The ballot is the same one that was posted on InfoWorld Electric in February. I don't know whether that is still up and visible (the Webmasters have a fairly detailed list of what stays up in archives and what does not).
For the categories of client, server, networking, etc. we did indeed make suggestions of products that our editors considered important and they all had to ship by December 31, 1996; participants were also allowed to offer their own "write in" candidates. We think of the list as a good starting point for voters, and a way of jogging their memory. I believe that the list was in alphabetical order on Electric, but as is common practice in telephone surveys, the survey company rotated the reading, so that the Apple Color Laser printer would not be the first read each and every time.
For the overall product of the year, we asked participants to recall all 42 products considered -- plus their write ins -- and name the one product that they would judge Product of the Year.
This is the same way we have run Product of the Year balloting for years, with the exception that we actually printed and mailed ballots for several years. Long-time print readers can look through their back issues to review our articles on Product of the Year selections, methodology, and maybe even ballots (if they did not vote).
Rachel Parker
Guest Host
For questions or comments, email the Forums Editor