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The second Best of the Mac Web (BOTMW) survey, an opinion poll
covering a good segment of the independent Mac Web, is done. Voting
took place over a nine-day period, and over 2,000 people shared
their opinion of some of the best known Mac-related sites on the
Web - as well as a few of the newest.
We ran the first BOTMW survey
in April, starting with 40 sites and adding six more during the
survey period. Adding sites during the survey was a mistake; it
made it impossible for us to compare how well known those sites
were with the other 40. This time around we started with a larger
sampling and didn't add any more sites once the survey had
begun.
We created the first survey with a list of 25-30 sites I visited
regularly or found marked as SiteLink Top 20 sites, and then
asked other Mac webmasters nominate others, bringing the list to
40. We began the current list with over 40 sites from the first
survey and added over a dozen that hadn't been in that survey.
If your favorite site wasn't listed, it may have been an
oversight (we've missed Macworld both times), unfamiliarity
(several readers emailed me about sites I'd never heard of), or the
fact that we're trying to keep the survey to a reasonable size. At
56 sites, it was larger than I wanted it to be. Next time we'll aim
for 50.
We attempted to contact the publisher or webmaster of the sites
listed, giving them the opportunity to add a link to the survey and
have the opinions of their visitors counted. However, it's hard to
find an email contact on some sites, so we were not able to contact
every site in the survey.
We encouraged publishers to link to the survey specifically so
we could poll a broad cross-section of Mac Web visitors. With
enough sites sending their visitors, that keeps results from
getting spiked by a strong push from a single site.
To some extent, this can't help but be a popularity contest. In
fact, that is one of two things we hoped to learn - how well known
various sites are. The other is what you, the reader, think of
these sites. This is an opinion poll, not a scientific survey.
We deliberately included some newer sites with the twofold
purpose of finding out how well they are making themselves known
and possibly introducing you to them.
Best Known on the Mac Web
In the first survey, the best known site received 1,210 votes
and the average was 617 votes per site. This time out, the best
known site received 2,055 votes and the average rose to 736 votes
per site. The following list simply ranks sites by the number of
votes received.
MacOS Rumors
As the Apple Turns
MacCentral
MacAddict
VersionTracker
MacFixIt
MacNN
MacInTouch
Accelerate Your Mac
Low End Mac
Think Secret
Go2Mac.com
TidBITS
MacSlash
DealMac
Mac Observer
ResExcellence
MacSurfer's Headline News
MacMinute
Applelinks
Inside Mac Games
Mac Rumors
Bare Feats
Mac Evangelist
osOpinion
MacGamer
PowerBook Zone
MacEdition
MacUser UK
Insanely Great Mac
The Mac Show
About This Particular Macintosh
Mac Resource Page
Macinstein
Macworld UK
Applelust
MacSpeedZone
MacWindows
Bite.org
MacOpinion
Mac Night Owl
MacReviewZone
PowerBook Source
Daily Mac
Chez Mark
Right On Mac
Macs Only!
Pure Mac
Working Mac
The Mac Mind
MyAppleMenu
Webintosh
MyMac
AppleTechs
macXcess
Portable Mac
For the most part, the better known sites have been on the Web
longer than the lesser known sites. The highest number of votes for
a site less than a year old was 785 for MacMinute, which is #19 on
this list.
Best of the Mac Web
In this section sites are ranked by the average opinion of those
who rated them. We counted 1 point for unacceptable, 2 for poor, 3
for average, 4 for good, and 5 for excellent. This total was
divided by the total number of votes cast for the site, resulting
in scores ranging from 2.79 to 4.66 (if these were letter grades,
that would be from C- to A-). Average scores are reported to two
decimal places unless we need a third digit to complete the
ranking.
Note that some sites are lower in the ratings because we looked
at 56 sites this time around - that's 10 more than last time.
Best of the Mac Web Award
The numbers in parentheses represent the score followed by the popularity ranking of
the site. The first group of sites scored a 4.0 or higher are
entitled to post our "Best of the Mac Web, November 2001"
badge.
We had a tie at first place - both AtAT and VersionTracker had a
score of 4.661. In cases of a tie, we will list the better known
site first.
AtAT was the 11th best known site and the 10th best rated site
in the first Best of the Mac Web Survey. This time AtAT fans came
in droves. The site, launched in 1997, is the top rated site and
the second best known site in the survey.
Tied with AtAT, VersionTracker had an average score of 4.661,
slightly down from 4.69 in the last survey. With a history going
back to 1996, it is the 5th best known site on this survey. This
was a step down from #1 in both categories on our earlier survey -
but still impressive.
MacFixIt started in March 1996 as an online appendix to
Sad Mac, Bombs & Disasters. It remains one of those
indispensable online resources for anyone who needs to support
Macs. MacFixIt was #2 in the last survey, but the meteoric rise of
AtAT in this survey bumped it down.
Considered a must visit by many Mac Web users, MacSurfer has
been posting dozens of links to new content on dozens of sites
since 1995 and is updated several times daily. The 4.48 score is
slightly improved from 4.42 in the last survey.
Adam Engst emailed the first TidBITS newsletter on April 16,
1990, making it the granddaddy of Mac Web sites. The 4.39 score is
a significant improvement over 4.01 in the last survey. Although
highly respected, TidBITS was the 15th best known site in our last
survey and the 13th best known in this one.
I'm not into hacking system resources, but enough people are to
make ResExcellence, a ResEdit user's delight since 1997, the 17th
most popular and 6th most respected site in this survey - the same
place it held in the last survey.
Another site started in 1997, Accelerate Your Mac is about
getting the most performance from your Mac, mostly by picking the
best accelerator, hard drive, video card, etc. The site's score is
almost unchanged from the last survey.
Billed as "The original Mac news and information site since
1994," MacInTouch is a daily visit for a lot of Mac users. The site
drops to #8 in popularity from 6th place in our previous survey,
and it's score drops slightly from 4.23 to 4.17.
Low End Mac (LEM) has been providing helpful resources for Mac
users since April 1997 and remains a Top Ten site - even if we did
drop a spot from #8 in the last survey. LEM is the 10th best known
site among those polled, a drop from #7 last time around.
Yes another site launched in 1997, DealMac helps Mac users find
some pretty impressive deals. Although bumped back from #9 by the
ascent of AtAT, DealMac's score is almost identical to last time
around.
Launched at the end of May, MacMinute is the highest rated new
site in this survey. It's a fast-loading page offering more than
just headline links and updated several times per day.
Rest of the Mac Web
These sites fell short of the arbitrary 4.00 score to earn the
"Best of the Mac Web" badge. Some came very close; others fell much
lower on the list.
The #4 site in our last survey, MacNN has fallen eight spots in
the ratings since our last survey. The 3.994 score is a big drop
from 4.24 last time around, and the site that was the 5th best
known in the April poll is #7 this time around.
Based on the "slash" code created by Slashdot, MacSlash provides news links
and a place to discuss the topics of the day for Mac users.
MacSlash has risen one spot from the previous survey and has a
slightly higher score (3.988 vs. 3.92) this time around.
Moving up five slots from the April survey, Inside Mac Games
has seen a small score improvement (3.88 vs. 3.80) while remaining
at about the same level of popularity (21 this time, 19 last
time).
The Mac Show is heard live every Wednesday from 9-11 p.m.
Eastern Time. It jumped from an obscure 33rd spot in the last
survey to #15, saw its score jump from 3.44 to 3.82, and increased
in popularity from 34th place to 32nd. Congratulations, Shawn!
Another news site slipping in the ratings, MacCentral dropped
from #13 in the last survey to #16 this time around as its score
dropped from 3.96 to 3.814. It also declined from being the 2nd
best known site in the survey to 3rd place - more
on the best known site below.
Founded in January 1997 as Webintosh, the site changed
ownership and became The Mac Observer (TMO) in December 1998. A
combination of news, analysis, commentary, and press releases, TMO
provides a good mix of content and is updated several times each
day. TMO is down two spots in the ratings, virtually tied with
MacCentral, has a slightly lower score than last time (3.812 vs.
3.89), and has dropped from the 12th best known site to #16 this
time around (mostly due to additional sites in this survey). It has
held its ground while several news sites have seen large
drops.
I've enjoyed Bare Feats since the day I discovered it. Rob-Art
Morgan, who bills himself as a Mad Mac Scientist, has been posting
benchmarks for years. Always an interesting mix of test results and
interesting commentary, his reports are both educational and fun to
read. Bare Feats has moved up one slot in this survey and increased
its score from 3.675 to 3.77.
Formerly Mac Gamer's Ledge, MacGamer has jumped from #22 in the
last survey by increasing their score from 3.61 to 3.73 while also
moving up on slot in popularity (from 27 to 26).
Started on July 4, 1998, The PowerBook Zone is the highest
rated PowerBook site in the survey. It is also the highest rated
site that should have been in our first survey.
Another site we shouldn't have overlooked last time, MacWindows
bills itself as "the Web site for Macintosh-Windows integration
solutions." If you're stuck using both operating systems, whether
on a network or on a single computer, MacWindows is an invaluable
resource.
osOpinion is part of the NewsFactor Network and is more
popular (25th best known, up from 29) and more highly regarded
(22nd place vs. 35th) than in our last survey. The sites score has
increased from 3.41 to 3.65. While not strictly a Macintosh site, I
consider osOpinion a "stealth" Mac site - it provides a lot of
content critical of Windows and favoring both the Mac and
Linux.
Down two slots from #21 in the last survey, the MacAddict site
has almost the same score. It has also slipped two slots in
popularity, moving from the 4th best known site to 6th place in
this survey.
One of the older sites on the Mac Web, MRP's roots go back to
1996. MRP is mostly news links with some advice and commentary. It
has declined from 20th place in our April 2001 survey, its score
has dropped just a bit from 3.63 to 3.58, and popularity has
decreased from 21st place to 33rd.
Started as a page with Apple links in 1997, Applelinks features
daily content from John H. Farr and Charles Moore, a daily audio
report by Shawn King of The Mac Show, and articles by several other
regular contributors. The site has slipped slightly from 23rd place
to tie for 25th, more due to sites on the this survey that weren't
listed last time. The site's score has dropped a tiny bit from 3.59
to 3.552. The real disappointment, however, is that they were the
14th best known site in the April survey but are now 20th.
Tied at 25th place, MacEdition bills itself as having
"industry-leading news and analysis." News? Not really. Analysis?
Sometimes. I'm especially partial to CodeBitch's rantings against
nonstandard, noncompliant HTML. The site ranks 25th by score (up
from 36) and 28th by popularity.
In our last survey, we lumped MacSpeedZone and MacReviewZone
together; this time we polled visitors separately. The performance
site has moved up one notch in the ranking.
Down three spots from the last survey (due to additions to this
survey), MacUser UK has stayed the course and retained almost
exactly the same score, rank, and popularity as last time out.
Remember when the Mac was on the ropes and Guy Kawasaki's
EvangeList galvanized the troops? Those days are long gone, but the
EvangeList lives on. The list is well known (24th best known in
this survey), but has dropped in the ratings. It was rated #17 in
our first survey, but drops to 30th this time, and its score has
decreased from 3.80 to 3.49.
Once the premier PowerBook site on the Web, O'Grady's PowerPage
has become Go2Mac.com and now covers 'Books, Palms, and iPods. It
is the 12th best known site in our survey, up one spot from April,
and is just one notch lower in the ranking that last time.
If you like to make sure you have the latest version of your
software, Pure Mac is the best rated alternative to VersionTracker. Pure Mac's score matches that of the
previous poll, and 33rd place is basically holding its own
considering all the newcomers in this survey. However, it remains
near the bottom as far as how many people know about the site.
We explicitly skipped rumor sites in the first survey because
we didn't want people to come over just to vote for or against
their favorite rumor monger. We added them this time, and Think
Secret got the highest rating of the bunch. It's also the 11th best
known site in this survey - very impressive, Mr. dePlume.
The roots of Insanely Great Mac (IGM) go back to 1995, although
it didn't take its current name until 1997. The current score is
identical to the last poll, although its popularity has slipped a
bit. Still, the site managed to move up two slots in the ranks
despite the addition of so many new sites this time around.
Because MacReviewZone and MacSpeedZone (#27)
were polled together in our first survey, we really can't speak of
MacReviewZone slipping in the polls, but it does fare more poorly
and is less widely know than its performance oriented sibling
site.
There's popularity - and then there's notoriety. MacOS Rumors
(MOSR) has been dishing up rumors since 1995 and is the best known
rumor site. It's also the best known site in our survey (2,055
votes), but it's far from the most respected site on the Web.
How many software update sites does the Web need? We only
discovered Chez Mark because it was a top rated site on SiteLink, where it consistently
receives a Top 20 rank. We think that may be because it's first
alphabetically among software sites. Pure Mac is
less well known but more highly regarded. Like Pure Mac, Chez Mark
has held its place in the current survey.
39. PowerBook Source (3.30/43)
PBS has been a longtime favorite 'Book resource, but it's
slipping in the ratings. PBS was #32 in our last poll, but it's #39
this time. Its score drops from 3.46 to 3.30, and it goes from
being the 28th best known site (among 40 rated sites) to 43rd place
among 56.
Updated daily since 1995, Bill Fox's Macs Only! site has long
been a personal favorite. It's not as well known as it deserves to
be. The site's score has slipped from 3.44 to 3.29, but popularity
is about the same (33rd out of 40 rated sites in April vs. 40th out
of 56 sites this time).
Another new site carving out a niche for itself, Working Mac is
intended for professional Mac users, especially IS/IT types. The
site was launched in July 2001.
MacOpinion may have been the first commentary-only site on the
Mac Web, but it is a shadow of its former self. Regular
contributors are Charles Moore, Philip Machanick, and Marc Zeedar;
between them the site usually has 2-4 new articles per week.
MacOpinion was 34th in our last survey and has dropped several
spots to reach #42 - mostly due to new sites. The site's score has
dropped from 3.42 to 3.27 while popularity has plummeted from 25 to
40.
Gene Steinberg's Mac Night Owl (our apologies for mistyping it
on the survey) bills itself as "your complete Mac support site."
It's a great place to stop to see what's on Steinberg's mind, since
the site has new material almost every weekday. The site's score
has also improved from 3.13 to 3.26, one of the better increases in
this survey. Mac Night Owl holds 43rd place in both surveys.
44. Right On Mac (3.21/46)
Right On Mac is definitely a Mac advocacy site, and it has
improved in the standings - last time it was the 40th most popular
site out of 40 rated sites; now it's 46th out of 56. Right On Mac's
score of 3.21 is almost identical to its 3.22 last time
around.
Applelust specializes in lengthy academic articles. The site
scored 3.04 in our first survey and improves that to 3.16. It also
goes from second-to-last place (45 out of 46 sites) to 45th of 56
sites in this poll. In terms of popularity, it was the 31st best
known site in April 2001 and is in 36th place now - the slippage
due to sites added to this survey.
Webintosh is a new blog published by Dan Hughes, the creator of
the original Webintosh (now The Mac Observer).
It's about Macs and other things, which is the blog pattern.
Although not yet widely known, the 3.13 score puts Webintosh 46th
on this survey of 56 sites.
Formerly The Daily iMac, this site often goes for long periods
with few or no updates - a real shame, since when Amy Hoy has
something to say, she says it very well. The Daily Mac slid from
40th place in the previous survey to 47th place, and its score has
declined from 3.18 to 3.10.
Mac Rumors is a Slashdot-like Mac rumor site and is new to this
survey. The site has a low score and is well known, rating as the
22nd best known site in this survey.
You might not know what to make of Macinstein from its
cluttered home page, but it's turned into mostly a commentary site.
The biggest improvement since the last survey is signed (no longer
anonymous) articles. Macinstein drops from 41st place in the last
poll and its score decreases from 3.16 to 3.05.
Last time out Mac Mind rated 44th out of 46 sites; this time
it's 52nd out of 56. Mac Mind remains a relatively unknown site,
scoring 50th out of the 56 sites in this survey.
Formerly known as AppleSurf, this site took last place in our
April survey; now it has three sites behind it. An interesting
hybrid of news links with commentary, headline links, and
commentary, it's a daily visit at LEM headquarters. The site's
score was 3.01 in the earlier survey and has slipped just a bit to
2.96.
Another new site, Portable Mac is all about iBooks and
PowerBooks and iPods and Palms. It is the least known site in this
survey, which could be due to the fact that it's only a couple
weeks old. It looks promising.
A new site with an intriguing logo (an apple with a bite out of
each side) and a biting personality, we'd like to see everyone pop
over and see if it's their cup of tea. Moderately well known (39th
out of 56 sites), Bite.org has a low score.
Holding up the bottom of the survey is macXcess, an OS X
site (we'll have to add more OS X sites in the next survey).
Launched in July 2001, the site is relatively unknown (55 out of
56) and has a low score.
Weighted Rating
New to this survey is a weighted rating that looks at both how
well known a site is and how well respected it is. The score is
generated by multiplying the square root of the number of responses
by the score.
Sometime in the Spring of 2002 we'll be doing this again. We'll
start with the 40 top rated sites from this survey, then add 10-20
more sites (we'd like to keep to 50 total, but we'll see what
happens). Some will be new. Some will be ones we missed this time.
And some might make a repeat appearance despite failing to make the
40 top this time.
We already have a preliminary list of "must add" sites that
begins with Macworld - I don't know how we've missed it both times
around, especially since the UK sister site was listed.
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represent the score followed by the popularity ranking of
the site. The first group of sites scored a 4.0 or higher are
entitled to post our "Best of the Mac Web, November 2001"
badge.