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Apple revives the retro Claris name as it expands beyond FileMaker
Apple is going back to its roots, although not necessarily in the way you'd expect. The tech giant is changing the name of FileMaker back to Claris, the company Apple spun out in 1987 to handle apps like FileMaker as well as MacPaint and MacWrite. It's not about to resume making basic productivity apps, though. Rather, as CEO Brad Freitag explained to TechCrunch, it's about expanding beyond the FileMaker product itself. It's launching Claris Connect, a tool to integrate cloud services and automate workflows between them, and it clearly doesn't want to be pigeonholed by its name.
Lucky 13: new Filemaker Pro 13 focuses on web, iOS database solutions
The flashy keynote demos may be dedicated to iWork and iLife, but Apple and its subsidiaries make plenty of other applications that millions of users depend on every day. In particular, the database mavens at FileMaker Inc. have been cranking out their powerful, easy-to-use flagship app for 15 years, building an impressive roster of users and developers along the way. Today, the latest version -- FileMaker 13 -- is available for purchase. While FileMaker may have sacrificed some customer goodwill earlier this year when it discontinued the 4-year-old consumer tool Bento, the new version may be able to recapture some of those small office/home office users with improved iOS interoperability, supercharged web publishing, a simplified edition lineup (there's now only one Server product) and new monthly subscription pricing. The new FileMaker WebDirect tool -- which allows FileMaker developers to create responsive, stylish websites driven by FM data -- looks impressive. According to Senior Product Manager Eric Jacobson, the objective is for FileMaker's WebDirect to deliver a "desktop interaction model" in the browser; he pointed out that v13 is a platform for solutions, not just a database product. WebDirect will be licensed on a concurrent-connection basis, so supporting up to five simultaneous web users will run US$25 per month. On iOS, the FileMaker Go mobile app gains several new tricks in v13, including native barcode scanning and additional data entry keyboards. Swipe controls, popovers and gestures also join the party for mobile users. Database designers get some new tools in v13: object styles for rapid changes, and a new themes tool for reskinning entire FM packages at a click. New encryption options (available in FileMaker Pro Advanced) allow admins to protect sensitive information with the AES algorithm. FileMaker Pro 13 is available today on FileMaker's online store and elsewhere. Standalone license pricing has jumped a bit from v12 (starting at US$329 vs. $299; upgrades start at $179), but the new monthly subscription pricing may suit some users. A subscription starts at $9 for FileMaker Pro or US$15 for FileMaker Pro Advanced. FileMaker Pro Server can be licensed at $29/mo for volume and corporate users.
FileMaker lays off 20 employees after discontinuing Bento
Apple-owned FileMaker, Inc. has sadly laid off 20 employees following the discontinuation of its Bento software last week, reports AppleInsider. The layoffs come after FileMaker released a statement noting that the company was discontinuing its Bento database software in favor of focusing on FileMaker. According to AppleInsider: Sources say Thursday's rumored job cuts are closely related to Bento's demise, adding California-based external representatives, sales engineers, and technical support staff were let go. The layoffs may extend further, however, as at least one person responsible for sales of the flagship FileMaker software is said to no longer be with the company. FileMaker has said that growth of its flagship FileMaker software on iOS was one of the reasons for discontinuing Bento, but with the layoffs and restructuring going on at the company it does seem that more is afoot. Before the layoffs, FileMaker was reported to employee 300 people. The company was formed in 1998 and grew out of Claris.
FileMaker announces Bento will be discontinued on September 30
FileMaker has released a statement saying that it's discontinuing its Bento database software in favor of focusing on FileMaker. Bento will continue to be available for the Mac, iPhone and iPad until September 30. Technical support, software updaters for the Mac client and forum moderation will be provided until July 30, 2014. The company said it will not replace it with a similar product and urges users to migrate to FileMaker Pro, offering a $120 discount for existing Bento customers until October 30. FileMaker says that growth of its flagship FileMaker product on iOS was one of the reasons behind shuttering Bento. Some Bento features, however, such as WiFi database sync between Mac and iOS clients, are not available in the flagship product. Bento was released for a public preview in November 2007, with version 1 hitting stores in January 2008. FileMaker unveiled the fourth incarnation of Bento in March 2011, and the software has been a TUAW favorite. If you want to pick up Bento while you can, the iPad version is US$9.99, the iPhone version is $4.99 and the Mac client is $49.99.
FileMaker offers demo solutions for FileMaker Go 12 on iOS
If you're a user of FileMaker Go 12 on the iPhone or iPad, its creators want to give you a better idea of the sorts of things the mobile database software can do. To that end, FileMaker has launched a lineup of demo solutions that you can download and try out right from within FileMaker Go 12. The demo solutions cover a range of applications, from customer relationship management to mapping to invoicing and point of sale. The solutions were created by companies that use FileMaker Go 12 in order to better show what the app is capable of. FileMaker points out that the demos are either limited in features or by a timer, but they should give you a good idea of what the free app is capable of when paired with FileMaker Pro for Mac.
CES 2013: FileMaker celebrates half a million iOS downloads
FileMaker was here in attendance at the Digital Experience event last night at CES in Las Vegas, and they had some big news to announce: The company has reached a full half million iOS downloads for its database-driven software solutions. That's a big milestone for the company, and while iOS installs still pale in comparison to the huge amount of desktop users, a rep from the company told us that this many downloads signifies a big shift that FileMaker is going through. Initially, we were told, when devices like the iPad first arrived, they were seen only as content reading devices -- even Steve Jobs sat down on stage with the iPad and showed off how it worked as a content reading device. But what FileMaker's seen since then is that users have started bringing their iPads to work, and using them to actually browse through and compile business information. The third phase, said the FileMaker rep, is actual creation on the device itself, which is what they say is driving adoption of their apps. FileMaker's apps can not only create databases and information files, but the apps can also deliver some custom interactivity as well: The staff showed off a point-of-sale solution, as well as even a very simple math game, all put together with FileMaker's software. The company said that the biggest challenge in acquiring new users is just teaching them how versatile the software can be, and just what it's capable of. Finally, we asked about the emerging trend of "bring your own device" among iOS devices, where users are bringing their own personal iPhones and iPads to the work environment. FileMaker said that it has benefited from that trend for sure, and that it's just one of many drivers for their iOS popularity. FileMaker is one of the oldest brands around in Apple software, and it's interesting to see that it's finding such success on Apple's newest platform.
FileMaker Go for iPad and iPhone tops 500K downloads
Database management suite FileMaker Go for iOS has passed the lofty sales milestone of 500,000 downloads, TechCrunch reports. FileMaker Inc., the company behind both Filemaker Go 11 and FileMaker Go 12, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple, and was formed in the '80s under its former name Claris. While FileMaker is available for desktops on both Windows and Mac platforms, FileMaker Go is iOS-exclusive. The app is designed as a platform for sharing easily digestible mobile versions of traditionally complex desktop databases, while offering the flexibility to customize a solution to whatever need a user is looking to fill. Speaking with TechCrunch, FileMaker VP of Marketing and Services, Ryan Rosenberg, was predictably upbeat. "We know from when we talk to our customers that they're very excited about taking the use of these devices beyond simply personal productivity, to creating custom solutions for them," he explains. "We think we're at the beginning of the curve of creating these custom solutions for organizations, and we want to help them do that."
With Bento update, lack of App Store upgrades is front-and-center again
FileMaker released a meaty update to the iPad version of Bento on June 19, pushing it from version 1.15 to 4.0. But with this comes a move previously seen with Tweetie 2 before it became the official Twitter app: the original Bento was pulled from the App Store after a few hours of overlap, and replaced with a discounted Bento 4 until the end of July. While paying $4.99 for a $9.99 app is a good deal, it doesn't help those who paid $9.99 for the older version of Bento on June 18, June 16 or any time within the past month or so. Not only is the software instantly out of date, but with the original Bento pulled from the App Store, there will be no further support for it. This is something Instapaper's Marco Arment points out in a response to a Macdrifter article on it. "The other problem with this approach is that it makes it impossible to issue bugfixes or other minor updates to the previous version without making it available for sale publicly, which would lead to some new customers inadvertently purchasing the old version and being quite unhappy about it," Arment said. Indeed, the first review under the new Bento 4 for iPad is by someone who inadvertently purchased the older Bento during the brief period of time both apps were on the App Store at the same time. Arment and others point out that it highlights one of the biggest flaws still in the App Store: the inability to offer free upgrades to those who buy the previous version of an app within a certain amount of time after its initial purchase. When I bought my MacBook Pro on Tuesday, the Apple Store specialist told me that I would get an email with a code that will enable me to upgrade to Mountain Lion for free when it comes out next month. If Apple can find a way to do that for its major OS upgrades, surely it can figure out a way to do it in the App Store. FileMaker is going about this in the best way available to them. They're offering the new Bento for a reduced price for roughly six weeks, giving existing users a chance to upgrade at the lower cost. However, you have users that fall into the upgrade gap: they just spent $9.99 on original Bento and are now being asked to pay $4.99 more. Sure, that's not much money in the overall scheme of things, but it's a kick in the foot. What can someone do about it? AgileBits' (and former TUAW writer) David Chartier suggested to me on Twitter to file for a refund. If you've purchased the original Bento in the past month, it's worth giving it a shot. One customer who complained of this in FileMaker's forums was urged to contact FileMaker's customer support. You can try there or give it a shot with Apple. Try with the developer first, however, and see what they have to say. What should be done about it in the future? There's got to be a way for Apple to implement some sort of upgrade for recent purchasers of an app. One way could be to offer upgrade codes to developers. They would require a user to screenshot the date of purchase, send it to the developer, then get a redemption code for the upgrade. How would you implement App Store upgrades? Let us know in the comments.
New Bento 4 for iPad adds design tools for customizing database solutions
It's a bit hard to believe that Apple software subsidiary FileMaker has been marketing Bento for more than four years now. The Mac version of the personal database debuted in early 2008, and separate iPhone and iPad versions can be had on the iOS App Store. Today the company is jumping the iPad build from version 1.15 all the way to version 4, with new features to let users customize their libraries entirely on the iPad. Bento 4 for iPad is a completely new app, so it's an additional purchase for existing customers rather than a free update -- but it's only $4.99 through the end of July. Bento 4 for iPad still syncs with Bento for Mac (version 4.1, also out today) for loading libraries and collections, but the enhanced library design tools in the iPad version mean that plenty of users will be able to execute their projects, start to finish, on the iPad alone. Bento's Template Exchange is now directly accessible in the iPad app, so it's easy to download and work with a pre-configured solution that someone else has uploaded to the exchange. The exchange lists almost 600 templates in English and that many more in several other languages, covering organizational tasks from Action Figures to Wine. %Gallery-158590% Whether you start with a basic template or a fully customized one, the onboard design tools now allow you to create fields, reformat views and generally do all the setup tasks you'd have to do on the desktop with previous versions. In the prerelease demo I saw, the editing tools were fairly intuitive -- drag fields to locate them, tap to rename, etc. I expect there'll be a how-to video showing up on FileMaker's site in short order. You can also retheme your library from Bento's collection of color schemes, backgrounds and so on. Bento 4 also adds new views (Table, Split & Full Screen) and new field types including an encrypted field for sensitive information like account numbers, patient notes or passwords. Bento 4 for iPad is available today in the App Store for $4.99, going up to $9.99 in August. Bento 4.1 for Mac is a free update for existing users of 4.0 and is available at a special price of $29.99 through August.
FileMaker's new iOS apps hit 100K downloads in one week
FileMaker announced that its mobile database solution, FileMaker Go 12 for the iPad and FileMaker Go 12 for the iPhone, surpassed 100,000 downloads in their first week of availability. This is an impressive milestone for an enterprise tool that lets customers run iOS database apps created with FileMaker Pro 12. It has a much smaller audience than a consumer-oriented app and shows that custom business app development is a growing market. Show full PR text New FileMaker Go 12 for iPad and iPhone Apps Surpass 100,000 Downloads in First Week Strong customer demand affirms FileMaker's role as a leading platform for creating and deploying custom iOS business apps SANTA CLARA, Calif. – April 12, 2012 – FileMaker, Inc. today announced that FileMaker Go 12 for iPad and FileMaker Go 12 for iPhone, apps that run custom business solutions created by FileMaker Pro 12, have been downloaded more than 100,000 times in their first week. FileMaker Go 12 for iPad and iPhone are free on the App Store. FileMaker Go 12 makes it easy for everyone to run iOS database apps created with FileMaker Pro 12. The new FileMaker 12 product line features stunningly beautiful new themes and Starter Solutions, powerful iPad, iPhone and desktop design tools and superior file management for today's media-intensive applications. "The rapid adoption of FileMaker Go 12 strengthens FileMaker's position as a leading platform for creating custom iOS business apps," said Ryan Rosenberg, vice president, marketing and services, FileMaker, Inc. "Businesses are using FileMaker Pro to create apps to manage everything from their inventory to contacts to salespersons' routes, and deploying these on their iPads and iPhones with FileMaker Go." A free 30-day trial of FileMaker Pro 12 lets everyone see how easy it is to start creating custom iOS business apps.
FileMaker Pro 12 offers new design features, improved iOS compatibility
I started using FileMaker Pro way back with version 6, when I was developing solutions for a residential school. I grew to love the pro database software, and since then it's gotten better and better. The new version 12 of FileMaker Pro, announced today, continues the trend of improvement with fantastic new features like enhanced charting, strong iOS support, vastly improved design capabilities and a lot more -- including free iOS versions of the database app, which previously were paid apps. Here's our first look at FileMaker Pro 12. Design FileMaker Pro 12 features a new theme architecture and 40 total themes to choose from. Several of the new themes have companion "touch" themes, which have been optimized to run on the iPhone and iPad. FileMaker followed Apple's Human Interface Guidelines while developing the touch themes, so every field, button and element is legible and usable and Apple's mobile devices. Also, new guides and rulers (or "stencils," as they're called) make it easy to create a layout that fits your target device's screen. There's no guesswork; just tell FileMaker which device you're designing for and the layout guides jump into place. Version 12 also features improved layout object formatting, including object states. Anyone who's made a button in FileMaker Pro will appreciate this. Instead of a static image, FileMaker Pro 12 lets you assign three states to your buttons: normal, hover and pressed. Use the inspector to customize the button's appearance in each state, even with gradients. Now buttons behave much the same as they do on websites, making them eminently clickable. New Starter Solutions FileMaker Pro 12 comes with 16 new starter solutions. The folks at FileMaker told me that one half of its customers use a starter solution as a launchpad for their database projects. When I was learning years ago, these templates provided a great start for me, and poking around to see how things worked was very educational. All About iOS What's most impressive to me about FileMaker Pro 12 is the amount of attention the team has clearly paid to iOS. When you consider the touch layouts, web support and FileMaker Go for iPad and iPhone (now free apps!) you realize that small business owners or even individuals who lack the time or resources to create a custom iOS app have a solution in FileMaker Pro. During the demo that I saw, an iPad running FileMaker Go was able to view an iOS-optimized layout, stored remotely. What's more, when changes were made to that layout, they showed up automatically on the iPad. Also, new ways container fields handle images (automatically creating thumbnails) and video (streaming from FileMaker Server), not to mention gesture support, further enhance the iOS story. It's important to note that both flavors of FileMaker Go -- v11 and v12 -- remain on the App Store at this time, and each comes in a separate iPhone and iPad package. Version 11 is still a paid app, and will open databases created with the older versions of FileMaker Pro. Version 12, while free, will only work with databases created in the new desktop v12; you can't use the older files with it. Enhanced Container Fields A container field is a special type of field that can store images, QuickTime files, audio, and several other types of files. Container fields are greatly improved in version 12. First, you can add items with a drag-and-drop. You'll also notice that FileMaker Pro automatically manages and encrypts remotely stored files. Now the app automatically generates photo thumbnails, and FileMaker Server lets you stream videos, music and PDFs. Scroll through multi-page PDFs right within a container field. Improved Charting All those years ago, when I was rocking FileMaker 6, there was no charting. We had to rely on 3rd-party solutions and, more often, scripting acrobatics. Today, FileMaker's chart support is extensive. It now supports ten chart types, five of which are new, including Bubble, Scatter and Pos/Neg charts. FileMaker Pro 12 is a 64-bit application. It also features progressive backups that won't bog performance down for connected users and a nice web-based group start page (Server Advanced only), so users can find just the database they want easily. Compatibility and Pricing One drawback for longtime users: FileMaker 12 features a file format change, so you won't be able to mix and match older clients with new files. FMP12 can upgrade old databases to the new format. Here's the pricing breakdown (all prices are USD). FileMaker Pro 12: $299 ($179 upgrade) FileMaker Pro 12 Advanced: $499 ($299 upgrade) FileMaker Server 12: $999 (599 upgrade) FileMaker Server 12 Advanced: $2999 ($1799 upgrade) FileMaker Go for iPad: Free FileMaker Go for iPhone: Free
Filemaker offers free holiday kits for Bento users
Filemaker has released free holiday-themed goodies for Bento users. The Bento Holiday Kit has templates for cards and labels, a party planner and a gift list. To take advantage of this, you need to have Bento 4 for Mac installed. A free trial is available for those who want to see the program in action. U.S. users can download the holiday kit here, and a version for UK users can download the kit here.
FileMaker Go for iOS updated with charts, signatures and AirPrint
Just a few weeks after FileMaker released new Starter Solutions for its FileMaker Go app, the mobile app itself has been updated to version 1.2. The update includes the following: Support for FileMaker Charts, including bar, area, line and pie charts Digital signatures on iPhone and iPad AirPrint integration Enhanced PDF creation FileMaker Go for the iPhone is US$19.99, and the iPad version is $39.99 and works with all versions of FileMaker from 7 on. Both versions require iOS 4.2.1 or later. Check out our review of FileMaker Go to get an initial impression of the software.
FileMaker Starter Solutions released for mobile apps
FileMaker announced the availability of three new Starter Solutions for its FileMaker Go mobile application. FileMaker Go lets you access and edit your FileMaker databases on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch while away from your desktop. The three Starter Solutions are optimized for Apple's multi-touch mobile devices and include: Contacts: Organize and search your contacts. Documents: Work on documents remotely and synchronize any changes to a master database. Assets: Track all types of assets and create custom categories, such as serial numbers, purchase dates, depreciation calculations and more. The Starter Solutions can be edited on your mobile device and your Mac or Windows computer. Mobile usage requires the FileMaker Go application, which is available from iTunes for the the iPad (US$39.99) and the iPhone and iPod touch ($19.99). Desktop editing requires Filemaker Pro 11 ($299) for the Mac or Windows. For a limited time, you can purchase FileMaker Go and receive a 50 percent discount on the full version of FileMaker Pro. Not ready to lay out $150+ for this database solution? Then point your browser to FileMaker's website where you can download the Starter Solutions and a 30-day trial version of FileMaker Pro 11 for free. You can also check out our review of FileMaker Go for the iPad.
Bento for Mac 4.0 arrives with label printing and location features
The "database for the rest of us," FileMaker's Bento for Mac, has hit version 4 today along with revised builds of the iPhone and iPad editions. It's a little bit surprising to realize that Bento has actually been on the market for three years now; in this edition, the product team has added some key features to the personal data manager, and for the first time it will be sold via the Mac App Store in addition to boxed/download sales. The biggest improvement in 4.0 is a feature so obvious that I mistakenly thought it was already part of the product: full label printing support. Bento now includes print templates for more than 250 label sheets from Avery and DYMO, and it allows you to selectively include per-record images (like photos or QR codes for inventory stickers or conference badges). You can create custom label formats and include your label setups in a template for easy export. Overall printing controls are also souped up in the new version. Speaking of templates, Bento 4 makes it easier to share your database layouts with friends and colleagues or with the entire world. A new export feature (Template with Data) gives you a way to easily share a template pre-populated with your content; very handy for workgroups or family use. You can also do a one-button upload of your prized template (sans data) to the Bento Template Exchange if you think it's worthy/useful. For data entry on the go, Bento 4 includes a location field type that can be applied to any record. Once it's there, it can automatically populate your latitude and longitude at the time the record is modified, based on your Wi-Fi or GPS coordinates; this syncs/tracks with the iOS versions of Bento as well, so for mobile professionals (insurance/legal, real estate, civil engineering, etc.) who have a need to geotag their content, this seems like a winner. Another data type that's syncing with the iOS Bento versions is voice memos. These can be captured on the Mac or on iPhone/iPad, letting you easily associate short audio snippets with a record for future reference. I could see the combination of an iPad 2 and Bento working very well for a recruiter or casting director who might need to keep a picture, resume and voiceover sample in one record. There are more new features to explore, so check them out. Bento 4 is available immediately at a $29 upgrade price for existing users; it's $49 for a new single license, $99 for a family pack. The iPhone and iPad versions are $4.99 each, and they are indeed separate apps for the two device families.
FileMaker Go update adds PDF creation, photo import
The latest revision to FileMaker's two mobile database apps, FileMaker Go 1.1 for iPhone and for iPad (two separate products), gives the Go team a few vital new features for users on the move. First up: PDF creation in-app, which allows you to take a database report page or form and instantly create a saveable or mailable PDF -- great for invoices, site reports or price quotes. Second, the apps now support image capture from the iPhone camera or from the iPad's photo library; you can populate image fields in a database directly, a great tool for real estate or inventory applications. Other new features include scripted record imports from remote or local databases, the ability to email an entire DB from your device, file embeds (like a spreadsheet or document) into database records, and some additional security options. The URL handling for FM Go has also been souped up, meaning that other iOS applications can hand off data more easily; the first example is barcode scanning, which uses a separate app to do the scan and then hands off the result to Go. FileMaker Go works with all desktop versions of FileMaker from 7 to 11. The iPhone/iPod touch version is US$19.99 and the iPad version costs $39.
TUAW Review: Filemaker Go for iPad
Filemaker has brought its flagship product to a whole new level of portability with Filemaker Go for iPad (US$39.99) and iPhone/iPod touch ($19.99). Years ago I used Filemaker Mobile with a Palm, and this is a far cry from those early days. Here's what I found while testing Filemaker Go on the iPad. Design When FileMaker Go is first launched, you're presented with two columns: stored files on the left and remote files and hosts on the right. Configuring a remote host is easy and will be immediately familiar to anyone who's done it before with the desktop version of FileMaker Pro. In the upper right-hand corner you'll find two familiar icons: add a host and search for a host. If you choose to add a host, a slip will flip into view (nice bit of eye candy there) and ask for its IP address or domain name. Optionally, you can enter the host's name, which is helpful if you have multiple servers to keep track of ("Corporate Office" and "School Building," for example). Note that FileMaker Go connects to databases hosted by FileMaker Server/Server Advanced 11 and 10 and FileMaker Pro/Pro Advanced 11 and 10. %Gallery-98992%
FileMaker Go launches today for iPad and iPhone
Mobile databases: they're a good thing, as Martha might say. Back when Palm ruled the handheld space and HanDBase was the king of the data portability castle, it might have been hard to imagine the iPhone/iPad world of today -- but the challenge of taking your data with you on the road is still just as present now as it was a decade ago. For Mac users, and a hearty helping of Windows users too, the database of choice for small to medium business and home use is FileMaker. Although there's already a third-party mobility solution for FileMaker DBs and the iDevices (via the US$9.99 FMTouch application and development suite), the notion of FileMaker on the move gets a big authenticity boost today as the Apple subsidiary announces FileMaker Go for the iPhone and iPad. The two separate applications ($19.99 for the iPhone/iPod touch version, $39.99 for the iPad version) don't allow the creation of new databases -- you'll need FileMaker 7 or higher for Mac or Windows to tackle that. Once your databases are created, however, you can access them remotely over WiFi or 3G (given the proper networking configuration for your server, or a hosted FM provider) and update records, search and browse on the fly. You can also operate in fully mobile mode, with a copy of your database sent via iTunes, email, Dropbox, box.net, etc. and stored in its entirety on the iDevice. While there's no record-level sync built into the product that would allow you to 'rejoin' a database to its parent once it's been on the road, FileMaker VP Ryan Rosenberg told us that there are script-based sync solutions available from FileMaker's developer network if you have to reconcile detached DBs back into a master file. We'll be diving into these apps with gusto once they are available on the App Store later today. The potential for mobile recordkeeping, audit and customer service applications built on top of FileMaker and the iPad is huge -- can't wait to see what some of the experienced FileMaker development folk can do with this new capability.
FileMaker releases free business productivity kit, 30-day trial
Filemaker Pro 11 was released earlier this year with a slew of new features, including native charting, recurring imports and "snapshot link," which lets you share and edit a found set of records with a remote colleague. Today, Filemaker has upped the ante by releasing a free Business Productivity Kit and 30-day free trial of Filemaker Pro 11. The kit is a collection of ready-to-use templates for business owners who don't have the time or inclination to build a system for themselves, but want to get right to work. It includes solutions for tracking customer and vendor contacts, sales, product information, invoicing and shipping. Of course, if you want to get in and fiddle with the solutions, that's no problem. You can enter layout mode, tinker with scripts, etc. So not only are they useful out of the gate, but the templates also offer an opportunity to see how a well-made solution is put together. There's both a Standard Edition of the productivity kit (for companies selling goods) and Service Edition (for companies providing services) available. Both require Filemaker Pro 11. If you don't have it, don't worry. The kit includes a 30 day trial. Have fun and get to work!
iPad apps: defining experiences from the first wave
There are now over 1,348 approved apps for the iPad. That's on top of the 150,000 iPad-compatible iPhone programs already available in the App Store. When Apple's tablet PC launches, just hours from now, it will have a software library greater than that of any handheld in history -- not counting the occasional UMPC. That said, the vast majority of even those 1,348 iPad apps are not original. They were designed for the iPhone, a device with a comparatively pokey processor and a tiny screen, and most have just been tweaked slightly, upped in price and given an "HD" suffix -- as if that somehow justified the increased cost. Besides, we've seen the amazing potential programs have on iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile and webOS when given access to a touchscreen, always-on data connection, GPS, cloud storage and WiFi -- but where are the apps that truly define iPad? What will take advantage of its extra headroom, new UI paradigms and multitouch real estate? Caught between netbook and smartphone, what does the iPad do that the iPhone cannot? After spending hours digging through the web and new iPad section of the App Store, we believe we have a number of reasonably compelling answers. Update: Now includes Wormhole Remote, TweetDeck, SkyGrid, Touchgrind HD, GoToMeeting, SplitBrowser, iDisplay, Geometry Wars and Drawing Pad.
