Rixstep
 About | ACP | Buy | Industry Watch | Learning Curve | News | Products | Search | Substack
Home » About » Testimonials

Testimonials

What people are saying about the ACP, Xfile, and this site.


Get It

Try It

'Superb programmers.'

'I passed the weekend perusing the 'Learning Curve' and some of the old stuff and I'm learning that these articles (as they appear to me) are actually the pieces to a bigger puzzle which is the beauty of the ACP masterpiece. The site is chocked with resources... They tell the story of what has evolved and 'how things work... even when 'it just does'. As a fast-learning novice, I'm enjoying all the information you all produce. Please keep it up. Thanks again.'

'I finally got tired of being able to click faster than Path Finder could respond. It was clear that adding more features was higher on their priority list than making the features fast and bug-free. So I purchased a license for Xfile.'

'Your site did more to help me when I dumped Windows than any other single site on the net. I very much appreciate the non-fanboy approach you take. I switched to Mac not because it makes me feel 'creative' or because all the cool kids have it but because of OS X's better, not perfect, but better security. My remaining PC boxes have all been converted to Linux.'

'It's always nice to see things work as advertised.'

'Not only is the software better here but it's far more entertaining.'

'The ACP: in this layman's opinion an absolutely vital part of any toolbox.'

'Xfile is a fantastic file browser for OS X that really puts the Finder to shame.'

'Xfile is without a doubt the greatest file browser ever written for the Mac. Once you start using it you never want to see the Finder again.'

'I really wish Apple had you as 'consultants with authority' - by which I mean the real authority to kick a few backsides there 'with prejudice' and restore their OS to the potential it once had.'

'Thank you very much for making Xfile. I recently started on a Mac and the Finder has been one of my biggest frustrations in the process.'

'Your site has inspired me to learn Unix. Thanks.'

'I'm typing to let you guys know how much I love your commentary in the 'Industry Watch' section. It never fails to make me laugh at the clever MS scorning, and the balanced critique of Apple. OS X unfortunately seems doomed into low priority mode since the iPhone has been pulling in the huge revenue. You'd think with 50 bill in the bank they'd dedicate more resources to the 'crown jewels'. Meh! I look forward to the continued entertainment you guys provide me. Stay cool.'

'Just got your mail about Benny. Good for you guys - I once got into some trouble in the middle east and 'disappeared'. Got out through the efforts of a complete stranger who heard about me and knew how the system worked. This is a good thing to be doing.'

'This is a terrific and useful piece of software based on an interesting concept which gives us a fascinating insight into the Unix command line roots of OS X. I like it!'

'Incredibly valuable! A first-class utility that no serious Mac user should be without. No matter how handy you are with the terminal you can't possibly remember every command that's available in CLIX. Kudos to Rixstep for continuing to maintain this invaluable piece of software - and keeping it free!'

'Just wanted to say thanks to all who have worked building this site and the associated products. With little more than self taught experience I often struggle to understand what the heck you guys are talking about 90% of the time but I'm picking up bits and pieces as the days go by. The learning curve column has been very useful and the last couple of entries have helped tremendously. Again I appreciate your insight, input, and advice.'

'Thank you for your products. I very much appreciate the support and fine craftsmanship they embody.'

'Tack för en frisk vind i den ofta unkna IT-världen.'

'Your ACP package contains some of the sweetest (and tightest) software I have ever experienced. I appreciate your work very much.'

'You have one helluva sense of humour!'

'I love your software.'

'I have subscribed the renewal and I hope you will be able to maintain the high technical standard we have seen during the past year.'

'I like your philosophy.'

'Good suite. Such a relief to find such useful tools even if I'm but a dilettante.'

'An excellent package of programs to manage and maintain my computer.'

'The postcards for Benny is a great idea. I used to do some jail support for environmental activists and I know that getting cards means a lot to people when they're locked up. Good on you guys for this!'

'What a terrible state of affairs. And I have to salute your concern and your actions.'

'Great campaign that I support 100%. Keep up the good work.'

'An absolutely and totally cool thing!'

'Thanks for your good work. I have sent your request to about 200 people.'

'Just wanted to say thank you. I'm new to the Mac, after 25 years of DOS/Windows, and of all the resources online and hard copy, I've learned more from using CLIX and reading your website and your forums than all other Mac related sources combined.'

'Your articles get me through my day of working in an all Windoze office where our CTO gets any/all his 'security' information directly from Microsoft. On a side note I really hope Apple pulls it together and releases a new FS with 10.5. Thanks for the laughs.'

'The unpublished article just had me spit my drink out from laughing. 10/10. I was just in the Apple store last night and that pretty much fits the bill of every employee there. Trying to get any kind of technical info out of them is like pulling teeth.'

'I'm using your CLIX application for a quite some time and really pleased with my experience. I'd like to thank you for taking a time and developing such a great and useful application and releasing it for free!'

'I just wanted to say thank you for making the ACP software package. I really don't know what I'd do without it on OS X. I think whatever I would do would be much slower and definitely not as complete. I am very new in the programming field (in college and an internship) and really appreciate the articles from the website and newsletters. Some of the things that really irk me seem to be the same things that raise issues with your staff as well so that is reassuring (or cause for disillusionment even).'

'Thank you very much for all the information and the compliments on my website as well. I also very much appreciate the critical view you present on your site - critical view on the things where Apple matters and which should matter to Apple.'

'What a blast, thanks so much. ACP Web Services are my favorite services, major enhancement to my Internet use.'

'The last two newsletters have been too funny. I have had some fanboy experience myself, having been a hardware and software developer for Amiga computers at Applied Magic back in the late 90s during the Commodore meltdown. I have to say that even the most rabid Video Toaster equipped Amiga fanboy doesn't hold a candle to the ones generated by Apple. Keep it up, this makes for some fun reading.'

'Just wanted to say thanks for your well-written HFS/HFS+ article, it was quite an eye opener. It looks like it's time Apple got around to making a new file system.'

'Keep up the great work!'

'Thank you so much for Xnews 10,002 'Months of Bugs II' I have deleted all Unsanity apps from my MacPro and life is better for it. It nearly caused my head to EXPLODE reading it! I can't imagine being so smart that one could write that in less that a day. Color me impressed!'

'Sorry for the crappy english, it's not my primary language. Hi, I'd been following your site for a couple of years and I think what you do for OS X security is really great and the mac users should a lot more gratefull about your efforts.'

'First of all, I must say I'm quite impressed with the details of your site's behind the scenes ('the very ugly') on many of the utilities I've been using. I've always figured they were just front ends to command lines but you actually proved it.'

'Thank for the information and most importantly thanks for empowering users with the 'very ugly truth'. That information needs to be out there. The behind the scenes command lines were exactly what I was searching for.'

'Lastly, thanks for CLIX. Great great tool to explain many of the defaults and terminal commands that people (like me) couldnt find anywhere else. Period.'

'While I'm waiting for your reply to my last email I thought I'd also write to tell you how great the Rixstep and Radsoft websites are. I've learned a lot reading through them, and am appreciative of the public service aspects contained within. Thanks for the good work!'

'I teach English in a California high school, so I appreciate your reference to teaching courses and how Hill of Gas's (lol) text doesn't meet the standards. I pun relentlessly at my students, so that is another part of your articles that I enjoy.'

'My programming experience is limited to simple bash shell scripts, a little C, and applescript 'programs', and I was looking to jump into something more meaty this summer. Your suggestion to visit the bookstore and look at the books is apt and advice I frequently give others (Border's for me, no Barnes and Nobles in Davis where I live). My wife will laugh when I tell her that I've got to go spend a few hours in the bookstore.'

'I just wanted to send a thank you to whom ever wrote the Learning Curve article regarding OS X menus 1. It has helped me immensely. PS. I love your site and now subscribe to it.'

'I downloaded it and liked it so much I bought the 'whole enchilada' of tools they offer (including 'CLIX') for $39. One tool allows you to see all resource forks a file uses, another is a 'Finder' type application that is faster than 'Finder' and allows you to see all of the files (including hidden) that are on your system. Tools such as these can be very handy for a developer or system administrator.'

'Just wanted to say thanks for the writings on your webpage - higly educating, well-written, and a lot of fun too!'

'Heavy user of music apps. On my PB G4. I found your website in Landau's book, Mac OS X Help Line. He refers to CLIX in chapter 3. Meant to merely download CLIX but spent the entire afternoon reading and learning on your site! Wound up ordering your suite too. Deleted OnyX and Xupport from my drive. Really refreshing! Please keep up the great work!'

'looking at all the functions and the folks who are charging money for a gui front end to command line functionality makes you want to scratch your head and doing something different to theirs'

'Earlier this week, I sent you all, an email on behalf of a friend of mine, who came across CLIX and was totally befuddled as to its functionality. He asked me to send his questions on to you, about Tiger compatibiity and how to get it up and running. In the interim, i downloaded CLIX, figured it out, and got back to him about it.'

'I have advised him to reference your UNIX bibliography and start reading basic UNIX texts and explanation of commands. I really don't want to see him using CLIX without more knowledge under his belt.'

'After he got me curious about CLIX, I started investigating the ACP. A truly feature rich toolkit. Unlike others I have come across over the years which either throw a GUI over a handful of commands and/or open up security holes.'

'Xfile is #1 on my list to purchase tomorrow. At $45 for the lot, that's less than a dollar for each. Such value.'

'I am going to contact the editors I do some writing for online and pitch them the ACP as the basis for an article. With any luck they'll say yes.'

'Hi, Just read your articles on Rixstep about Cocktail which I'd been using for a couple of years. (Before that I used MacJanitor.) I'm a little ashamed because I'm used to running DOS and Unix commands; having a GUI just made things go quicker. I do use Terminal for some maintainance but your article has made me see the light and I'll be trying out CLIX. Thanks for making it free. I've also got rid of Cocktail which thankfully I had not purchased.'

'Those were the days when even I could read the code. I retired after twenty years in forensics as a crime scene/evidence investigator. I've been tinkering with the PC side for awhile but started playing with the various live Linux CD packages just to get a feel for it. In the fall I'd just had enough with the PC side of the field, and managing a dozen Windows machines became a full time job, so I just bought an iBook to see what it was like. (And then a second iBook, so when I screw up the first one I can use the second as a template to get back.) It's been a good experience, but I was really disappointed at the dearth of OS X web sites that get into the root of the system. There are tons of tip sites to change the appearance or add some other useless toy, but little available for those of us wanting to know how things work under the hood. That's why I've found Rixstep and CLIX to be so invaluable. I enjoy getting into the Terminal and just making things happen. There is a sense of accomplishment that just is not there when you click some button on a program.'

'I still have my first edition from 1999 of Hacking Exposed. I pulled it back off the bookshelf to reread.'

'As always, great article - thanks a lot for your efforts on the OS X security/Unix/FTFF front line. Keep up the spirit.'

'Keep up the good work.'

'I have to say I love your website and always read it with interest. It's a travesty where Apple have gone and what they have done with NextStep/OpenStep technology.'

About | ACP | Buy | Industry Watch | Learning Curve | News | Products | Search | Substack
Copyright © Rixstep. All rights reserved.