Christina Warren offers some good thoughts on why many of the larger sites “temper” their opinions in product reviews. I can see where she is coming from, but — and this is something I didn’t specifically mention — a larger problem is a general lack of solid, strong, op-ed articles and opinions on what are essentially re-written press releases.
I’m not just saying we need more opinion in tech reviews — I’m saying we need more opinion in writing period. There’s always a spot for the “unbaised” opinion-less news reporting, but that spot only needs a few people to fill it and that spot is just reporting.