“Bento is FileMaker’s first foray into the personal information management space, and unlike its corporate cousins, Bento is only for Macs (and only Macs running Leopard). Aimed at individuals with relatively simple data management needs, Bento is simple to use and looks pretty good. In its default configuration, Bento hooks into your Address Book and iCal data,” Gripman reports.
“Bento organizes information in three tiers. A Library is the top tier, something akin to a table in a traditional database. Collections are the second level; they’re subsets of a Library’s records. The makers of Bento suggests thinking of Collections like iTunes playlists. As with playlists, you can have static and Smart Collections. Records are the third tier, and to drag out this iTunes metaphor just a bit further, your records are analogous to songs,” Gripman reports.
“Bento is a product for individuals with basic data management needs. If simplicity eclipses flexibility among your needs, it may be just what you’re looking for. While we see some excellent potential in Bento, we hope FileMaker will loosen the reins a little in the next version,” Gripman reports.
Much more in the full article here.
Two things:
1. It should import AppleWorks databases (as should FilemakerPro), giving people an upgrade path to ditch the discontinued AppleWorks should be mandatory.
2. It should be bundled with the next update to iWork.
Can you use it as a simple billing program? Could you make a simple invoice and keep per client and per yearly, quarterly or monthly totals?
In other words, could you use it the way we used the original Filemaker?
Being able to import Appleworks database files is a must for this application.
Shouldn’t be too difficult, Appleworks is made by the same company!
As already mentioned, that would give those holding onto Appleworks just for their database files, an clear migration path.
@Big Al
I don’t believe Bento has any programming capabilities of the kind that is found in FMP.
It really cannot be used in the same was as FMP
I give credit to Apple for release Bento but it reminds me of the first version of AppleTV–more of a “hobby” at this stage than a truly useful product. That’s a little harsh since there are some basic things you can do with it, but relative to what is needed, it’s not there yet. And, yes, I’m fully aware that Bento is not intended to be Filemaker Pro; it still has a way to go to become what it should be.
Can either Bento or FileMaker Pro do anything with an Access .mdb file?
Like Jake said, Bento is now like Apple TV version 1 was. It is a complete project with great potential that is not nearly tapped yet. I expect Bento version 2 will be outstanding. Ideally, if it were better married to Filemaker Pro, it could be a great front end for users to input data and use data that might reside in complex Filemaker Pro databases.
Alternatively, I’m hoping Filemaker Pro’s next revision implements the look and feel of Bento. Now that would be a hot product for the database geeks out there.
Bento has much more power than it would appear on the surface. It will not replace FMPro nor be all things to all people. A second look has convinced me of the value of this program enough to buy it. Without reading a manual, I easily figured out how to create a new database to hold data that I used to hold in ACT. After importing a CSV file, Bento created the new fields and names automatically. I just had to tweak the format types of certain cells. While not a full-fledged CRM, it is surprisingly effective at many things.
Check out their forums to see how people are using it now. Very responsive tech support, too. The program will only get better. Just my $.02.
Yes, it does sound like a version 1 that is being tested for inclusion in iWork.
But consider the fact that in the Windows world, the most common use for an Excel spreadsheet is to make lists! 90% of the people I know don’t ever do a formula and I am not even sure most know how. They think that is what Excel is for.
For them, an easy to use Bento will seem like the Starship Enterprise compared to using a spreadsheet like Excel as a database.
The thing that blows their mind when they see me use iWork is how functions integrate together through the 3 apps. Make Bento number 4 and complete the package, Apple.
@Tergenev
FileMaker Pro can import or export pretty much any data format with relative ease.
@Appleworks people
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” /> The amount of people using Appleworks for the last few years is between zero and none. Out of those people, the amount that used the database capabilities of the product is a tiny fraction of that.
Get over it.
Bento would be useful if it could only open data sources other than the calendar and the address book on a Mac. If one could take a simple data source like a CSV file or a spreadsheet and turn it into a Bento library it might be worth using.
FileMaker Pro is an excellent high end product but one that has become so “windows-like” that it is a pain to use and far too difficult for the average user. Something in between Bento and FileMaker that is similar to the original capabilities of FileMaker would be a great success.
EXACTLY!!!
I have been saying for years that iWork needed a spreadsheet app and a database app. One down; one to go.
My “test” version has expired, and it was for the Beta, so I can’t be certain, but I believe it CAN do “simple billing”. There are quite a few templates for quite a number of standard “applications”, and I seem to recall that was one of them. Which in no way means it was included in the final product, nor does it mean this isn’t the “Mad Cow” speaking. Big All, go to the Apple Store near you and ask for a demonstration.
Jeremy, you are mistaken about AppleWorks. My wife was using it until iWork’08 was forced down her throat. I was using the DB portion for quite a few things until fairly recently. It did the job.
Dave
dlmeyer:
Ok, your wife. That’s one…
How dare Apple ram these new fangled programs down people’s wives’ throats. Gosh darn it, I LIKED System 7. It got the job done.
So did my Austin Healy and my record player and my subscription to Mac Addict, with that cute little cartoon guy they had.
This ‘progress’ thing is overrated.
Bento is a nice start and I believe that there will be enhancements over the next year or two.
Sending files to the iPod shouldn’t be that hard and when the SDK comes out I also see the iPhone/touch added.
What I do not see, however, is Bento being folded into iWork – nor do I see iWork having a database developed specifically for it.
To do the sort of things that I want done, Bento would need scripting and automation capabilities, which currently are only to be found in Filemaker.
The thing that was the decisive issue in making me buy my first Mac was Hypercard. Superficially, Bento is similar to Hypercard, but Hypercard had comprehensive scripting features, which helped to make it such an amazingly versatile application.
When Hypercard was abandoned, the nearest equivalent was Filemaker ( version 2.2 if I recall correctly ). It doesn’t seem so unlikely that Bento could one day acquire similar functionality to Hypercard and would totally transform it’s usefulness.
Jeremy and almost jeremy,
Tens of thousands of school teachers, collage professors and the like use AW, and it’s DB. I personally know many business folks using AW to manage their day to day paperless office quite successfully. Yes AW may not be actively sold however, still it’s greatly used. AW DB is a true flat file DB, Bento isn’t. At best Bento is a card filing system. Using AW DB one can produce hundreds of layouts from a database, the list goes on.
If Bento would equal AW DB plus have the Bento look and feel it would be a terrific product.
Yes AW is a older product but, it still produces well for it’s dedicated users.
I have to agree with Bubba – I have dozens of Appleworks databases that still work fine, and I am eagerly waiting for the ability to translate them into a modern program. I created a billing database for my brother to use for his business years ago, and he just can’t stop using it. Every year he starts setting up Quickbooks, etc. and then gives it up and goes back to his Appleworks.
Yep, Jeremy and AJ, there may not be a statistically significant number of us as compared to the general population, but if you’d Google Appleworks User Groups, you’d find still a fair number out there. We’re not asking for an updated Appleworks, only a one-way script to import the databases AND layouts/searches/sorts. I’d buy Bento or Filemaker Pro (or anything else) tomorrow if any of them could do that. I am not interested in exporting my databases to CSV and recreating everything from scratch, which is the only “work-around” ever offered. I’d bet that if Bento added that functionality, AUGs would dry up fast in favor of iWork/Bento.
By the way, Appleworks 6 was also available for Windows XP and worked very well.
Sorry, almost Jeremy, you can’t lay that one at Apple’s door. I admit to being the villain, there. I even created a handy little Pages template for her … a three-page thing set up for Title, Description and Script. Of course, now she wants me to put the Script-format page up front, followed by the other two … it seems she writes a lot more “plays” than she gets around to writing titles for. <sigh!>
BubbaJones, I believe Bento is a relational database system with a simple, effective, and limited user interface. At once much more, and no more, than a card file system. Much easier to use for some things than AW ever was, but much harder to use for things Apple didn’t provide a template for. Sure, the templates are quite flexible, after a fashion, but not … really. I agree that AW DB is more powerful, even if much more primitive. I need to buy a multiple-license “family pack”, but can’t justify the cost for the current offering. I still have AW on my system, it still works, I can wait for Bento v2.
Does AppleScript or Automator work with Bento?
Reality Check, I can understand you’re being dismissive of Bento, but that doesn’t change industry-standard definitions. Flat vs Relational have nothing to do with scale or intricacy but everything to do with “style”. A Card Index is a simple form of Flat DB, each record part of a single DB and each unrelated to the others. Relational is a DB where you can easily link between different DBs to form a new DB or a report based on related information from multiple DBs. An IT Pro may snicker at Bento’s pretension regarding its status, but I believe the definition stands.
You are certainly correct when commenting that the current version is decidedly limited … more along the lines of what you might expect of a much more primitive DB than a more advanced one. Some of that might be fixed by v2, or ’09 (PLEASE roll it into iWork … please?).
I think everyone expects Bento to make it in to iWorks at some point in the future. Bento is a neat product and a great idea, but needs more interoperability and an SDK before it can move to the next level.
Bento is just ugly, and tedious to use.
In a database system, I’m sure it’s ok to use a mouse, but all the keys should be at your fingertips with out moving a mouse…