Apple's FileMaker launches revamped Mac and Windows database
At MacWorld today, Apple's FileMaker, Inc. subsidiary will launch a major overhaul of its flagship database for Mac and Windows desktops and servers, a product used by 70 of the world's Fortune 100 corporations.
"This is the biggest change to FileMaker in a decade," said Ryan Rosenberg, vp of marketing and service about FileMaker 10, a largely revamped database for Mac and Windows slated for rollout at Macworld today.
Big enhancements are being made to all editions of the database from Apple's FileMaker division, including FileMaker Pro, FileMaker Pro Advanced, FileMaker Server, and FileMaker Server Advanced.
Across the board, FileMaker is gaining a much easier to use interface, Rosenberg said, in an interview with BetaNews. As he displayed modifications to the FileMaker user interface going all the way back to version 4, Rosenberg contended that FileMaker spent considerable time while prepping FileMaker 10 on user focus groups.
"What are the things that people need to do while working with a database?" he illustrated. "We [also] measured how quickly it takes for people to get to places [in FileMaker]."
Although the changes tend to be "Mac-inspired," the new interface is mainly the same across the Mac, Windows, and Web environments, according to Rosenberg. Certain effects, though, are only available on the Mac OS X platform.
FileMaker 10 comes with 30 new starter solutions and ten new themes. In another new feature, users can create a new database just by clicking a button to start with an existing file from either FileMaker's Bento personal database for Mac or Microsoft's Excel spreadsheet.
Other features common across all four products include dynamic reporting, saved finds, script triggers, and faster SMTP direct e-mail, for example.
FileMaker Pro Advanced 10 adds new tools -- including script debugging, custom menus, and a runtime engine -- for developers and advanced end users. The Dave Matthews Band, among others, is using FileMaker to manage VIP ticketing, road show scheduling, and on-stage play lists.
FileMaker Server 10 will run on a single server in addition to multiple servers, according to Rosenberg. Although many customers are mid-sized to large companies and government agencies spreading the software across big desktop and server configurations, about 40% are small businesses.
FileMaker Server 10 Advanced includes all of the capabilities in FileMaker Server 10, along with instant Web publishing, ODBC/JDBC database connectivity, and higher FileMaker Pro connection limits.
FileMaker 10 runs on Mac OS X Tiger and Leopard, Windows Vista Service Pack 1, and Windows XP SP2.
Pricing is $299 for FileMaker Pro 10, $499 for FileMaker Pro Advanced, $999 for FileMaker Server 10, and $2,999 for FileMaker Server 10 Advanced. Upgrades are also available.