It’s fair to say that there is a lot of junk being distributed and sold in the various app stores run by gadget makers. But there are also loads of great applications that we all rely on. However, it’s disappointing when a developer abandons a really useful application. FileMaker has announced that it’s simple database app Bento will no longer be developed or supported.
I’ve been using Bento since it’s initial release almost six years ago. My main use today is for completing and sending timesheets to clients and tracking how much time I spend working on specific projects. So, when FileMaker announced that Bento for iPad, iPhone and Mac will no longer be available after September 30, 2013 (technical support will continue until July 30, 2014) I was pretty disappointed.
This is a problem that I suspect we will all face more and more over the coming years. We invest time and effort learning how to use a new application or service but after a while the developer is either bought out by a competitor, goes bankrupt or just loses interest and the application is abandoned. At least in this case there’s an official announcement.
What’s the solution? Do we only buy apps and services from large, established players? That hasn’t worked in the case of Bento given that FileMaker is a large company that’s owned by Apple.
Comments
3 responses to “When Good Apps Get Killed – FileMaker Dumps Bento”
Would it be at all possible to transfer your Bento data over to another application? Obviously that’s not ideal though.
I do think, however, this is where some companies can “come to the rescue” when another company kills off a similar app. If, for instance, Day One went under tomorrow, are there any other apps that you can import Day One data into?
Just like Astrid – bought by Yahoo and shuttered almost immediately. And there’s no obvious replacement.
Yeah, bento shuttles data to FileMaker -> which costs 10x more 🙁
Bad news Bento*, This will make me sad, although I agree the full potential was never realized.
I am an avid collector, and enjoyed cataloging my collections. I most definitely will be searching for more than “adequate” software…I’ll be back with my findings!! (if I am lucky to find suitable replacement!!)