Warning: Make sure you walk through all these steps before submitting a review!

Review/Article/Preview Requirements

Paragraph/Sentence Structure:

1. Head titles are Verdana size 10pt, color #363a4e, bold and underlined. Sample: Introduction:

2. Sub titles are Verdana size 8pt, color #363a4en, bold. Sample: Safe Assembly:

3. The entire review must be font color #363a4en

4. Paragraphs must be Verdana size 8pt, color #363a4en

5. Paragraphs must be Justified, go to Format, Paragraph, Alignment: Justified

6. Bullets: Use filled circular or square bullets, size 8pt, color #363a4en, bullets must match throughout the article.

7. After ended bullets, paragraphs, titles, subtitles and images, press enter twice to create one space between.

Spelling & Grammar:

1. Cannot use first person, such as your/you/I. Avoid simple words like get, be very specific and use the most professional language possible.

2. Check grammar and spelling in MS word if needed.

3. Check it as many times as needed.

Charts:

1. Use this chart format, http://www.hardware-pacers.com/review_guide/chart.xls

2. When saving in excel, save as html, it will give you a gif, http://www.hardwarepacers.com/review_guide/reviews_images/motherboard_modelnum/chart.gif

3. Charts cannot be more than 500 pixels wide, keep the same width for all charts.

Image/File Structure:

1. Structure: http://www.hardware-pacers.com/review_guide/, as it can be seen that this is root folder, this is where your html review files will be, then you will need to create a folder called “reviews_images” and in that folder your reviewed product name directory where you will place your images.

2. All images must be no more than 550 pixels wide.

3. All images are recommended to be centered.

4. All images must be saved keeping 80% JPG quality. In Adobe Imageready, Window -> Optimize, change to JPG, put on Maximum

5. After images, if describing the image, no space needed. Just text right under the image without any spaces, center the text and don’t press enter when writing the description.

Image/File Structure:

1. No need to put next page or previous page.

General Requirements/Problems:

1. Must have at least a 1.2 mega pixel camera with good shutter control, good ones are HP or Canon.

2. Image must be studio quality clear or the image will not be accepted. If you have a good camera, keep taking the image over with good lighting until the image is clear.

3. All the products must be clean without any dust or finger prints when taking pictures. I recommend taking the pictures before unpacking/touching them, otherwise images will not be accepted.

4. I expect the review to be as professional as if you are submitting to CNET, Tomshardware or Anandtech, meaning I don’t want to see any mistakes.

5. Microsoft Frontpage is recommended.

6. Make sure you have the review in my email within 3 days upon arrival, I will give 7 days for products such as motherboards, video cards and

CPUs.

7. Warning: I don’t take garbage and if you do not follow these directions, I will not send any more products for review.

Common Review Errors:

1. First Page, next to Manufacturer, the link when you click should go to a "New Page". The link must not be blue, but the same color like the rest of the document.

2. Under Introduction, you can put either Street Price (lowest price you can find online) or Retail Price (suggested price for the manuf). The price must be in Italics including the name. Instead putting a dollar sign, place USD after the price since we have international viewers.

3. Whenever you sub-categorize, what you do is resize the font to size 8, bold it and underline it. Like if you have two products that you have specifications for, the main title will be size 10, the sub categories for the two products will be in size 8.

4. Extra spaces after the last paragraph: there should be zero spaces after last period on the page.

5. Commenting on the pictures above: if you have a small comment that fits nicely under the pic, then that’s fine. If the comment is more one line or two, make a decision and justify it 1-2 lines below the pic instead of centering it under the picture.

6. If you have a sentence under a picture, I think it’s better to put a period end of it. For one or two word phrases is not important but for sentences, I would think ending it with a period would be important.

7. Do not put the entire product name after page 1. Anything after page 1 you go into different parts of the product. So if you have final thoughts about the product, categorize the paragraph as Final Thoughts.

8. When giving awards, here is the guide, it is fairly new so no one was obligated to this before.

Bronze Award: Picture link: “product_images/bronze.jpg”, hyperlink to the large award: “product_images/HiResAwards/ecbronze.jpg”

All other awards like silver, gold and platinum, should replace the bolded words above. Important to put the hyperlink in a “New Window” on the page itself (clickable image). 

Pictures:

1. The pictures must have enough light so you can barely see the background. The best also would be non reflective paper to prevent those flash spots to appear.  If there is enough light, it is possible to remove the background color completely by increasing brightness little bit, and increasing contrast above the brightness level that you set. This sometimes doesn’t work, and have to be careful because the pics might end too black to just too bright. If you are not sure, make sure to keep the original.

2. If you have wires/cables leaving the picture, make sure to feather them. In photoshop what you do is select the area that you want to feather, put like 8pixel feather, select press ok. Then press delete button on your keyboard. If you have a pic that still has gray background or something, feather the entire pic by selecting the area and inverting, then feathering and then deleting it.

3. Removing pic artifacts, like dust particles, finger prints, flash spots. In photoshop pick clone tool, and just move it around in that area. What it does it takes another portion of the pic and replicates it (you have to specify that portion by clicking that area and then moving the clone tool to the other area). You can pick how many pixels you want the clone tool to be to make it easier. Takes some practice.