With the intuitive iTunes-style interface in Bento, users can accomplish any of the following in minutes:
• Manage virtually unlimited contact details
• Coordinate events, parties, and fundraisers
• Track projects, assignments and deadlines
• Connect related information together to see more details
• Prioritize things that need to get done
• Catalog inventory, donations and items for sale
• Record hours worked and payments due
• Assign ratings to service providers and sellers
• Create libraries for music, movies and media
• Store files and photos related to projects and events
Bento costs US$49, or $99 for a family pack of five licenses, and is available on the FileMaker Web store, at Apple retail and web stores, and other places where software is sold.
Since the public preview of Bento began Nov. 13, more than 140,000 copies have been downloaded.
Bento requires Mac OS X v.10.5 Leopard on a Mac computer with an Intel, PowerPC G5 or PowerPC G4 (867MHz or faster) processor. A minimum of 512MB of RAM and 1GB of hard drive space is recommended. A CD drive is required for installation of boxed software.
FileMaker, Inc. develops award-winning database software. Its products include the legendary FileMaker Pro product line for Windows, Mac and the Web, and the new Bento personal database for Mac. Millions of customers, from individuals to large organizations, rely on FileMaker, Inc. software to manage, analyze and share information. FileMaker, Inc. is a subsidiary of Apple Inc.
If Bento can organize my life, it deserves a Nobel Prize.
Thanks to Bob R. 4 hours ago for the heads up…
Apple needs to include something in iWork like Bento. I was hoping for a lightweight database program in iWork ’08 along side Numbers, but no joy.
You da man, Bob R.!!!
This single-user limited db is very pretty, but from the forums does not meet many of the most basic db needs.
I would suggest Apple add Bento to iWork as the data module (e.g. to support mail-merging from Pages) and bring FileMaker back closer into the fold with all the multi-user, auto-related multi-file, internet-enabled, cross-platform functionality for pro-users. Yet, even home users need some pro-functions such as sharing.
It’s a non-starter if it won’t run on Tiger. Dumb DUMB minimum system requirements.
— Hano
@ Grigori
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that’s funny
Ooh. Bento box for lunch….
I know where they’ve bento. So she’s the reason for the name. Oh my Cod, they did it for the halibut.
I’ve been using the preview version of Bento and it works fine for my needs. I’ll definitely be ordering a copy in the near future.
I showed the Bento preview to a PC/Windows programmer relative who was writing a program to track his gun collection. He appeared to be very favorably impressed and also a bit dejected. Think of all of the time that he spent with M$ coding that he could have spent photographing his weapons and inserting the pictures, serial numbers, ammunition type, etc. into Bento. You could even track shot pattern data/photographs, service history, etc. by creating, dragging and dropping new fields.
I intend to purchase this product. You can imagine so many potential uses for it in addition to the built-in connectivity to iCal and Address Book.
I’m not a real fan of the fact that Bento doesn’t actually save databases or have a good interchange ability with Filemaker Pro.
Bento is <u>not</u> Filemaker Lite. I’ve used the Beta and can assure you it is “too light” for that title. OTOH, it is easy to use, attractive, and able to deal with most of what a purely Home User needs to do. Address Book, Calender, Collections … the little things that make life that much less difficult. It will be quite useful for my wife when it comes to keeping track of submission deadlines for plays and the like. Maybe now she can get around to organizing her Address Book!
$100 is a bit steep for a Family Pack … $70 would be better. If I can’t figure a third place to load it … just my wife’s, I guess.
Bento is beautiful and very easy to use. However, I discovered that it cannot produce mailing labels unless the records are in your Address Book app. I believe when they add that option I will be able to use it in my business as my needs are pretty basic. With a few improvements like that I believe it will be a great product.
I wish it had more fields that could export to Address Book.
I had a strange occurrence when I had iTunes playing and iCal and Address Book and Safari going with Bento. Things were slowing down, so I tried closing a couple of apps, and the dock showed them to still be open after they were forced quit. I finally clicked on the icon to restart it, and the little ball under them would finally disappear, but the program didn’t restart till I clicked again. Just once, but strange.
This is not a ‘database’. Without even a simple query function it has less functionality than a spreadsheet. What is the point?
justaminute…. … “not a database”? “without even a simple query function”?
OK, read what I said above. Now, with that understanding, explain how it is “not a database”. Certainly, it is limited. You’ll get no arguments from me about that. But “database” is not defined by a set slew of features. All you need to have “a database” is to have set up a way to store material that can then be accessed according to an “inventory”. The Address Book is a database. So is iCal, so is iTunes. Very specific, to be sure, and quite limited, and designed with a goal other than being a “generic” database in mind, but they are databases.
So is Bento. Not only does it store a collection of data, not only can it select a limited set of the data stored, but it a) creates its own file to store its information and b) can access and edit other databases.
Dave