Thoughts on Design, FileMaker, DevCon, Pause on Error, ROI (Return on Investment), and anything else related to what The Alchemy Group does on a daily basis. We care, so we share whatever we can with you. We are a full-featured FileMaker Pro development shop, with years of experience building systems for businesses, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations exactly like yours. Your unique processes will be exactly mirrored by the custom software we write for you, whether it’s for mobile or desktop.
SkyNet, Skeuomorphs, and You
On occasion, I find myself obsessed with a set of concepts ? an internal conversation, if you will - for which I have no single, definitive term. In place of the tidiness of a self-limiting word is a whirling, soupy m?lange of random thoughts, half-baked ideas, movie...
Quality Control Teamwork
Here at The Alchemy Group, we pride ourselves on solid code and great interfaces. Part of delivering that to you, our valued client, rests in top-notch quality control. That's why we are happy to announce the addition of Monique Guzman to our team. Monique is one...
Lookout! Toast!
We bought a new toaster. It was necessary after.. the incident. But never mind that. The interesting thing about this toaster is that it beeps when the toast is about to pop up. "Lookout! Toast!" I'm not sure why this is necessary, because the mechanical sound of the...
FileMaker DevCon 2012 All Wrapped Up
Since 1999, I have been to every FileMaker DevCon except for two. That made this my twelfth, and I have to say that this was a very good one. Not only was the caliber of material very high this year, but some of this year's biggest sessions were recorded for...
Corporate Culture and Consulting: Watching for Warning Signs
Vanity Fair magazine has published a scathingly honest look inside Microsoft's corporate culture, and cites, among other things, ?a practice known as "stack ranking" as a cause for low morale and an inability to innovate. How can we, as consultants, deal with broken...
Pre-DevCon Webinar: Long Live Your App!
If you are a FileMaker Technet or Business Alliance member, you can attend a pre-DevCon webinar I am presenting next Thursday, June 28. This is a highlights-only version of the "Long Live Your App!"session I will be presenting at DevCon 2012 in Miami. Hope you can...
Gauging Usability for Longevity
Usability testing is a great idea for anyone developing apps. There are few experiences for a developer more eye-opening than watching a user interact in unexpected ways with his creation. I learned about traditional usability testing from Don Levan of Vanguard Custom...
It’s Not a Web Page
When it comes to the way apps of all kinds are designed, most of the ?interface design is driven by two things: handheld devices and the Web. The former folds nicely into FileMaker's way of doing things, because FileMaker Go makes good use of iOS devices. It could be...
FileMaker Pro 12 Announced
FileMaker today announced the release of FileMaker Pro 12 for Mac and Windows. This upgrade adds many new enhancements to the product line, including FileMaker Pro 12, FileMaker Server 12, and FileMaker Go 12 for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. Stunning new features make...
How the world of 1950 looked in 1925
It's pretty darn easy to think you know what the latest in design is, and where design is going next. The reality is that design follows a path of consensus, shifting incrementally in unpredictable ways. Sure, we all saw the most recent wave of '60s, '70s, '80s...