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After writing my last post about FileMaker 10.0 and reviewing a couple early reviews of FileMaker 10 on Macworld’s web site that I have to comment on the void of Mac desktop databases.

(See: “Expo: FileMaker turns 10 with database update” and “First Look: FileMaker Pro 10“)

First let me say that there are plenty of desktop databases available for Mac if you are looking for just a database. Fore example there is MySQL, SQLite (comes with 10.5), PostgreSQL, and Firebird, to name just a few. And these are fine if all you are looking for is a database and you don’t mind writing scripts to manipulate your data. There are some tools out there for managing tables.

If you are a developer like me you can write your own applications for data entry and reports. These can be desktop applications written in Java, Objective-C, Real Basic, or some other language and window frame work suitable for building desktop applications. You can also develop Web applications that you run only on your computer using PHP, Ruby, Perl, Python, etc… All these languages come pre installed on your Mac as well. There is a variety of IDEs (Integrated Development Environments) that you could use to manage the development of your applications that you build to manage your data such as Xcode, Eclipse and RealBasic. But even I, a veteran developer, having made a career out of developing applications this way gets tired when I want something quick and easy.

So what are your other choices? If you run MS Windows you can use MS Access. If you can install OpenOffice you have Base, and finally there is FileMaker.

There use to be other choices out there a long time ago — such as dBase, FoxPro, and Clipper. Sybase still produces PowerBuilder and I believe that you can still purchase a personal desktop edition. Oracle had some personal desktop database products, so did IBM/Lotus… But most of these products ran on Windows and to use any of these you need to have some programming skills.

So what about Mac. There is nothing, its a black hole, a void. The folks at FileMaker know this and yet they still refuse to add in usable features such as:

• Pivot Tables
• Graph Objects
• Views
• Programable Form Objects
• Embedded Subforms
• Stored Procedures and Functions
• A real IDE for advanced development

The Mac community needs MS Access or something just as equivalent in functionality for OS X. We need a self contained solution for creating tables, views, forms and reports. The ability to export the results of the data to PDF, HTML, XML, and CSV. We need a way to develop solutions that can easily be packaged up distributed to users using Mac, Windows, and Linux. It needs to be easy enough that an administrative assistant can figure it out, but powerful enough that a developer could take what the administrative assistant started and turn it into an enterprise application. FileMaker in general is a great concept but it needs to be rewritten from the ground up. Forget Bento that POS just needs to die. Its user interface is prettier than FileMaker but its functionality blows. The other alternative is for MS to release Access for the Mac. I would love to know if they have tried porting it at one time or another.

The first person or company that can truly fill this need is going to make a boat load of money. Lets face it not everything belongs on the web.

Apple, Databases Apple, Database, FileMaker, Microsoft, MS Access

Now that people are starting to understand why Apple has removed FireWire from the MacBook they are finding new reasons to whine.  One gentleman from Australia commented on MacNN that most of his legacy equipment required FireWire which is forcing him to upgrade to the MacBook Pro.  His argument is that the new MacBook Pro is too big and two heavy for him and his fellow co-workers.

I looked up the specs of the old MacBook (pre Oct 14th) and compaired that with the new MacBook Pro.  In terms of weight the new MacBook Pro weighs .5 pounds (.22 kg) more than the old MacBook.  In terms of size the new MacBook Pro is 61.2 cubic inches (155.5 cubic cm) larger than the old MacBook.  Specifically the new MacBook Pros are 0.13 inches (0.34 cm) shorter, 1.6 inches (4.1 cm) wider, and 0.86 inches (2.2 cm) deeper than the old MacBook.

From a cost perspective a new MacBook (released Oct 14th) sells for $1,299 USD – $1,849 USD.  A new USB video camera sells for $400 USD – $1,300 USD (Best Buy prices).  If you are looking for an Apple solution to shoot and edit video that includes the new MacBook you are going to put out $1,699 – $3,149 USD.  In contrast if you are looking to reuse your existing FireWire video equipment and want to update your Apple video editing solution to the latest hardware you are going to spend at a minimum $2,000.

My advice.  If you don’t really need to update your equipment don’t.  Use your existing stuff for as long as it makes sense.  The first logical purchase should be the USB video camera.  You will be able to use that with the exiting MacBook and MacBook Pro provided they have USB 2.0.  The next logic purchase would be to replace your video editing platform.  At that point it won’t matter if you go with the MacBook or the MacBook Pro because you will have already made the transition to the USB video camera.

Apple Apple, MacBook, MacBook Pro, Video Editing

The number of whiners out there complaining about Apple prices never ceases to amaze me. For years Apple has blazed the trail with their product design and attention to details. Other computer manufacturers take their design ques from Apple. Each year Apple raises the bar and each year the copycats continue to produce inferior products.

This year analysts predicted that on Nov. 14th we would see an $800 Apple laptop. All those people who secretly want a Mac but are too cheap to pony up the money for one are now whining about the design decisions Apple has made and using that as an excuse to not purchase the product they really want.

Its like complaining that a Rolls Royce is too expensive, and that you wouldn’t buy one becuase it doesn’t come with a casset palyer. Even if it did have a casset player you wouldn’t buy it becuase what you want is a Rolls Royce with a Chevy Mallabu price tag.

Apple is not Dell. They are not going to lower their quality standards just to produce a $500 laptop becuase of some whiner. Toyota will never sell a $10,000 car with a Lexus badge on it, just becuase some whiner can’t afford a $40,000 car.

No where in the US Constitution does it say you have the right to own an Apple computer. No where in the US Constitution does it say Apple must produce a $500 laptop so every Tom, Dick, and Harry can own one. If you think that there is a need for a $500 laptop that is identical to a $999 MacBook why don’t you go out and manufacture it yourself? Quit gripping about what you think you are entitled to have.

Apple Apple, MacBook

I’ve been reading a number of articles that have been reporting on the new MacBooks that Apple released yesterday. As I go through and read the comments there always seems to be one or two people who gripe about the fact Apple has removed FireWire from the new MacBook.

People need to understand that Apple is responding to the change in the market. Most device manufacturers have adopted USB as the standard interface for connecting their products to your computer. This includes, microphones, cameras, hard drives, printers, etc… For better or worse FireWire is becoming obsolete.

My biggest concern was that it was going to impact the ability to transfer video from a camcorder to the Mac. FireWire has been the standard for video cameras for quite sometime now. If you jump over to Best Buy or Circuit City’s web sites and look at the specs on the current video cameras; you will see that the vast majority of them use USB not FireWire to interface with your computer.

If your current video camera uses FireWire or if you have devices that use FireWire more than likely you have a computer that currently supports FireWire. Now would be the time to start moving that data to a USB device. Go out and get yourself a couple 1TB USB hard drives and start transferring you stuff. Use one as your primary device and use the other as a backup.

Don’t bash Apple for being proactive, its just counter productive on your part.

Apple Apple, FireWire, MacBook

Tuesday was a good day if you are a Mac user. Apple held a special event where it released the news that it had updated the MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro. The best notebooks just got better. Additionally they released a new LED Cinema Display designed to be used with the new Mini DVI connectors that they are adding to all their new products. It has a built-in iSight and Mic. Unfortunately they do not have a standard DVI cable so I can attach it to my hardware.

OpenOffice.org released version 3.0 of the OpenOffice productivity suite, which competes with MS Office and iWork.

FileMaker released Bento 2, their consumer desktop database. It now offers support for importing messages from Apple Mail, creating libraries from Excel and Numbers, and some new themes. Its still not robust enough for what I need. For now I’ll stick with FileMaker Pro.

Adobe is releasing Creative Suite 4 (CS4) on Wednesday. I’d love a copy its just not in my budget.

Apple Adobe, Apple, Bento, FileMaker, iWork, MacBook, MS Office, OpenOffice