Apple is apparently really excited about Bento. They don’t often showcase new software from third parties through their own press release RSS feeds, but today, that’s exactly what they did.
Here’s the blurb:
Designed specifically for Mac OS X Leopard, Bento offers one place to put your important information, including: contacts, calendars, projects, and events. Bento automatically displays contacts and calendars kept within Address Book and iCal, with no need to re-enter existing names, phone numbers, email addresses or upcoming events. “Bento is the personal database for the millions of Mac users who appreciate the elegance and ease of use of their Mac,†said FileMaker president Dominique Goupil. “With Bento, we are providing an incredibly easy way to manage all your information — iCal calendar events, Address Book contacts, digital media and files — all in one place, effortlessly.â€
If you’re a Leopard user you can try Bento for free by clicking here. I have never used Database software before in my life (I’ve never had a reason too), but I’m going to be trying this out this afternoon. From a complete Database noob’s perspective, I’m sure it will be an interesting experience, but I’d also like to hear from any of you that are familiar with Database software…how does this preview compare?
3 thoughts on “Apple introduces Bento – from the creators of FileMaker”
I used Filemaker at work for two years and at home for three and a half and I’ve almost completely switched (for home and work–different work though) to Bento in the last day… the $50 price tag was the decider.
It’s nowhere near as powerful and lots of obvious stuff is missing (you can’t, or I couldn’t find where to, change fonts) but it’s faster and less sprawling if you don’t need to sprawl.
“Apple is apparently really excited about Bento. They don’t often showcase new software from third parties through their own press release RSS feeds, but today, that’s exactly what they did.”
That’s probably because technically FileMaker isn’t a 3rd party developer — they are wholly owned by Apple.
@Dennis
huh…I was not aware of that.