If you're not joking then shine your tin foil hat somewhere else. These are hard working volunteers who have earned their awards through some of the best tech support anywhere to be found. They have helped build this site to the top independent support site online.
Those of us who work in the trenches here learn by osmosis what works best with the OS many of us have been with since before beta. We popularized 3rd party tools like Partition Wizard when MS Disk Mgmt was lacking. Likewise we fell away from co-recommending Avast when MSE outperformed it and/or bothered us a lot less.
To be "onboard" with MS right now is to be focused only on Windows 8, which truly tests the loyalty of some of us who are grateful for their recognition. We remain in the trenches for Win7 because we believe it is the best OS ever, and let the chips fall where they may.
FWIW: I don't believe for a minute that anyone on here is a slave to Microsoft. I received a free copy of windows 1.0 and panned it. also received windows 95 and liked it. I even have microsoft Bob as well as some free Vista's that I received from Microsoft. I tell it like it is and let the chips fall where they may.
I always do let anyone know whether I have a financial interest in anything that I am panning/touting. I think it is a requirement for those of us who are/have written reviews and columns that people read.
Lately, I haven't been doing much beta testing or reviewing, just trying to learn more...
Rich
My Computer
At a glance
Windows 7 Pro x64 SP1Intel Core I716 GigsNVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M
Computer type
Laptop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Toshiba Laptop Qosimo X870
OS
Windows 7 Pro x64 SP1
CPU
Intel Core I7
Motherboard
Toshiba Qosmio
Memory
16 Gigs
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M
Monitor(s) Displays
17.7" laptop
Screen Resolution
1600 x 900
Hard Drives
256 Gig SanDisk SSD for C
256 Gig Intel SSD for D
Internet Speed
50/25 FIOS
Antivirus
Vipre (all you can eat for 10 machines)
Browser
IE and FF
Other Info
I have dos 6.22, wfwg 3.11, win98, 2000 and xp VHD's available for testing. MS's Virtual PC works great.
I guess that the problem with having a poll would be that it would need to be renewed regularly (e.g. every few months, after the main players have all done their program updates).
Looking at AV test sites, the #1 AV program often changes from test to test.
My Computer
At a glance
W7 Ultimate SP1, LM19.2 MATE, W10 Home 1703, ...AMD Phenom II x6 1100T, 3.3 GHz12GB DDR3 1333 G-Skill (4GB x 2), G-Skill (2G...NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
n/a
OS
W7 Ultimate SP1, LM19.2 MATE, W10 Home 1703, W10 Pro 1703 VM, #All 64 bit
CPU
AMD Phenom II x6 1100T, 3.3 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS M4A88T-M/USB3 (AM3)
Memory
12GB DDR3 1333 G-Skill (4GB x 2), G-Skill (2GB x 2)
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660
Sound Card
Realtek?
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung S23B350
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
WD Green 2TB (SATA), WD Green 3TB (SATA), WD Blue 4TB (SATA), WD Blue 6TB (SATA)
ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. SABERTOOTH 990FX R2.0 (Socket 942)
Memory
G Skill 32.0GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 1204MHz (11-13-13-31)
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA GeForce GTX 960 4GB Super SC ACX 2.0+ with Back Plate
Sound Card
Creative X-Fi Titanium HD Audiophile PCIe
Monitor(s) Displays
LG L227WTG x 3
Screen Resolution
1680 x 1050 16:10
Hard Drives
238GB Samsung850 PRO SATA Disk Device (SSD)
1863GB Seagate ST2000DM 001-1CH164 (SATA)
1397GB Seagate ST1500DL 003-9VT16L(SATA)
466GB Western Digital WDC WD50 03AZEX-00K1GA0 (SATA) x 2
932GB Seagate ST310005 28AS SATA Disk Device (SATA)
PSU
Enermax Revolution87+ 1000 Watts Gold Certified Power Supply
Case
Rocketfish Full Tower
Cooling
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Push Pull 120mm Fans
Keyboard
Logitech K740
Mouse
Logitech G100S Laser LED + Logitech Gamepad F310
Internet Speed
500 mbs down and 30mbs up
Antivirus
Malwarebytes Pro & Avast and MSE on certain Virtual Machines
Browser
Firefox (Main) Chrome, Internet Explorer (Back Up)
Other Info
Logitech X 230 2.1 Stereo System and 5.1 Yamaha RX V2090
B&W DM6 Monitor Speakers + Center and Surround Speakers
Using Mouse Without Borders (Google it)
actually joking aside, these awards come from several years of dedicated help and contribution to the community.
im in no way suggesting anyone holding the award obtained it any other way than through hard graft
.
however if you move down to cornwall pedroc and become my personal house cleaner,shopper school run do'er etc for a couple of years,
then i'll see if i can put a good word in for you.
My Computer
At a glance
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 7600IIx4 amd athelon 635 processor2x2gbati radeon HD 5450
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Hewlett packard/p6512uk
OS
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 7600
CPU
IIx4 amd athelon 635 processor
Motherboard
FOXCONN 2AA9
Memory
2x2gb
Graphics Card(s)
ati radeon HD 5450
Sound Card
(1) Realtek High Definition Audio (2) AMD High Definition
Monitor(s) Displays
samsung lcd tv 32"
Screen Resolution
1360x 768
Hard Drives
(1) WDC WD10 01FAES-60Z2A0 SATA Disk Device (2) Maxtor OneTouch USB Device (3) ST310003 33AS USB Device (4) WD My Book 1111 USB Device