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Using Bento for Mac

 
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    Nigel
    Address Book, iCal and iPhoto integration: CANCELLED
    Forum post posted July 7, 2012 by Nigel
    237 Views, 6 Comments
    Title:
    Address Book, iCal and iPhoto integration: CANCELLED
    Post:

    NOTE: Future versions of Bento for Mac, Bento for iPad and Bento for iPhone will discontinue integration with Address Book, iCal and iPhoto.

    If you rely on these apps DO NOT update Bento for iPad/iPhone. 

    I think we have some time to see how this plays out. As FM's update cycle for Bento is all over the road it's very difficult to tell when Bento 5 will be show up, if it does at all.

     

    http://help.filemaker.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/10702/~/bento-integration-with-address-book,-contacts,-ical-and-iphoto---details-by

     

    Happy times.

    Answer

     

    • Craig Lloyd
      posted July 8, 2012 by Craig Lloyd  Permalink
      So now we've got to make damned we don't accidentally click update all in the app store. From now on, we have to click update on applications ONE BY ONE FOREVER. thanks a fracking BUNCH, FIleMaker, you've just added another round of tediousness to my already overloaded schedule.
    • pss
      posted July 8, 2012 by pss  Permalink

      i am really starting to wonder if bento will actually listen or if the ship has sailed....if they are not bringing this back with 4, why wait for 5? either they will re-consider or not.....

      i would really love to see an official statement..."yes we know we completely screwed you all but that is only way we can move forward"...

    • Nigel
      posted July 8, 2012 by Nigel  Permalink

      Yep, and as you can see, tech support appears to be awol.

      However, keep in mind that this is Apple's doing. They changed how apps interact with iCal, etc. and probably gave devs little or no warning.

      Also, the current versions work just fine and will continue to do so, just don't update anything.

      Meanwhile I am on a trial of Daylite and have a month to evaluate it. It's expensive and complex but very pwerful. We'll see how it works out. 

    • Sarris
      posted July 13, 2012 by Sarris  Permalink

      In defense of FileMaker, likely this great feature got started when somebody at Apple said, "Hey, guys, we've got this cool feature you might want to develop your database to hook into, linking your database to our Address Book and iCal." Then they linked it into iPhoto. Likely, they would have linked it into all kinds of stuff, but Apple changed directions because of concerns about security.

      Unlike OS X, iOS uses something called "sandboxing". Instead of a single file system that contains every kind of file, each application has its own file system. So, when your iPad doesn't have a "Finder". Instead, you go into Pages and tell it to Open a document, and you get a list of all the Pages documents from the Pages file system. You open Numbers and ask to Open a file, and you see the Numbers file system. Each app has its own separate file system.

      It keeps the apps safe from hackers trying to go from one kind of file to a different kind of file. This is less convenient for us, but it is safer.

      There are exceptional contuits approved by the operating system so that your Mail program can pass a document on to Pages or iBooks, but these are very controlled. Apparently, there is a conduit of sorts that allows Bento to link to Contacts and Calendar in iOS. Maybe Apple is closing those conduits for future versions of iOS and Bento is just making the adjustments now, while they still can.

      Add that Mountain Lion is supposed to start locking down the general file system with similar sandbox features in OS X. Likely, it will be some hybrid that offers sandboxing for apps that are written for it (like iWork probably will be), while still allowing a general file system for other apps. I would expect that Bento would be among the earlier apps to adapt to sandboxing.

      Meanwhile, this is not easy to explain to the general public, so FileMaker is trying to sneak into this new world by offering carrots instead of sticks. Bento 4 for the iPad happens to be beautiful. It has forms and Table view with the calculation row at the bottom, just like the OS X version of Bento. And it doesn't link to your Contacts or Calendar.

      There are evil app developers out there who do bad things to you out of institutional meanness, but I don't think this time it's FileMaker's fault, and I can see why Apple is going where it is going, though it does screw up our favorite remarkable product.

      We have a year or so to figure out how to deal with it. Eventually, versions we love will not work on the new computer we buy because of differences between the way our current OS X supports the software and the way that future versions of OS X support the software.

      Don't get mad. Nobody is doing this to hurt you. We're all adapting to a future where Apple is the big dog the hackers are trying to break into, and Apple wants to remain the computer provider who is safer than anything from Microsoft has ever been.

      Sandboxing is one feature that makes an iOS device even safer than a Mac. So, Macs will eventually acquire this tool for safety, and it will cost us this thing we like about Bento.

      There are still a lot of other things to like about Bento. And no, I don't work for FileMaker. I'm just a guy who uses Bento a lot. I use these links to Address Book and iCal a lot, too, but I'll find a way to work around this because I'm in this for the long haul. Nobody ever promised me a computer environment without change.

    • Nigel
      posted July 14, 2012 by Nigel  Permalink

      Great post, thanks Sarris.

      I don't think anyone is angry per se, it's just that when you have vainly searched and searched for a CRM that does not cost a small fortune (or that is impossible to learn in under a year) and come to the sad realization that the only app that does the job is a clunky and buggy mess, well, you get the idea.

      And then we find out that things are about to get worse... Oh good grief.

      Ok. So here we are. We have a year or so. Either FM will get Contacts/Calendar sync back or someone will find a workaround. I hope.

    • TSGal
      posted July 30, 2012 by TSGal  Permalink

      All:

      Thank you for your posts.

      At this time, Knowledge Base Article #10702 is correct (http://help.filemaker.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/10702).  Currently, the integration with Address Book, iCal and iPhoto is still active except for Bento 4 for iPad.  There is another link on the Bento for iPad forum with the official announcement:

      http://forums.filemaker.com/posts/7e1c29cfcc?commentId=200407#200407

      At this time, there has been no update to this information.

      TSGal
      FileMaker, Inc.