to give it to someone you hate as a practical joke.
Two Bounces: Lack-Luster
The product basically works as advertised, but we at Applelust are Mac lovers, and as Mac lovers, we expect more (basically perfection). Either it is overpriced for what it does, or it doesn't really do much, or the interface is woefully non-Mac-like, or there are too many bugs, or there are better competitive products out there. If you need what it is this product does, look elsewhere, or wait.
Three Bounces: Lustworthy
We at Applelust liked this product, and we think you will, too. A few rough spots here and there, maybe with the documentation, interface oddities, or remaining issues, but overall a high quality item that we think we can live and work with.
Four Bounces: Pure Lust
This is one of the best products of its kind we at Applelust have seen. The documentation is good; the support was quick; the program works as advertised! It will remind you of why you bought a Mac in the first place — it has that Mac Spirit, simplicity, stability, and beauty. It's just Lustrous!
Reviews Philosophy
We have been working very
hard on this section in the background.
In the following weeks we will be publishing
reviews of some of the most popular and
important software and hardware there
is for the Mac. We have a dedicated team
of reviewers who are real professionals,
including a team with a lab of Macs who
specializes in web publishing, 3D graphics,
animation, and print publishing. We also
have a whole lab of Macs at a Mass Communications
Department at the University several of
us are at, and its Director helps to test
and review products. Our reviewers include
staff from a national Mac web hosting
company, owners of graphics labs, webmasters,
educators, university staff, and gurus
of every kind. These are pros who know
their stuff and want to help you out.
Some of the products have been reviewed
elsewhere, but no one will do it like
us, we hope.
Our reviews include more
than numbers and benchmarks. These reviews
will not only tell what you can do with
the software and hardware, but show how
to use them as well. We call them "tutorial-reviews."
We explain the practical benefits of the
products, show how a pro or consumer would
use them, and let you decide if you want
to plop down your cash for them. They
will be some of the most, if not the most,
exhaustive reviews on the Mac Web, we
hope.
We will also review more
than the products themselves. We will
examine and rate the documentation, the
support, and of course each product will
be judged by its "Mac spirit"
we call it — how Mac-like is it anyway?
Does it have that Apple thing?
