All programs that I review receive two descriptive ratings (quality and appeal) and one arbitrary numerical rating. Additionally, some software is awarded the Tagamac’s choice award, which is merely an endorsement for the software that I myself use.
Although the ratings can be a useful way to get a quick idea of the quality of the software, to really understand any given rating you should read the body of the review.
Quality
-
exceptional
- some of the highest quality software that I’ve used
- very little room for improvement
-
distinguished
- a solid program
- some room for improvement
-
satisfactory
- average software
- enjoyable to use, but not much to distinguish it from similar software
-
flawed
- useable, but not enjoyable
- lots of room for improvement
-
unusable
- this program is not worth your time
Appeal
-
highly recommended
- software that likely appeals to most people
- definitely worth downloading / purchasing
-
recommended with reservations
- software that will appeal strongly to some, but not to others
- read the review to see if the software is likely a good fit for you
-
worth a download
- software with less obvious appeal
- you should judge it for yourself
-
not recommended
- software that is not even worth downloading
Numerical ratings
In addition to the descriptive ratings, each review has an arbitrary numerical rating out of ten. The numerical rating is loosely based on the descriptive ratings, but in some cases may just be arbitrary. Use it at your peril. I include numerical ratings for the benefit of comparison with other rating systems and as a general indicator of my overall opinion of the software.