Time on the bench
Hardware reviews run for weeks when the product category demands it — displays, storage, networking, and anything with thermals or firmware churn. Same-day “first looks” are not full reviews.
Software reviews require daily use in real workflows. A feature tour is research; living in the app is the test.
Hardware lab notes
We log purchase price paid (or disclosed loaner status), firmware versions, ambient conditions when relevant, and the machines used as companions.
Benches are chosen per category. We prefer repeatable local suites over screenshot theater. When we publish charts, we say what ran and on which build.
- We do not claim “world’s fastest” without a defined suite and peer set.
- We do not hide returned units — returns are part of the story.
- We do not average unrelated benches into a fake composite.
Software lab notes
Install on a clean profile when possible, migrate real data when the product’s whole pitch is sync or knowledge management, and attempt an exit: export, delete, leave.
Privacy checks include what leaves the machine by default and what you can refuse without breaking core features.
What we won’t pretend
We are not a certification lab. We won’t invent precision we don’t have. If a claim needs a specialized chamber or a 10,000-hour burn-in we didn’t run, we say so and narrow the verdict.