Insofter – splendid software catalog

5 thoughts on “Insofter – splendid software catalog”

1. 1) Look around the page – what is your initial impressions of what you see?
   This website appears to be legitimate by offering its visitors the option of downloading software for free. On the site’s homepage, you can download new browsers and plug ins without paying out of pocket for extra expenses. When you look to the right, you can download recent versions of popular internet browsers such as Firefox, Skype, Omega, and even Microsoft Office 2010. I also think it’s very convenient that you can file transfer, message, chat and share files with others.
    
   2) Think of something you want to find on this website. Now try to find it. Did you find what you were looking for? Was anything confusing?
   I found Microsoft Office 2010 in the bottom right hand corner under the Top 20 software download on Insofter’s home page. It was very easy to find since the web owners posted the link on their home page. Nothing was confusing and everything seemed to be plain and simple. After I clicked on the Microsoft Office 2010 link, I read part of the description. The description for this software product appears to be accurate concerning all the programs you’ll receive once you download the link. For example, the descriptions says the consumer will receive access to programs such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and One Note.
   3) Are you encouraged to download a software? Can you tell us why (or why not)?
   Although this website seems to be legitimate, I can’t say that I would prefer to download software from Insofter for many reasons. One reason being that if I am going to download a software program for free, I prefer to get it from the actual software website rather than a third-party site. Other programs like Microsoft Office 2010 requires their users to purchase a product key. So, there may be some problems if I decide to download a software program like this one.
   4) Go to search engine of your choice and find one other company that offers a similar service. Compare the two companies. Which on do you prefer? Why?
   The other website I chose was freewarehome.com. This website claims that they have over 4500 software download programs for free. However, the website doesn’t appear to be as intriguing as Insofter. When you look on the insofter.com home page, the design appears to be very professional compared to Free Ware. Another big distraction with Free Ware is the fact that you see an ad banner from Google Ad choices. This may confuse the website’s visitors. Insofter.com appears to be more professional, but I don’t think I could go with either software download site. In my opinion, I prefer CNet over both of these websites for many reasons mainly because this site is well-known.
   5) Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
   The only thing I can say is that I wish the owners of Insofter.com the best of luck in the promotion of their free programs.
    
    
    
    
    
    

2. 1) Look around the home page – what is your initial impression of what you see?
    – The site looks very nice, well organize and very easy to use.
   2) Think of something you want to find on this website. Now try to find it. Did you find what you were looking for? Was anything confusing?
    – I try to find a chrome installer and it gives me the right result. The search result is easy to understand and I don’t find it confusing.
   3) Are you encouraged to download a software? Can you tell us why (or why not)?
    – yes because this site gives me what I need. There’s a lot of software’s in the internet but I find site very interesting. Its very easy to navigate and search for software. I really like the filtering on the left side.
   4) Go to search engine of your choice and find one other company that offers a similar service. Compare the two companies. Which on do you prefer? Why?
    -( https://portableapps.com/apps/internet/putty_portable ) this site is in the first result of my search with the keyword ‘portable putty’. 
   If I compare this site to your site, its very obvious that your site is in top.
    – the environment is very messy and I really don’t like ads and popups 
   – the site looks outdated
   – if I want to download something I don’t want to redirect to other site which in this case portableapps.com redirect me to sourceforge
   5) Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
    – Theres no negative feedback I can give. This site looks amazing and I would recommend my friends and even I would use as my personal use. Its very simple.

3. 1) Look around the home page – what is your initial impression of what you see?
    
   The home page doesn’t look like a home page. There is no introduction to the site or the site’s product. There is so much to look at and absorb that I wonder how many people will be overwhelmed that they leave the site before using it. Right now, it is like a book without a cover.
    
   What kind of introduction? A graphic or a video or, as many marketers suggest, a statement of the problem, so people know why they need a site like insofter.com.
    
   2) Think of something you want to find on this website. Now try to find it. Did you find what you were looking for? Was anything confusing?
    
   I want to find a file sharing software. The first thing I notice is your index (left sidebar) is not alphabetical. Fortunately, what I’m looking for is the second item listed.
    
   I look at the first page and see know familiar file sharing software. The descriptions for the sites that are on the first page for file sharing seem to be written for IT pros. Simple, easy-to-understand English would be most appreciated. It would be best to be at about the 8th grade reading level, so almost everyone searching for software could understand.
    
   There are many kinds of software listed. They do not appear to be in any specific order. There is a rating system, but that isn’t help since so few software packages have ratings. YouSendIt.com is at the bottom of the second page. I don’t know how far someone has to search to find software as well-known or of the quality of DropBox.com or Google Drive or Huddle. However, when I did search specifically for DropBox, Google Drive, and Huddle, they each appeared with multiple listings.
    
   3) Are you encouraged to download a software? Can you tell us why (or why not)?
    
   No. While I really like the idea of having a catalog, I don’t believe that the form that insofter.com’s current form is very helpful. They certainly aren’t listed by the most used or alphabetically or best. I haven’t the faintest idea which of one of the many options is most suited to my needs.
    
   If the description of the software included who the software was for, it would help in sifting through all the lists. And if there were an advanced search that let the user sort by type of user (i.e., novice or It professional), it would provide an additional level of support.
    
   4) Go to search engine of your choice and find one other company that offers a similar service. Compare the two companies. Which one do you prefer? Why?
    
   I am not seeing any other site that offers a general catalog of software products. Some are by company-offered software or for a specific type of software. Many seemed to be for students, i.e., https://www.eos.ncsu.edu/software/catalog.
    
   As with your site, there is not much of an introduction. The https://www.eos.ncsu.edu/software/catalog home page has a table. The first column lists the software and the following columns let people know what operating system the software can be used with. (This can be very helpful.) However, unlike Insofter.com, there is no index, there is no way of knowing what the software does without clicking on the link.
    
   But once I click on the link, there is a much clearer description of the software than you provide.
    
   If there were a site that had both an index like the one you have (but alphabetical) and the level of descriptions provided by https://www.eos.ncsu.edu/software/catalog, it would be much more user friendly than either site is individually.
    
   5) Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
    
    
   I believe that there is a need for the information you are seem to want to provide through insofter.com, however, I feel that your site would benefit from improvements that could make it much more user friendly.

4. 1) Look around the home page – what is your initial impression of what you see?
   There is a lot of information on the home page which is quite overwhelming at first glance. I looked for a short explanation of what this site is actually for. I scanned the tagline under the website name to try and gain a clearer understandig of what it’s about but it didn’t really tell me much.
   2) Think of something you want to find on this website. Now try to find it. Did you find what you were looking for? Was anything confusing?
   I did a search for Presentation applications. This provided an extensive results list. As I scrolled down the list the left hand menu was left at the top part of the page which meant I had to scroll all the way back up to the top if I wanted to choose any of the search filter options. The product abstracts were helpful and I did find what I was looking for in the results on the second page. Everything was quite clear on the main results page. When I went to the product page I found the tabs useful, particularly the screenshot tabs with the ability to enlarge them for easier viewing.
   3) Are you encouraged to download a software? Can you tell us why (or why not)?
   I was encouraged to download the software due to the information provided on the site. The screenshots together with the description (although the style of writing was difficult to read due to the length of the sentences) helped me make my decision.
   4) Go to search engine of your choice and find one other company that offers a similar service. Compare the two companies. Which on do you prefer? Why?
   I went to the Free Software Directory – this site is built on a wiki page so it doesn’t look at professional as the Insofter website. What I did find very useful was the different headings for software usage used by the Free software Directory. e.g. to user for, works with, for business,  and also the different target audiences such as Featured Products for Desktop Users, Developers and GNU Spotlight.  On the whole however I prefer the Insofter website in terms of the way the products displayed with the tabbed descriptions and screenshots and  the search filters.
   5) Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
   I looked down the left hand  hand menu and clicked on one of the options which took me to another page. The local navigation on this page provides good filtering by price, platform and language.  
   It would be worth reviewing your existing search filters and perhaps the way they are arranged or some of the wording which could be categorised in other additional ways.  

5.  The homepage is not very inviting. I would say many potential users would find it intimidating. There is no text clearly explaining how to use the site. You have to scroll down to the bottom of the page to find a grouping of symbols for taking the user to the section they are interested in. These symbols should be at the top of the page with an explanation of the area they are associated with. My initial reaction to site is that it is very poorly done. If I had come to the site to find information I wanted, I would have immediately closed the site and look for another source of I wanted. As far as I’m concerned, this site has to be completely reworked.

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