On the hardware trail....

As I mentioned in my last Blog post, I don't think an entry goes by where I don't tantalise you in one way or another about great things to come at Elite Bastards. This past week, however, has proved to be a bumper week for 'Things you should probably get excited about'.

Aside from my break while working full-time for HEXUS, I've been with Elite Bastards in some kind of staff capacity for over two years now, and in that time we've grown. A lot. Not just in traffic and forum numbers I'd like to think, but also in maturity and nous. Sure, we still screw up and make mistakes, and we still don't always handle things as well as we perhaps should, but as a whole we've learned one Hell of a lot, and I'd like to think that it's all filtered down into a better experience for our visitors.

Anyway, I think any hardware site worth its salt reaches a point of critical mass where manufacturers and companies start to sit up and pay attention when you request something from them, rather than simply hit the 'Delete' key. And I believe that this week has demonstrated that we are now beginning to take on that critical mass. I'm not going into details until I have concrete hardware in my hands, but what I will say is that this week has been a boon with regard to relations with several hardware manufacturers. There's one deal in particular which I'm really excited about that's been verbally agreed for some time, but now appears to be reaching that final stage of actually getting review samples, but I've also had a number of very fruitful conversations that look exceedingly likely to help bring more reviews and content to you guys. Like I say, I won't promise anything until I have it sat in front of me, but I have a very good feeling about the way things are going.

Of course, this doesn't mean I'll be sitting back and resting on my laurels - Indeed, it's going to require even more commitment and effort on my part to make things work out and prove that we've got what it takes to be up there with the regulars when it comes to the sample-winning lottery.

So, watch this space, and carry on telling me and the rest of the staff what is good, what is bad, and what you want more of, and I'll keep on doing everything in my power to try and secure the latest and coolest hardware to review. I know I won't always get it, but it won't ever stop me from trying. :)