 The Bento public preview running on Leopard |
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| Developer(s) | FileMaker Inc. |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 3.0 / 2009-9-29 |
| Operating system | Mac OS X, iPhone OS |
| Type | Database |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | Official website |
Bento is a database application for Mac OS X made by FileMaker Inc.. Bento differs significantly from the company's flagship product, FileMaker Pro, in that it relies heavily on templates and integration with other applications. By default, Bento's data sources include Apple's Address Book and iCal applications, and it can modify them directly.
Contents |
Compatibility
Bento is only compatible with Mac OS X 10.5 or later due to its reliance on features not available in previous versions of the operating system. Certain actions such as switching templates use Core Animation to animate the transition. It also includes integration with Time Machine for backing up and requires iCal 3.0 for live data editing.[1]
Release schedule
A public preview was made available along with the initial product announcement on November 13, 2007.[2] The final version was released on January 8, 2008.[3]
Version history
| Date | Version |
|---|---|
|
Nov 13 2007 |
Bento Public Preview |
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Jan 8, 2008 |
Bento v1 |
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Oct 14, 2008 |
Bento v2 |
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Sep 29, 2009 |
Bento v3 |
Upgrade controversy
On October 14, 2008, FileMaker released Bento 2.0, which contained bug fixes and new features, including integration with Apple's Mail. The new version does not offer upgrade pricing and costs the same as version 1. Many customers expressed their disappointment at the official Bento user forums,[4] where FileMaker responded that they were using the "same pricing model" as other companies' products such as Apple's iWork and iLife suites.
Further, on November 25, FileMaker provided an official statement[5] indicating that they would discontinue revisions and bug fixes for the version 1 product.
Given interest in a revision, this was neither a quick, nor an easy decision to come to.
Bento 1 received extensive beta testing, but like every software product, issues were discovered after shipment. We followed up with Bento 1.0.2 to address critical issues that had been discovered.
In addressing product issues discovered after 1.0.2 for the 2.0 release, we reworked the product in significant, and sometimes, architectural ways. Simply put, this means that there is no way to easily migrate the fixes in 2.0 backwards to 1.0. We would have to reengineer 1.0 until it effectively became 2.0. Doing so would have strongly delayed the 2.0.3 version of Bento, which we will be releasing as a free update for Bento 2.0.1/2.0.2 this week, and continued development of the Bento product line.
As of September 29, 2009, price for Bento is $49 single, $99 (Family Pack of five licenses), and $29 upgrade from Bento 1 or 2. [6]
References
- ^ Meet Bento — FileMaker Inc.
- ^ First Look: FileMaker's Bento database for Leopard — MacNN
- ^ Dalrymple, Jim (2008-01-08). "FileMaker ships Bento personal database". Macworld. http://www.macworld.com/article/131457/2008/01/bento.html. Retrieved 2008-01-09.
- ^ Bento User Forums - http://forums.filemaker.com/fmbnto/board/message?board.id=contsugother&thread.id=1425
- ^ Official response to upgrade pricing and Bento 1 update questions - Bento User Forums http://forums.filemaker.com/fmbnto/board/message?board.id=contsugother&thread.id=1425
- ^ Bento pricing http://www.filemaker.com/products/bento/overview.html Filemaker.com. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
External links
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