Top FileMaker News Stories
Bento by FileMaker wins Editor’s Choice Award from PC News Weekly
Awarding the Editor’s Choice Award to Bento, the editors at PC News Weekly wrote, “If you’re not a database guru but want a database product that can help you learn while being quite functional, then Bento is the product for you to try.”
Star Wars universe lives in a 30,000-record FileMaker Pro database
Wired.com’s Chris Baker caught up with Leland Chee, continuity database administrator for Lucasfilm. “To Star Wars fans, Chee is the Keeper of the Holocron, arguably the leading expert on everything that happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away ... Of course, Chee's Holocron isn't a Force-sensitive crystal. It's a FileMaker database, a searchable repository of more than 30,000 entries covering almost every character, planet, and weapon ...”
Bento training now offered in the Apple One to One program
Learn how to get the most out of Bento. Get step-by-step Bento training from Apple retail stores as part of their One to One program.
Four stars for FileMaker Bento
Bento, the personal database application for Mac OS X Leopard, "may be one of the most user-friendly relational database applications I have ever encountered," suggests Tom Nelson (about.com). "For a remarkably low price of $49, FileMaker has created a truly easy-to-use database product."
Tell us your Bento story, get a chance to win an Apple iPhone 3G!
Our customers tell us that Bento, the stylish personal database for Mac, is fantastic for organizing everything from their clients and business contacts to jazz collections and goat herd details! And we want to hear your Bento story. Tell us briefly how and why you use Bento and you’ll get a chance to win an Apple iPhone 3G.
FileMaker Pro 9 keeps Palm Springs Photo Festival running smoothly
With hundreds of top photographers flocking to the annual Palm Springs Photo Festival, the founders needed a simple system to organize attendee registration and logistics. Problem solved with FileMaker Pro 9. “We could never have managed the number of people we served without our FileMaker barcode system. Our revenue doubled and our customer satisfaction increased and a large part of that picture was our FileMaker system,” said founder Jeff Dunas.
Bento wins Best Consumer Software and Grand Prix Awards from Macworld UK
Bento, the personal database software by FileMaker, Inc., won two prestigious annual awards from Macworld UK on July 13. The honors included Best Consumer Software for 2008, and the Grand Prix Award for most ground-breaking, original and exciting product of the past 12 months.
Macy's Parade Ditches Microsoft Access for FileMaker Pro -- MacObserver
...MacObserver reports that, "Macy's Parade & Entertainment Group, the arm that manages the retailer's annual Thanksgiving Day Parade, has given up on Microsoft Access and is moving its databases to FileMaker Pro 9. The company plans to use its new databases to manage every aspect of the popular parade from organizing volunteers to keeping floats and balloons on schedule."
Inc.com spotlights FileMaker Pro 9 SQL integration
Inc.com's Tech Talk column interviews the CIO of Crabby Bill’s, a chain of Florida restaurants, on how FileMaker Pro 9 helps improve productivity and reduce expenses. "We were originally looking at developing something in Microsoft.net. But we needed something we could put together pretty quickly. We knew about FileMaker Pro for a while, but when they came out with version 9, with a SQL back end, we realized we could pretty quickly build a front end and combine our two databases ... To do the initial front end took about a day."
Baltimore Sun recommends Bento as an ‘easy-to-use database for regular folks’
"The dearth of personal database programs for the Mac has puzzled me for a long time,” writes the Baltimore Sun's David Zeiler. “Enter Bento, a database app from the folks at FileMaker designed specifically for personal use ... And it doesn’t just look like an Apple application – Bento integrates with other Apple programs as much as any component of iLife or iWork ... Case in point: On first launch Bento imports any data you have in iCal and Address Book. "Overall, I recommend Bento for Mac users who have need of a database application. FileMaker has created an exceptionally Mac-friendly, easy-to-use database program for regular folk, and just in the nick of time."
Mr. Gadget says Bento ‘makes organizing your life as easy and fun as using your Mac’
Steve Kruschen, better known as Mr. Gadget on the web and TV, writes that he has always used FileMaker Pro as the engine behind MrGadget.com. He’s reviewed Bento, and writes, "In your work, if you need to track hours worked on a project or payments due, Bento it! If you are used to the way you find things in iTunes, Bento works the same way. Create libraries for your music, media and movies. Store your files and photos related to projects and events and let Bento keep it all neat, tidy and manageable, plus, with Bento, you can find what you want when you want it. "Try Bento and you’ll love Bento, I’m sure. It’s clever and cute, but, of greater importance, powerful and fun to use. Most of all, Bento is useful and can become easily indispensable if given the opportunity."
Bento is beautiful, requires no experience, says RealSimple.com
RealSimple.com is all about “Life made easier” and they found Bento a perfect fit for their philosophy: “Bento looks, feels and works like other Mac applications. Organizing your information into collections in Bento is much like organizing songs in iTunes. Bento is beautiful in design and you really don't need to understand database concepts or have any experience with databases to use it ... With Bento, I'm actually getting organized in a simple and stylish way. Sorry PC users. Just another reason to consider a Mac.”
Bento deserves a serious look, says Mark Sealey, MyMac Magazine
MyMac Magazine’s Mark Sealey awards Bento 4 out of 5 stars, and says, “A balance has been struck: users with complex, evolving and intricately relational databases may still be best with FileMaker Pro. Those for whom the lure of an elegant user interface is important and/or who want a direct equivalent of Numbers, Pages and iPhoto/iTunes and/or seamless integration with iCal and Address Book should look seriously at Bento.”
Bento is ‘simple, functional, focused, very effective’ says Creative Mac
Mike Jones, CreativeMac.com, discovers Bento is well-suited for developing and tracking creative projects. He concludes that “Bento isn’t bloated or overloaded with features you will never use. It is simple, functional, focused, very effective, inexpensive and highly adaptable. As a creative professional surrounded by highly complex digital tools, Bento may just be the saving grace that keeps the rest of your digital life together.”
Oscar-winning editor Walter Murch calls FileMaker “the heart of what I do"
Oscar-winning film editor Walter Murch, best known for his pioneering work on Apocalypse Now, Cold Mountain, Jarhead and The Talented Mr. Ripley, gives his first video interview describing how FileMaker Pro databases are “the nuclear heart of what I do” in the making of many of his landmark movies.
FileMaker announces limited-time savings on FileMaker Pro 9 upgrades
Qualifying customers may upgrade to FileMaker Pro 9 for only $119 (a savings of $60). If you are using FileMaker Pro 7, 8 or 8.5, you can get three versions’ worth of new features for a special low price by upgrading now. This and other special upgrade prices expire Sept. 26, 2008.
FileMaker 7 support ends soon; upgrade to FileMaker Pro 9 now
As of September 26, 2008, technical support and replacement media will no longer be available for any FileMaker 7 products. Take advantage of the limited time upgrade offer to get three versions’ worth of new features for one low price.
“Bento from FileMaker may be the first application to change databases and how consumers interact [them],” says Zoom-in.com
Zoom-in.com, the popular blog for Creative Pros thinks that Bento may just change the way you think about databases.
Bento is “simple, uncomplicated and really, really useful,” says The Washington Times
Bento by FileMaker, the new personal database for Leopard, draws praise for its elegant simplicity. “The computer age was supposed to reduce complexity and organize our lives, but somehow that hasn't automatically happened. This program may be a small step in the right direction,” writes Mark Kellner of The Washington Times.
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"Bento is an astounding little database application," says Chris Maxcer of MacNewsWorld
"Bento is one of those applications that's an enigma -- it's mysterious, puzzling and yet astoundingly simple at the same time. It's a personal database for regular people, not the kind of database used for big business. As you might expect from any Apple-related product, it's easy to use."
Downloads of Bento by FileMaker surpass 250,000
Over 250,000 users have downloaded Bento, the new personal database for Mac OS X Leopard, FileMaker announced March 18. “Bento’s popularity is propelled by the need for easy-to-use organizational software tools such as Bento, and by the rapid adoption of Mac OS X Leopard,” said FileMaker president Dominique Goupil.
FileMaker Pro 9 Advanced wins 5-Star rating from MacNN.com
For custom database development, FileMaker Pro 9 Advanced “has managed to offer the very best of both worlds. It offers real power, scalability and robustness alongside approachability, a clean and usable interface,” according to MacNN.com, which awards 5 Stars to FileMaker Pro 9 Advanced.
FileMaker Pro 9 is “not only the best version yet,” but also well suited to working with any type of data, says Mark Sealey.
FileMaker Pro 9 new features “... deftly pull the FileMaker products in line with what its users want and have requested. They make FileMaker Pro 9 not only the best version yet; but also one well suited to a wide range of circumstances in which any type of data can be worked with reliably and easily. Each new feature and enhancement has been carefully thought out and implemented.” writes Mark Sealey, MacNN.com.
With Bento, “Welcome to iDatabase,” says Macworld Magazine
“Bento,” reports Macworld’s Dan Moren, “FileMaker’s new consumer-level database, aims to do for the database what Numbers and Pages did for the spreadsheet and the page layout program, respectively: make them easy and accessible for the rest of us.” The new consumer-level database “provides an approachable interface that appeals to the general consumer and a feature set that’s suitable for a single user to manage data. Bento easily handles data that’s too cumbersome for a spreadsheet, yet doesn’t require the complexities of a professional-level database.”
Bento is “a powerful organizing tool anyone can use,” says Stephen Wildstrom of BUSINESS WEEK
Bento is “... a $50 database for the rest of us — at least those of us who use Macs. Bento takes the essence of FileMaker Pro, a database-management program aimed at small- and midsize businesses, and marries it to Mac's new Leopard operating system. The result is a powerful organizing tool anyone can use." -- Stephen Wildstrom, BUSINESS WEEK
Bento news on CNN, MSNBC, CNBC and Bloomberg News.
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Bento wins Mac Observer Editors' Choice
"This whiz-bang application makes building databases drag-and-drop easy, includes a slew of sharp looking templates, and can even work with your iCal and Address Book data." Read the review.
Is Bento so good it's "another reason to consider a Mac?" asks Network World
"In its attempt to make data organization meaningful to non-techies, Bento dispenses with terms like “database” and “table” in favor of “library” and “collection.” In fact, the tutorial notes the similarities to building a playlist in iTunes. I, for one, never thought I’d see a database able to achieve that level of simplicity. Yet another reason to consider a Mac?"
