Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

(+) Update: Why You Want to Use a VPN

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

This is an update to Plus Edition article published about a year ago. The information in that article was accurate when published, but the available technology and services have changed since then. Prices have also decreased by nearly 50% in the past year. This new article should bring the reader up to date.

I am a fan of virtual private networks, or VPNs. By definition, according to Dictionary.com, a VPN is "a network that uses the internet to transfer information using secure methods." A longer and more detailed explanation can be found on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vpn.

Why should you or I want to use a VPN? There are several reasons.

(+) How to Stop Auto-Renewal Subscriptions

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

Don't you just hate it when you sign up for some web site's offer for a 10-day free trial" or a "30-day free trial" or something similar, and then they charge your credit card – without warning – on the 11th day or the 31st day? To be sure, this is totally legal, assuming the sign-up process included information about the terms and conditions that stated your credit card would automatically be charged when the free trial was over. Of course, you ALWAYS read all the legal boilerplate that is published in a small font, right? 

After all, you clicked on I AGREE or some similar words to indicate that you read and understood the terms and conditions. If you skipped the terms and conditions. or only did a "speed read," or if you simply forgot that the end of the free trial was approaching, you have no one to blame other than yourself.

(+) How to Lend an eBook to a Friend

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

In recent comments to ebook articles in this newsletter, several people have commented, "If I have enjoyed a book, I get pleasure in passing it to a friend to read. I can't do that digitally without paying again." Actually, with Kindle and Nook ebook readers, that is incorrect. Kindle and Nook owners can legally lend books at no charge. In fact, the process is quite simple.

Kindle

Kindle books can be loaned to another reader for a period of 14 days. The borrower does not even need to own a Kindle! Kindle books can be read on a second Kindle or on a Windows PC, Macintosh, iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android device by using Amazon's FREE Kindle software.

(+) When it is Time to Hire a Professional Genealogist

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

Genealogy research is a fascinating endeavor. After all, your family tree is a puzzle that needs to be solved. In fact, you are literally finding out where you came from. I strongly recommend that anyone with an interest in ancestry do their own research. After all, it is fun and challenging.

As author of this newsletter, I sometimes field questions from genealogy newcomers  -- questions like how they can hire someone to research their family tree for a fee. I typically respond with still another question and a comment:  "Would you pay someone to play a round of golf for you? While that might complete the objective, you will miss out on the entire experience."

Despite my rather cavalier remark, I will suggest that professional genealogists can be your best friends and assistants after you have started your own genealogy research. Yes, you should do the basics yourself. You should start with yourself and then find information about your parents, your grandparents, your great-grandparents, and so on, as far back as you can possibly go on your own. Researching your own family tree is fun and can be inexpensive. However, when you do hit a "stone wall" and cannot go back any further, it may be time to call in the professionals.

(+) Follow-up: (Almost) Unlimited Cell Phone Minutes for only $19 per Month

A newsletter reader posted a question at http://eogn.com/wp/?p=23432 at the end of my earlier article on (+) (Almost) Unlimited Cell Phone Minutes for only $19 per Month. I gave an answer I thought was correct but discovered two days later I was in error.

The question was: "can you still use your existing cell phone number?"

The corrected answer is: "you CAN port your existing number to the new cell phone."

See http://eogn.com/wp/?p=23432 for the full article. A Plus Edition user name and password is required to read the article.

(+) (Almost) Unlimited Cell Phone Minutes for only $19 per Month

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

NOTE: This article has nothing to do with genealogy. However, one of my personal interests has always been saving money. I recently found a bargain that is almost too good to be true, so I decided to try it. I must say that I am pleased with the results in my first week of usage. Even better, I don't even have a standard, old-fashioned telephone. I can now use the new cell phone for all my calls and pay a TOTAL of $19 a month for all telephone conversations. I am using an Android "smartphone" that not only places and receives telephone calls but also surfs the web with a built-in web browser, sends and receives text messages, reads and writes email messages, takes pictures, reads and updates my calendar, maintains a large phone book, displays maps, provides directions, plays games, and much, much more.

An unlimited, contract-free smartphone plan for $19 a month? That's awesome! It sounds too good to be true, but I am now using the service and am pleased with it. I can cancel at any time with no termination fees or any other charges. All I need to do is simply notify the cell phone company, and the service and charges stop immediately.

(+) RAW Files for Digital Pictures

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

I have written several times about the method of creating and preserving digital images. I have also written about scanning old photographs as well as scanning various printed or hand-written documents. Today I thought I would discuss the various file formats available and briefly describe the advantages and disadvantages of several of the more popular formats.

Today's technology allows for a selection of image file formats, including JPG, GIF, TIFF, BMP, PSD, RAW, PNG, EPS, PDF, and others in a seemingly endless alphabet soup of abbreviations and acronyms.

You can find several good reasons and bad reasons for selecting any of these file formats. However, from a genealogist's point of view, there are two significant issues to deal with: image size and image compression.

(+) Perform Focused Searches on Google

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

Google is a wonderful invention for genealogists and all other Internet users. The world's most popular search engine is capable of finding specialized information about most anything imaginable. However, many users do not know how to use Google's most powerful search tools.

Many of us only know how to enter a query into Google's Search Box.


Such a search can find all sorts of information, often overwhelming you with too many "hits."

(+) Archival Quality Ink and Paper

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

I often hear genealogists make statements similar to this: “I don't trust digital media for long-term storage so I am going to use paper and ink to make sure my data lasts for a long, long time.”

Indeed, there is a lot of truth to that sentiment. I can point out a few problems, such as storing audio or video recordings, but the idea of storing information on paper certainly has a lot of appeal to genealogists, historians, and others who are concerned with long-term preservation. Paper documents are simple, easy to produce, and last a long time. Or do they?

(+) How to become a Paid Genealogy Speaker

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

Ah, the glamorous life: flying from city to city, giving presentations before genealogy conferences and society meetings. How would you like to do the same?

First of all, I'll warn you there isn't much glamor in genealogy public speaking. Indeed, the busiest and most popular speakers on the genealogy circuit usually grow weary of a life of hotels, living out of suitcases, interminable hours spent in airports, and a constant diet of "rubber chicken and peas" at conference banquets. Going through airport security for the eighth time in one month also isn't fun. Glamor? Maybe not.

(+) How to Reduce the Errors in Your Genealogy Database

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

This article describes a method of killing two birds with one stone.

The first question concerns corruption within your genealogy database. Is your data still good? Or have read errors or write errors managed to corrupt the database? When you make a backup, are you backing up a good database or are you simply making a (corrupted) copy of a corrupted database? Read my earlier article “Always Test Your Backups!” at http://goo.gl/FQ98b for description of the problem. Pay close attention to comments from newsletter readers that were posted at the end of the article. The problem is real and has happened to quite a few genealogists.

The second question concerns the integrity of your database. Are you confident of the accuracy of your genealogy data? You might be amazed at how many databases I see that include mothers giving birth at the age of eight, marriages at age twelve, or deaths at the age of 135. Sometimes you even find a person with a birth date prior to those of his parents. Download almost any GEDCOM file from the Internet and I suspect you can find similar problems.

(+) Our Ancestors' Dental Care

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

One has to wonder about dental care as practiced by our ancestors. Ready-made toothbrushes and toothpaste were not available until the mid-1800s. Prior to that, everyone had to make their own.

Throughout the Middle Ages, most people simply rubbed salt on their teeth.

Some people made up their own dentifrice and rubbed the resulting powder on their teeth with a small stick, called a "toothstick," with a rag over one end. This was the forerunner of the toothbrush.

By the 1700s medical knowledge improved to the point that doctors began to understand the importance of proper dental care. Toothpaste, properly called dentifrice, was made at home. Here is one such recipe:

(+) Remote Access to Another Computer

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

I was recently asked to help a family member troubleshoot a virus-infected computer. I was in my motor home at the time, enjoying the Florida sunshine. The infected computer was about 1,200 miles away so I couldn't easily drive over to help in person. In fact, the virus was on a Windows computer, and all I had in the motor home was a Macintosh laptop. How could I help? As it turns out, the solution was easy.

I was able to connect my laptop to the infected Windows computer (which happened to be a desktop system) and operate it in almost the same manner as if I was seated in front of the infected system itself. I was able to "take over" the Windows system, to type on its keyboard, operate its mouse, and to view what was being displayed on its screen. I was able to do almost everything except insert a CD-ROM disk or to press the power switch. (I could power it off, but not on.)

In fact, I use the same solution to access my own desktop Mac back home. Whether I am in the motor home, in a hotel room, or most anyplace else, I can connect my laptop computer to the Internet and access my desktop computer back home. I can run programs on it, copy files, edit word processing documents, or perform almost any other task that needs to be performed on the desktop.

(+) The Problems with OCR

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

Much of the genealogy information available on the World Wide Web is obtained from old books, published many years ago. With today's technology, vendors are finding it easy to scan the books and to convert the pages into computer text. The results are placed online and the text becomes searchable in Google and other search engines, as well as each site's own "search box." The conversion from printed pages to computer text can be performed at modest expense and the information derived can be valuable for many genealogists. There is but one problem: it doesn't always work very well.

(+) How to Preserve Water-Soaked Books and Papers in an Emergency

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

The recent "superstorm" Sandy in the northeastern United States taught all of us again that paper is a very fragile storage medium for old records. However, paper is also the most common storage method in use today. The news reports from Sandy told of numerous libraries, public records offices, and more that had water in their offices. In some cases, the water reached records that should be saved for centuries. Many families also lost family documents, old photos, and even examples of their children's art work. Unfortunately, water-soaked paper documents will only last for a few days unless treated immediately.

(+) Windows is No Longer the Most Popular Operating System

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

Windows has outsold Macintosh by eight to one to perhaps ten to one in the past few years, according to most reports. Therefore, most computer owners believe that Windows is the most popular operating system in the world. Until a few months ago, they would have been right. In recent months, however, a new "dark horse" candidate has revolutionized the computer marketplace. Now Windows is the second-most popular operating system in the world and is in danger of slipping into third place.

(+) Should All Data on the Web be Verified? A Contrarian View

Caution: this article contains personal opinions.

I often hear people moaning and groaning about the quality of genealogy information to be found online. Some claim that much of the online genealogy data is worthless. These comments seem to insinuate that people shouldn't place information online until they have verified it. I have heard a few exclaim, “We have got to stop those people!”

That is a lofty goal, although unattainable. People are people. New genealogists join in and post data much faster than we can educate them. The idea of requiring source citations for all data sounds wildly Utopian to me.

You know what? I don't care. I want to see the claimed information anyway.

(+) A Computer for Many, but Not All, Operating Systems

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

On November 4, I published a Plus Edition article entitled (+) A Computer for All Operating Systems. That article is still available at http://eogn.com/wp/?p=22813. A Plus Edition user name and password is required to read it. I described how I now use one computer to simultaneously run Windows 8, Macintosh OS X, Linux, and Android operating systems. In fact, it will run even more operating systems, if I wish, such as Windows 7, Windows XP, MS-DOS, OS/2, BeOS, UNIX, and still others.

I am delighted with the results and am using my new computer to write this article. However, the solution I used is a bit expensive. A couple of newsletter readers asked if there is a more cost-effective method of accomplishing the same thing. The answer is, "Yes, you can accomplish MOST of the same things for significantly less money, although not everything will be available. In many cases, you can create the new system using hardware and software you already own, plus some free software, meaning no additional expense. Depending upon your needs, the low-cost method may or may not accomplish what you want. It will operate a shorter list of multiple operating systems simultaneously.”

(+) A Computer for All Operating Systems

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

This has been a technical week for me. I haven't accomplished any genealogy research, but I have progressed technically.

Anyone thinking of purchasing a first computer or an upgrade to an existing computer faces the classic question: "Which operating system should I use?"Today's technology offers several very good options. Those who decide to use normal desktop or laptop computers can choose from Windows, Macintosh, Linux, or even the new Chrome operating system from Google (see http://goo.gl/RW3nk). Another popular choice these days is to skip the bigger, more powerful computers and instead use a more flexible and much more portable handheld computer, such as an Apple or Android tablet.

I wanted a new, more powerful computer and asked myself, "Why can't I have them all?" Indeed, I almost can. This week I purchased a new computer and installed five different operating systems on it: Windows 8, Macintosh OS X Mountain Lion, Google Chrome, Ubuntu 12.04 (Linux), and even Android 4. The only one missing is iOS, the operating system for Apple iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. I haven't yet figured out how to install iOS on my new computer.

(+) Hands On with the New Microsoft Surface Tablet Computer

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

I purchased a new Microsoft Surface tablet computer on October 26, the first day they became available. I would like to describe my experiences with it so far.

I will also compare the new Windows Surface to the current Apple iPad for two reasons. First, the iPad commands 70% of the tablet computer market; so, every new tablet that appears in the marketplace obviously will be compared with its biggest competitor. Second, I already own an iPad; so, I automatically compare the two systems in my mind.