John Bowman

Bento has been getting a lot of good press lately, for good reason. So I figured, why not add my voice to the choir. Bento was first introduced back in November 2007, shortly after the release of Leopard. It was announced as a new personal database specifically designed for the Mac.

I’ve been experimenting with Bento for about six months & I absolutely love it. My life has been “databased” for years. I had built custom FileMaker databases for contacts, artwork, books, movies, passwords … you name it, I had a database for it. Bento has easily replaced all those and in some cases allowed for a more robust database, since I was able to easily add elements that were on my to do list for years (who has time to work on their own solutions).

Bento comes with a nice assortment of templates, but the real power is in the easy customization. Special fields can be added with just a couple clicks. The straight forward interface doesn’t require any previous knowledge of FileMaker and is pretty Macintosh intuitive.

Will Bento replace your more elaborate database solutions? No. Can Bento easily organize your personal life or answer the needs of a small business, under one simple location? Yes. From everything I’m seeing Bento will become the next essential Mac OS tool for all users.

Bento is only $49 for a single license and $99 for a family license (5 pack). For a quick overview of using Bento with Leopard, check out FileMaker’s Bento Movie.

Finally. Doctor Who is on iTunes. As the third season finale approaches on the SciFi Channel, iTunes has added seasons one through three. Classic episodes of the Doctor will be following soon. For anyone who doesn’t know, Doctor Who holds the record for the longest running scifi drama ever; first airing on the BBC November 23, 1963 and running until December 6, 1989 (with a Fox movie in 1996). The show was relaunched in 2005, airing in the United States on the SciFi Channel in 2006. If you like SciFi, you’ll love this show. Check it out.

The FileMaker DevCon was last week in Phoenix, Arizona. Here are some quick highlights: Fusion Reactor was recognized with a FileMaker Excellence Award; Inspector saw some competition this year from Base Elements; 360Works was able to show off their new Supercontainer first hand; and it was announced that DevCon 2009 would be held in San Francisco.

It was an intense week, with obviously a lot more products highlighted during the product showcase and during the marathon of sessions than listed above. One of the great things about DevCon is how it inspires you to try new things; both in regards to FileMaker products and pushing the envelope of your own solutions. As I digest the overload of information and start trying out some new solutions I’ll post again.