Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

An Outage in the Cloud

I have written a number of times about the advantages of cloud computing. However, not everything is perfect. For instance, Amazon had an outage on Thursday of part of its EC2 cloud computing service. It affected many web sites hosted by Amazon EC2 or Elastic Compute Cloud, including the FamilySearch forums.

Actually, Amazon has a number of different cloud-based services and only part of one service was affected. The Amazon EC2 outage was significant but the Amazon S3 and Amazon Cloud Drive services were unaffected.

Stealing Credit Card Information from Wi-Fi Networks

Seattle police are investigating a group of criminals who they say have been cruising around town in a black Mercedes stealing credit card data and other information by tapping into wireless networks belonging to area businesses. The group has been at it for about five years, according to an affidavit signed by Detective Chris Hansen, a fraud investigator with the Seattle Police Department. The gang is thought to have stolen more than $750,000 worth of items, mostly from businesses although some from private individuals.

Stealing information from unsecured or from WEP-secured wireless networks is rather easy to do. In the October 30, 2010 edition of this newsletter, I published a Plus Edition article telling how to avoid the problem. In fact, when I am traveling, I always use the VPN that I described to encrypt all of my online connections through wireless and even through wired Internet connections in hotels. Wired connections can be equally risky when you don't know who is sharing the wired connection with you. In hotels, typically all hotel guests can easily tap into the same wired or wireless connection that you are using.

(+) A Hands-on Report of the New Sprint 3G/4G Wireless Modem

The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Dick Eastman.

Look Ma! No wires! I am now surfing the Internet at high speeds, all without a wired Internet connection.

Years ago, the cell phone companies introduced wireless data and the world has not been the same since. Anyone within range of a cell phone tower can connect a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a handheld device, or most any other computer device that has the appropriate hardware to the cell phone company's wireless network. Wireless access has revolutionized the computer business: handheld and portable devices are now out-selling laptop and desktop computers.

Originally, these wireless connections used the EVDO standard, which is about as slow as a standard dial-up Internet connection by telephone. In fact, EVDO is often SLOWER than dial-up. Few people cared about speed in those days; for them, the amazing thing was that wireless even worked at all. Of course, we all know what happens to slow speeds in the computer business: they don't last very long.

Genealogy for Geeks, Part 1: Who Do I Think I Am?

Jenny Williams has written an interesting article for Wired Magazine that describes why geeks love genealogy. She writes, "Some might argue that all genealogy is for geeks. It’s designed for us. Where else do you get to dive into the facts and daily lives of thousands of ancestors? Follow one branch, and that leads to another, and another, but wait, backtrack and take care of that other branch, and then the one on your mother’s side… It’s an information addict’s delight."

You can read this interesting article of Genealogy for Geeks, Part 1: Who Do I Think I Am? at http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/04/genealogy-for-geeks-part-1/

(+) Why You Want to Archive All Your Email Messages

The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Dick Eastman.

This is Part #1 of a 2-part series.

We often take email for granted these days. For many people, it is a process of writing a quick note, reading a return note, clicking DELETE, and then moving on. However, is deleting a good idea? I can think of at least two reasons why we might want to archive all our email messages, both sent and received. One reason is genealogy-related, the other is not.

Did you inherit family heirlooms of letters great-grandfather sent to great-grandmother during the war? Or perhaps other letters written for other purposes? While love letters are always great for sentimental reasons, other letters, even business correspondence, can offer great insights into the lives of our ancestors. Will your descendants have similar feelings about the correspondence that you write?

Kate Middleton's Coat of Arms

Kate Middleton's family has had a coat of arms designed, which will be featured on the souvenir royal wedding programme. Her father Michael commissioned the heraldic design to mark his daughter's marriage to Prince William on 29 April. It features three acorn sprigs, one for each of the Middletons' children: an idea Miss Middleton suggested.

An video on the BBC web site shows the new coat of arms as Thomas Woodcock, Garter Principal King of Arms, explains the meaning of the various items shown. You can see the video at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13127145

VoIP Telephone Services

I have recently published articles about the new Bobsled application from T-Mobile and about Google Voice and also about Skype. All of these are VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services that allow the user to make voice calls over the Internet, similar to placing telephone calls. Several newsletter readers have written, asking for comparisons or "which service is the best one?" I thought I would offer my views.

In fact, all three services are very different from each other, and offering side-by-side comparisons is difficult, probably impossible. Comparing these three is similar to comparing apples and oranges and pomegranates. However, each has advantages. In addition, I have found a fourth service that is very useful to me, and I also see dozens of others advertised. Using any of these can potentially reduce your phone bills to zero or at least close to zero.

FamilySearch News: 140 Free Online Genealogy Research Courses

The following announcement was written by FamilySearch:

20 April 2011
 
140 Free Online Genealogy Research Courses
Growing Course Catalog Makes It Easier to Expand Family History Skills
 
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH—Ever found yourself researching your family tree and discovering a new branch that extended to another country—and you are not familiar with that country’s records or language? Or perhaps you are a fan of the popular reality show Who Do You Think You Are? and wonder, “How do the producers know what public records to search to find all of those cool stories about that celebrity’s ancestors?” Maybe you’d like to learn more about how to do your family history research but don’t think you can afford to take a class. Thousands of individuals are now satisfying many of those needs through FamilySearch’s growing collection of free online genealogy courses.

Fire Damages Hancock County, Indiana, Genealogy Room and Library

Library officials gathering to discuss earthquake safety had to flee a central Indiana library when another force of nature - lightning - set the building on fire.

The Indianapolis Star reports that about 40 patrons and 25 employees were evacuated from the Hancock County Public Library in Greenfield around noon Tuesday after lightning apparently struck the roof and sparked a fire. At the time, library administrators were gathering to discuss Tuesday's earthquake drills at Indiana's public schools as part of the Great Central U.S. ShakeOut.

Update: DNA Heritage Business Acquired by Family Tree DNA

DNA Heritage is (or was) a commercial genetic genealogy company based in Weymouth, Dorset, England. It also operated the popular YBase.org database that is searchable by 49 Y-chromosome markers. The company began offering Y-chromosome testing in October 2003. The company's web site now says, "As of April 19 2011, DNA Heritage has ceased its operations and is in the process of transferring the domains DNAHeritage.com and Ybase.org to Family Tree DNA." Of course, Family Tree DNA has long been a leader in the genealogy DNA business. The company is based in Houston, Texas.

Free Worldwide Voice Calls

I won't call these "telephone calls" as there is no telephone involved. However, a new service by T-Mobile allows you to make voice calls to any of 600 million computer users and the service will soon be expanded. Watch out, Skype, you now have serious competition. In fact, between Skype and T-Mobile, this could be the end of telephones as we know them.

T-Mobile has introduced Bobsled, a new application for Facebook users that allows them to actually chat with friends on Facebook using a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) voice chat. Today's new announcement is limited only to Facebook users but the company plans to expand that within a few weeks.

Bobsled is a “a new brand aimed at bridging the world of traditional telecommunications with Internet-based voice and data services” according to the T-Mobile Blog. Now, all 600 million users of Facebook have nearly instant ability to call anyone and everyone they are friends with on Facebook. To do so, you don't need a phone and you don't need a phone number.

Mocavo.com Adds Thousands of New Sites to the World’s Largest Free Genealogy Search Engine

I have written before (at http://goo.gl/fhAm8 and at http://goo.gl/V1H00) about Mocavo, a genealogy search engine. In fact, at last weekend's annual conference of the Guild of One-Name Studies, I was impressed when several Guild members described the successes they have had with Mocavo. It is especially effective when trying to find genealogy information about families whose surnames are also common English words, such as Towne, Ford, or similar names.

Now Mocavo has had a significant upgrade, as described in this announcement from the company:

Use your Phone as a Scanner with scanR

If you are at a library or archive and need to make a copy of a document, don't forget that you probably already have a digital scanner with you: your cell phone. If your "smartphone" has a digital camera and can send pictures you take via email, you can use scanR to create PDF files of any document.

The process is simple:

1. Use your mobile phone or digital camera to photograph documents, whiteboards and even business cards. It won't work too well with microfilm images, however. It does work well with paper.
2. Send all images to scanR (send to doc@scanR.com for documents and to wb@scanR.com for whiteboards).
3. scanR will send you back nicely formatted PDF versions of documents.

Finding Money in Newspaper Archives

Newspapers are being battered financially everywhere. Several major newspapers have folded in recent years, usually after suffering losses of millions of dollars. However, as Emily Lambert writes in Forbes, many newspapers are overlooking a great asset that can produce significant revenue: placing their archives online.

News libraries contain a rich trove of history, of interest to everyone from genealogists to historians to casual readers. So the idea, of course, is to charge those readers for access to the newspaper archives.

Warning from the Ancestors: Do Not Build Any Homes Below This Point

A 600-year-old tombstone in Japan says: “High dwellings are the peace and harmony of our descendants. Remember the calamity of the great tsunamis. Do not build any homes below this point.” The descendants paid close attention. The dozen or so households of Aneyoshi, Japan, did not build below that point. As a result, their homes emerged untouched from the recent tsunami and flood while low-lying communities elsewhere along Japan’s northeastern shore suffered thousands of casualties.

Could many more have been saved had everyone paid attention to the advice of the ancestors?

MacFamilyTree Version 6.1 Public Beta 3

Synium Software has released a beta version of the company's popular Macintosh genealogy program. MacFamilyTree has the most visual user interface I have ever seen in any genealogy program for any operating system. Click on the image to the right to see an example screenshot.

With the earlier versions of MacFamilyTree 6 you can:

• Enter and visualize your family history
• Choose from a large variety of reports and charts
• Use New FamilySearch.org (currently in the beta phase) for research, no subscription fees!
• Share genealogical data using the GEDCOM standard
• Publish your family tree on the Internet

Historical Maps of Nova Scotia Go Online

Genealogists, historians, and others may be interested in the latest offering from the Nova Scotia Archives:

Numerous historical maps arranged chronologically by the date of creation for each

A modern-day Google™ map of Nova Scotia

New Facebook Game - Family Village - Now Open to Public

The following announcement was written by Funium:

First social game tied to real-world family history is now available

Provo, UT - April 19, 2011 - Funium announced today the immediate public availability of its free Facebook game, Family Village. Family Village is the first Facebook game to help players explore their real family trees while building an online community. As players enjoy building fortunes, houses, businesses, immigrating family members and assigning jobs, Family Village matches inputted data with relevant real-world documents about the users' living and deceased relatives. These include census records, newspaper articles, and other documents. Players can then examine the records, print them, or store them in their personal game library.

More Security Problems With Facebook

If you are still using Facebook, you need to read the Open Letter to Facebook written by well-known anti-virus firm Sophos. Amongst other things, the letter says:

"Every day, victims report to us numerous incidents of crime and fraud on Facebook. They have been personally affected and are desperate for advice on how to deal with the consequences.

"A frequent refrain from users who contact us is, ‘Why doesn’t Facebook do more to protect us?’"

Deceased Online Adds 70,000 Burial Records for Two Hertfordshire Councils

The following announcement was written by Deceased Online:

Following the recent uploading of over 800,000 records for the UK’s largest cemetery onto www.deceasedonline.com, the UK’s only portal for statutory burial and cremation records, the company has now added 70,000 burial records for two areas in the county of Hertfordshire. 

Located almost directly north of London and bounded to the south by the M25 motorway, Broxbourne Borough Council includes the towns of Cheshunt, Waltham Cross, Hoddesdon and Broxbourne.  Deceased Online has uploaded 40,000 burial records for the award-winning Cheshunt Cemetery (1855-2003, UK Cemetery of the Year 2005) and Ware Road Cemetery, Hoddesdon (1883-2003).