[xplorer˛] — Epsilon Award
home » blog » 9 September 2007


"Stella by starlight" — Keith Jarrett classic

You may have heard that xplorer˛ was nominated for the ESWC Epsilon award. Which award? you may inquire. Ok, this greek letter named award isn't on par with a Nobel award for excellence in software engineering, but since we don't have any grander bodies in the shareware industry (at least this side of the atlantic) it will have to suffice.

Awards, like advice, are only as worthwhile as the person/body that issues them. Take all these ratings many download sites offer to software they list. Five stars from here, four stars from there, aren't there any crap programs out there? Where are the 0 star ratings? This article is a revealing yet predictable read. Most of these stellar awards are issued automatically and the sole objective is to maximise the advertising revenues of the "authority" that awarded them. A good rating from a well established respectable site like download.com on the other hand is worthwhile, especially if it comes as independent user opinion. It's all about trust.

ESWC is an organization for european Micro-ISV vendors like zabkat, an offshoot of SIC, its big american brother. As you can tell from the website it isn't what you would call image-conscious or even "professional". But for this very reason it is a warm, cosy and closely knit society. Once you've been to a few of their annual meetings you know everybody and it feels like something you can belong to as opposed to mere membership. One day I expect to see Ghisler showing up.

Unlike SIC's software award, which is basically a bunch of old boys patting each other on the back with little relevance to the end user, the Epsilon award is a democratic vote. Anybody can vote and the software that gets the crown isn't down to the author's stature within a group but stems from its appeal and utility to users at large like you! Each author rallies his flock for support, and clearly the bigger the user group, the more votes and better chances to win Epsilon. It's one man one vote so it isn't corruptible. The best (i.e. most popular) software wins!

I have already started imagining the acceptance speak. "Thank you ESWC for this distinction. I want to thank myself for the software development, also not forgetting me for the webdesign and who can forget I, the marketing director...I couldn't have done it without you folks!" Oh the laughs we'll have :)

Vote for xplorer˛ to win your opinion counts!

Post a comment on this topic

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

 

 

What would you like to do next?

Reclaim control of your files!
  • browse
  • preview
  • manage
  • locate
  • organize
Download xplorer2 free trial
"This powerhouse file manager beats the pants off Microsoft's built-in utility..."

download.com
© 2002—2007 Nikos Bozinis, all rights reserved