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Pixieware Testimonials 

 
 
 
 

The following testimonials are a sample of the unsolicited comments we have received with respect to our products and services. They are reprinted here with the permission of the author. 

"The program (PixiePCL) has been so useful since mastering it. It works very quickly and has allowed us to be able to use a range of modern printers with what is now a pretty old system."
Edward Smith IT Services Manager, Wiltshire Friendly Society


We have attempted to use other products but PixieRobot was the only product that gave us the flexibility of VBScript and actually worked as we intended the program to work."

Mickey Frklic - The Essentials Network / Blue Essentials

For a non-picker like myself I would never gotten through our conversion to SQL Server without this product (PixieEditor).

Hans Fehlow, Red-D-Arc

 

We've been very happy with it (PixieProxy) so far--it's a great little product that does exactly what it's supposed to. (On the occasion of purchasing 4 more copies.)

Timothy Laird, DAA Productions

 

I searched and PixieEditor is the only program that did anything like this (Ed. export to SQL), and it is easy to use.

Mehboob Samani, Programmer/Network Admin, Precision Aviation Products

 

That is very responsive support. I am impressed by your service attitude.

Customer L

 

You guys are awesome! I'll have the fix put in by the end of the week... You either should have gotten, or should be getting, an order for (2) licenses (for PixiePrint) from ........., my client.

Ron Rosen, Consultant, Philadelphia, PA

 

"I'm glad it finally worked out for PixieWare (I know it was a long wait!). I know that Marty expressed a level of confidence using your company (PixieWare) despite the distance. I think that's a testament to your company, your product/solutions and, of course, your salesmanship and communication skills. I guess this is what all the internet fuss is about!" 

Richard Julian, President, DataScope Solutions, Inc.

 

"I did indeed investigate fPWeb and fPcgi. I also purchased both as they were reasonably priced, allowing me to do a hands-on evaluation. I also attended an fPTechnologies conference in Chicago to review the rollout of fPGI Server and while that product seems hopeful for internal use, I have opted to go with PixieWare's implementation (PixieWebŪ) at this time as their implementation suits my needs more efficiently and cost-effectively. (I also have a developer's version and 5 user licenses of fPGI Server and while I -will- use fpGI internally, the license fees are -way too- high.)

 

My requirements were: to pretty much be able to run my business applications (from the customer's perspective) via a web interface. My opinions on the products: fPWeb came closest to providing an easy answer for -me- to provide a quick and dirty filePro to web solution. I was able to do setup and installation on my own (using existing SCO Openserver 5.0.6, Apache webserver and filePro 5.0.08) and provide quick lookups into inventory, customer files, etc. I did find that -I- couldn't do complex programming calls as I do with my daily-use business application in-house over a web interface with fPWeb.

 

Finding PixieWare was a particularly enjoyable fluke. I was actually reviewing -other- Unix-based rapid-build application platforms to see what was available and while looking at 'Pick Systems' (D3) based setups, I ran across PixieWare's website. We discussed a few options, made a short demo and entered into what has become a mutually beneficial business relationship for over a year now. 

 

We're currently using a couple of their implementations - A customer entered login/lookup combination, and package tracking. Implementing PixieWare's approach was a "no brainer" for me. I already had an NT based webserver internally to process the ASP scripts locally from PixieWeb, and I did just a -very limited- bit of custom programming on my Unix side to set up the processing, (I) then told PixieWare what we were doing and they delivered. We have an 18 hour time difference from New Zealand to Indiana but scheduling real-time voice discussions is -the only- hassle I've had and that's easily fixed by good clear communication via email. We handled the last small job entirely via email. I think for the money and what I needed to accomplish, that I've gone the right direction for my needs. I've just put another small app from PixieWare up (on the web site) for package tracking and it works very well. We're scanning a filePro printed barcode of internal Sales Orders and Shipper supplied barcoded confirmation numbers into my existing filePro shipping confirmation file, and then providing an instant real-time confirmation number lookup from our website (to the UPS tracking system)." 

Kevin D. Wilkerson, Sr.,  Perfection Hydraulics

"I have talked to my boss. If we can buy (PixieWeb) from a U.S. distributor and find tech support from the same, she will be satisfied. I have been talking to TTT in south Florida, if they can provide what I need then we will purchase PixieWeb (should find out today). If possible, I would like to continue to some degree working with John. It might benefit both of us. I could continue to provide access to our system, which would allow you to add  Ultimate to your flavors of Pick, and John could answer some questions that I might have. I enjoyed working with John, he seems to possess a strong skill set in Pick and VB. Now that I know of Pixieware I see your name quite a bit, just read an article in Spectrum magazine. I can tell you that I feel you have a terrific product. If all goes well it will be utilized in my current project and possibly some things we are doing in the future. I would like to thank you and John for your help. We will talk soon. Thanks again."

Steve Ellison,  Apexmanagers

  

"The PixieEditor saved our conversion project. It is the best tool for getting data out of our Unix database in a form I can translate to our new system. I really appreciate all the help I received from your company, especially John Calder, in getting the product configured and up and running. Thanks again for your product."

John Lubenow,   The JI Companies

  

"Been working with the PixieWare folks for some time now; what I obtained from them was basically a D3/multivalue-savvy company that was willing to dive in and provide an adaptable solution to my particular set of challenges.

 

Most other vendors I have dealt with, in the past, did not have an adaptable methodology - they felt that It was necessary to massively re-engineer my app to move the business rules - the core investment - to the client. The web app would make calls back to the big dumb server on the back-end, but business rules would be handled by scripting outside of the main database server. 

 

Best case was a little 'lite' scripting by making sub calls to D3, still not very satisfactory. This philosophy even included Raining Data ('R.D.' for short), where the solution-du-jour was FlashConnect, touted as a workable solution assuming that 'every business rule invoked was a separate independent subroutine callable in any order, at any time.'

 

I need both 'event driven' and traditional 'tab sequence' equally, with the ability to check business rules IN CONTEXT of the current session for appropriateness of each action. If necessary, the user can be re-directed by the back-end, so 'event driven' does not necessarily mean 'client' event-driven. Events can be fired by both sides, depending upon the situation.

 

Only the Pixie folks understood architecturally what this meant. John Calder of Pixie was key in communicating this point.

 

With this as the context, I approached PixieWare and tried to get them to understand the vision. They completely understood and were able to work with me to produce a Pixie 'shell' program that talked to my UI middleware component with an XML-like protocol. The result was a flexible architecture that could switch between character-based, real-time interactive field-by-field Internet Explorer sessions, or traditional batch-oriented page-by-page submission models. My back-end applications really had no idea what UI they were talking to at the time, making maintenance and enhancements of the back-end MUCH simpler.

 

The Pixie folks allowed me to accomplish that.

 

I am by no means finished - still working on certain protocol areas, but here is what I can say about my working relationship with them:

 

a) They did not preach or dictate an cumbersome 'theoretical' architecture that did not fit my real requirements.

b) They were willing to adapt their middleware component to handle Japanese.

c) We worked 100% via the Internet and occasionally by Internet phone calls, so even though they were in New Zealand, geography did not present a problem at all.

d) The time difference between US Pacific Time and New Zealand was 24 hours minus 2 hours, so we could synchronize most of the time.

e) The pricing of their products and services was reasonable.

f) The success of your particular solution really depends on you - not them - and your ability to effectively communicate your needs. There are many possible solutions, and they will not force-fit any one thing on you.

g) They are a small enough company where there essentially is no frustrating beauracracy - a major plus. I prefer working with them, over, say, Genuity, because they treat me as a real customer and actually talk to me, with a level of professionalism and expertise that I could not get in the larger firms."

Mike Hiatt,  President,  MarCom Systems, Inc.

    

Email: sales@pixieware.com

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