The DAILY genealogy technology newsletter for genealogy
consumers, packed with straight talk - hold the sugar coating - whether
the vendors like it or not!
The following is an announcement from Wholly Genes Software (I hope to write a review of this product soon):
TMG v6 has been released!
The newest version of The Master Genealogist includes a long list of exciting new features that were requested by our users. TMG v6 now includes even more tools to help you to find your ancestors, record their data, search and navigate the program, and produce professional reports. Following is a list of the major new features in TMG v6.
The following is an announcement from TIME Magazine although I changed a few words to BOLD font for emphasis:
NEW YORK, Dec. 20 -- TIME magazine's archive is now available on TIME.com, bringing to life over 81 years of history as reported by the world's largest newsmagazine. The archive (http://www.timearchive.com) provides one of the most comprehensive news resources on the web with over 266,000 articles dating back to TIME's inaugural issue in March 1923.
I wrote about a new Google program called Desktop Search in the October 14, 2004 edition of this newsletter. It is an excellent program for finding data on your own hard drive, be it genealogy data or something else. The program has become very popular, but a security hole was identified. Google has now fixed the problem.
Everyone who uses a computer needs to make periodic backups. It makes no difference if you use Windows, Macintosh or Linux; you still need to make backups. Every computer will crash and lose data sooner or later. It will lose your genealogy work, your electronic checkbook, all the letters you have written with your word processor, and all of your stored e-mail.
For reference, I'd suggest that you ask Pam Cerutti, the lady who edits this newsletter. Last week the hard drive in her computer started making "strange noises" and a few hours later refused to function at all. The computer was dead.
Genealogical Publishing Company (GPC) has announced that the all-new 5th Edition of The Genealogist's Address Book, by Elizabeth Petty Bentley, will soon be released as a CD-ROM disk. This is a radical change for this "book" as previous versions have always been published as 8-1/2" x 11" paperback publications. The Fourth Edition, printed in 1998, had over 800 pages, and the new edition is presumed to have even more information.
Trade publications this morning are warning of Microsoft's latest perfect holiday gift for scammers. Security researchers have uncovered a spoofing flaw in Internet Explorer that could allow a scammer to display a fake Web site with all the attributes of a genuine, secure site, including the URL and the icon indicating SSL security. The only difference is that the unwitting user is on the scammer's Web site, probably hosted in some third-world country. The scammer then can collect data from that person. Hopefully this will not be you.
Last week I announced a new, free online service for genealogists, called the Encyclopedia of Genealogy. This is a project I have been working on for a few weeks. While I'm the person who created the "shell" of this new service, much of the information within it is written by newsletter readers, such as yourself. If you missed last week's announcement, you can read it here.
I must admit that I am quite pleased with the first week of operation. A couple dozen newsletter readers have offered new content or have corrected existing information within the Encyclopedia of Genealogy. Here is a partial list of some of the articles added or updated by newsletter readers and myself within the past week:
GenSmarts is a Windows program written by R. Aaron Underwood that uses artificial intelligence to analyze your existing genealogy and to offer suggestions of where to look next. Your file is analyzed for missing or conflicting information, missing dates are estimated, and then research tasks to locate records containing the missing information are suggested. GenSmarts can generate and track "to do" lists, print worksheets to record your search results, and help you plan research trips to libraries, courthouses, and other such resources. Best of all, it can find many online record sites, some that may even have information about your ancestors. I used GenSmarts for a while this week and must say that I was very impressed.
Microsoft's Internet Explorer has many security problems that have been documented in thousands of places. I won't repeat all that here. However, one comment from Microsoft's director of product management for Windows shows the company's cavalier attitude.
Ever wondered what your grandmother or great-grandmother most wanted under her Christmas tree? Ancestry.com has a cool review of some of the most popular toys through seven decades - from 1905 to 1965.
Remember the "Betsy Wetsy" dolls of 1955? ("She cries. She wets. She's the next best thing to a real live baby!") You'll be surprised that several of these popular toys are still available for sale today.
The following is an announcement from GHCS Software:
GHCS Software announces the release of V1.4 of GedStar Pro, a genealogy viewing program for PalmOS handheld PDAs. This release features support for the direct import of data from the popular Family Tree Maker series of genealogy programs. Virtually all of the vital data in the database can be extracted for viewing on a device that can be carried in your pocket. This includes primary events, alternate events, name variations, custom events, source citations, and repository information, complete with notes and memos. The data is transferred more completely and accurately than is possible with a generalized standard such as GEDCOM. On the PDA, the data may be viewed in a number of different ways, including graphical ancestor and descendant tree views. Soundex and relationship calculators are also included.
An online genealogy course will be offered by Wytheville Community College starting in January. People who sign up for the three-credit course will need a home computer with word processing software and an Internet connection. Course topics include genealogical record sources and how to access them, interpretation of genealogical records, how to write a family history and how to construct a family pedigree chart.
I have added a new feature to this newsletter's Web site: a page showing what happened on this day in history. It won't show you any genealogy information but may give you an insight into the events that shaped your ancestors' lives.
The U.S. National Genealogical Society has just announced a new subscription service for NGS members who are looking for "a more tailored NGS experience." Members can subscribe to a new special interest group forum, where custom-tailored information is provided, along with special discounts to unique products and services.
I have written before about Gmail, a free e-mail service provided by Google. It has a long list of features and has quickly become very popular. You can read my earlier review of Gmail here. Now Gmail has added another feature that should delight many: POP access.
The following is an excerpt from an interesting article about digitizing old documents in Canada:
Library and Archives Canada, which combines the former National Library of Canada and National Archives of Canada, has been especially active, scanning millions of pages of documents a year. It has now put all of the publications, including pamphlets and books, printed in Canada in the 18th and 19th century on-line for the public to access, said Ian Wilson, librarian and archivist of Canada.
Five of the world's largest libraries have joined Google to digitize millions of books and make every sentence searchable. Nothing in today's announcement mentions genealogy books but with millions of out-of-print books being digitized, one has to believe that at least a handful of them will be genealogies or local histories.
In 1906 San Francisco had a devastating earthquake - registering around 7.7 to 8.3 on the Richter scale. The disaster began with an earthquake in the early morning of Wednesday, April 18, and when the fires were extinguished three days later, at least two hundred thousand San Francisco residents were homeless.
BBC2 has commissioned a second series of its autumn ratings hit, the genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are? Wall to Wall Television will produce six more one-hour programmes, each featuring different celebrities unravelling their own family roots.
The following is an announcement from Wholly Genes Software (I hope to write a review of this product soon): 
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