# Filemaker



## kps (May 4, 2003)

I'm not a big time developer, but I do have the advanced version and have dome several workgroup solutions in a previous life as a corporate peon and when I was self-employed.

What I have been noticing lately is that all they're doing is pushing and improving Bento. Bento this and Bento that. I'm wondering whether Filemaker Inc. will go the way of the dodo bird very shortly and Apple will take over any Bento development or just kill it along with Filemaker.

I'm not getting good vibes with respect to any of it...


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## groovetube (Jan 2, 2003)

who you callin' corp peon? 

I've been considering bento for some time. I certainly hope that doesn't get dumbed down or 'killed'.


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## kps (May 4, 2003)

groovetube said:


> who you callin' corp peon?
> 
> I've been considering bento for some time. I certainly hope that doesn't get dumbed down or 'killed'.


Pretty dumbed down as it is, Groove, but functional I suppose. I only have limited experience with Bento, The only reason I purchased the original version was because it had an iPhone app at that time. Since FM-GO I don't need Bento.


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## Oakbridge (Mar 8, 2005)

You are mistaken that nothing is being done to move FileMaker forward. We've seen a number of minor updates including one last September. FileMaker Go was released just over a year ago and the main FM product typically sees a major release every 12-24 months. FM 11 was released in March of 2010, so it's coming up on the 24 months. I'm guessing that we'll hear something before the summer is over.


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## kps (May 4, 2003)

Okay, but do you think it's a viable long term platform? Do you think Apple will continue to support (hold) FM Inc?


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## Oakbridge (Mar 8, 2005)

Yes. 

What you may not be aware of is that FileMaker has an incredibly large corporate user base. I believe one of the hospitals here in Toronto has over 3,000 licenses. 

It's not going anywhere.


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## kps (May 4, 2003)

Oakbridge said:


> Yes.
> 
> What you may not be aware of is that FileMaker has an incredibly large corporate user base. I believe one of the hospitals here in Toronto has over 3,000 licenses.
> 
> It's not going anywhere.


Alright, you're definitely closer to the pulse of FM than I am, but with Apple moving away from enterprise (unless it's the iPhone) and pro markets, you can't blame me for bring concerned.


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## CanadaRAM (Jul 24, 2005)

Who says anything about Apple? I would estimate that there are far more Windows corporate users of Filemaker than Mac corporate users of Filemaker.


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## kps (May 4, 2003)

CanadaRAM said:


> Who says anything about Apple? I would estimate that there are far more Windows corporate users of Filemaker than Mac corporate users of Filemaker.


That may be true, but Apple still owns FM Inc. and can do whatever it pleases ---it wouldn't be the first time they would just drop something without much of a warning. Their trend concentrates on consumer mobility, that is the direction they've embraced. FM may no longer play a part in that, Bento might, but there is no guarantee.


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## Lichen Software (Jul 23, 2004)

kps said:


> That may be true, but Apple still owns FM Inc. and can do whatever it pleases ---it wouldn't be the first time they would just drop something without much of a warning. Their trend concentrates on consumer mobility, that is the direction they've embraced. FM may no longer play a part in that, Bento might, but there is no guarantee.


I am pretty late to this thread. I do not think FileMaker is going anywhere. From what I hear it is actually the largest selling purpose bought database app on windows. Access sells more due to its bundling.

FileMaker and Bento do not serve the same functions. If I understand correctly, Bento is single table. Where it is really useful is its integration with Address Book etc.

FileMaker as it stands has a large data capability at eight terabytes. This is large. It also scales well for its intended uses.

With ESS it acts as a front end for more institutional SQL databases.

Curently there are variously named versions running on Mac, Windows and iOS. I worry that due to Apple ownership it will not expand its reach to Linux and Android. Note that previous versions of FileMaker server did run on Red Hat Linux, so this is not someplace they have not been before.

As for shutting it down, FileMaker Inc is a valuable property. If Apple were to ditch it, I think they would sell it out.


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## CoderMummy (Sep 9, 2011)

I've always viewed Bento as the personal Database application while Filemaker is the enterprise version. That said, Filemaker 12 has some pretty slick improvements to it, and Filemaker GO is a really exciting concept.

Depends what you need your Database to do, and how you are using it. 

Having been forced to use Microsoft products in my career, I'd say it's the Mac answer of Access between SQL Server.


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