My honest opinion is that ebase is extremely useful. It does 99% of what we
need, and because it is built in filemaker(right now), it is very
customizable and you don't have to be a "programmer" to do that. It's cross
platform, easily networked, and -- it's free!
as to the nature of this list. Since this is a support list, most of the
posts are regarding problems people are having -- this is the purpose of a
support list :)! Most problems people have come from their confusion of
ebase and filemaker. Many questions are like "why can't I customize ebase",
and the user doesn't realize that they are running the software without
filemaker. Most of the other questions come from confusing ebase
capabilities with those of filemaker.
My advice: if your needs are basic, or as yet undefined, get ebase and work
with it. If you want it to do something more customized, more complex, take
some time and learn (and get) Filemaker Pro. There is a learning curve, but
it is nothing compared to the fees and consultants and time it takes to
master high end systems.
If your needs are reasonably defined, download ebase and see how many of
those needs are met -- for those unmet needs, learn the features of
filemaker you will need (or recruit a staff member to do so), and customize
ebase. I worked with filemaker for eight years and had developed my own
system, with about 85% of the functionality of ebase. As it turned out, it
was less trouble to migrate the data to ebase than it was to develop that
extra 15% functionality. For me, the choice was obvious.
If you have a gajillion bucks and want to pay out the wazoo for a consultant
and support, and anticipate a reasonable return for this investment, buy a
high end system and hire a company to tailor it to your needs, if that's
possible. You will still have to do the same kind of evaluation as outlined
above, and you will still have to have done a careful assessment of your
needs.
Bottom line in my mind is, what is your time worth, what does ebase do, what
is the cost of someone outside the organization helping you, and within
those criteria, what is the remainder? I think ebase is a very useful, well
thought out, and strategic choice.
Ward Smith
Task Force for the Homeless
Atlanta GA
----------------------------
"All mindless rambling is my own doing, All brilliant insights from the work
of others."
> Suzi,
> Lots of problems for high end users. We are very small and can't afford
> more stable, proprietary software. The biggest risk is taking a chance on
> losing lots of hours of your time.
>
> Bill Howden--Albuquerque Folk Festival
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: "TechRocks Support" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Sent: Sunday, April 08, 2001 11:04 PM
> Subject: [support] honest opinion about ebase?
>
>
>> Hi folks,
>> I'm just getting started with ebase. Reading this support list, there
> seems
>> to be an awful lot of problems using it. What is your opinion about this?
> Do
>> you think that ebase is worth pursuing, warts and all? How does it
> compare
>> with other software you have used? If you had it to do over, would you
> still
>> choose ebase?
>>
>> Thanks in advance for your feedback! I've converted our fairly small
> (about
>> 1000 names) database and have had no problems so far, but I haven't tried
> to
>> do anything with the database yet.
>> Suzy Thompson
>>
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>
>
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