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bento

The coolest bento boxes around

Bento boxes are an easy solution for me when packing lunches. They offer an easy way to manage portions, tend to be sturdier than Tupperware, and are often cuter to boot. But because of the size and shape of most bento boxes, packing a freezer pack or something else to keep food cool just doesn't work out so well. The Gel-Cool Bento Boxes seem to have solved that problem, however. They come with a lid with a built-in gel pack that you can freeze overnight. Then, in the morning you can pack your bento box like normal. Cover it … Read more

Filemaker releases Bento 3 for Mac

Filemaker has released the latest update to its consumer database management software, Bento. This latest update, now version 3, includes support for iPhoto data. You can now link your photos to contacts, projects, events, or other data stored in Bento. Improvements to the user interface show a much more visual approach, including a new Grid View of libraries and inclusion of image thumbnails in File Lists and the related data field.… Read more

FileMaker unpacks a Bento database for iPhone

You don't have to own a Mac to use FileMaker's new Bento for iPhone and iPod Touch--released Tuesday in the iTunes App Store--but if you do, wireless sync adds extra incentive to take your personal databases to go.

Bento ($4.99) offers non-Mac users a portable personal database for storing everything from birthdays and home expenses to recipes and an exercise log, with 25 templates to start. Integration with the address book, dialer, Safari browser, e-mail in-box, and Google Maps make Bento a useful iPhone app offering that could become a master storehouse for your separate lists; and … Read more

Parents tackle information overload

Technology helps us manage family life in many ways. It's hard to imagine being a parent without email and cell phones (though our parents managed just fine), and I've written about TiVO and iPod as transformational technologies for parents in my book, Mojo Mom.

And yet, I sit here on the brink of mental information overload, and physical gadget overload.

The sure sign that this situation has passed the tipping point is that I frequently find myself using one phone to call the other, usually to find my Blackberry as I fly out of the house. It goes both ways though, mobile to landline and vice-versa. I've pitched the idea of a "cordless phone tether" to several friends, and they've all said it was a good idea, before realizing that it was a joke about the fact that we already have corded phones.

Three other signs: First, the proliferation of gadgets and their docks/rechargers/adapters has formed an impenetrable layer in my desk drawer. It's hard to know when it is time to part with each of these accessories. Many of the adapters look nearly identical but have slightly different connectors, creating a confusing mass that is quickly approaching junk.… Read more