The home of Mac info for New Zealanders, mac-nz serves daily Mac, iPhone and related news from the world of Apple Inc.
FileMaker 11 released
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
FileMaker 11 is a major update: Apple's FileMaker division has launched a major update of its Mac and Windows database software (pic). The primary additions are charts and reports; the former can be based on pie, bar, area or line designs, and inserted into layouts, and/or published to a website. Quick Reports output "spreadsheet-like" data, according to FileMaker, with calculated totals.
Also new are Quick Find, an interface feature that searches all fields in a layout, and Inspector, a combined tool palette that controls layout objects and properties. Numbers and keywords can now be highlighted, and object badges are used to label scripted fields. Changes directed at veteran FileMaker users include portal filtering and layout folders.
Excel spreadsheets are easier than ever to import and Bento databases can be wrangled into the heavy hitter of the database industry now.
NZ prices I was told a month ago are: FileMaker Pro $499+gst (upgrade $299+gst) FileMaker Pro Advanced $799+gst (upgrade $495+gst). I'm not sure of the prices for FileMaker Server or FileMaker Server Advanced yet.
There's a 2-minute video covering the main points here, and MacNN has more on the new features, and Macworld even has reviews.
Launchy comes to Mac from Windows: Launchy has a long history as an open source Windows application, doing much the same on that platform that Quicksilver did on OS X. It too supports plugins that greatly boost its usefulness.
You can download a Mac beta to see what you think.
Mozilla has borrowed from Apple's WebKit for fast new JavaScript engine: Mozilla's high-performance TraceMonkey JavaScript engine, first introduced in 2008, has lost a lot of its luster as competing browser vendors have stepped up their game to deliver superior performance. Firefox now lags behind Safari, Chrome, and Opera in common JavaScript benchmarks.
In an effort to bring Firefox back to the front of the pack, Mozilla is building a new JavaScript engine called JägerMonkey, reports Ars Techniica.
Fluid Dynamics software Caedmium now available for Mac: Symscape has announced an update to its computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software, Caedium, is now available as a native application for Mac OS XLeopard and Snow Leopard. The commercial analysis tool allows engineers to perform CFD simulations during the design process. MacNN has more info.
Macs in enterprise not just cheaper to manage, but a lot cheaper: Macs in the enterprise aren’t just cheaper to manage – they’re a lot cheaper, according to a new survey released today by the Enterprise Desktop Alliance.
Keep in mind that Enterprise Desktop Alliance is a group of software developers who’ve bandied together to deploy and manage Macs in the enterprise, says MacUser. The group surveyed 260 IT administrators in large US companies with both Macs and PCs who are involved in some degree with IT cost calculations. Enterprise Desktop Alliance members include Centrify, Absolute Software, Group Logic, Web Help Desk, and most recently IBM.
Challenges that Apple faces: Over on the Herald's Mac Planet.
Grey Lynn Mac training tonight: Here in Auckland's Grey Lynn tonight — how to look after your Mac's hardware and software. $40 to attend, 7:30pm for one hour at Grey Lynn Community Centre, 510 Richmond Rd. Sessions are open and friendly, and you leave with a tip sheet to help you remember.
