Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Genealogy Programs for the Macintosh

NOTE: I publish an update to this article about once a year. In fact, several new Macintosh genealogy programs have appeared in the past twelve months.

Macintosh users can feel smug about using the best operating system available today. The OS X operating system is easy to use, very reliable, and doesn't "get in the way" with all sorts of pop-up messages. In short, "it just works."

However, one major disadvantage of the Mac is that it doesn't have as many genealogy programs to choose from as does the Windows operating system. Or does it? I would contend that Macintosh has MORE genealogy programs available than does Windows.

There are several genealogy programs written for the Macintosh:

FamViewer Version 2.0 for iPhone and iPod Touch

The following announcement was written by Aster Software:

Aster Software Releases FamViewer Version 2.0, Genealogy Software for iPhone and iPod Touch

LEXINGTON, KY, June 29, 2009 --- Aster Software has announced the release of version 2.0 of its genealogy application, FamViewer. FamViewer allows genealogists to carry their genealogy databases with them on their iPhone and iPod Touch.

Genealogy Programs for the iPhone

If you own an iPhone or an iPod Touch, wouldn't you like to carry your genealogy database with you? Apparently many newsletter readers are interested in doing just that. I recently wrote an article describing one genealogy program for the iPhone or iPod Touch and was pleasantly surprised at the amount of interest it received. That article was only posted yesterday but has already generated 18 comments and a number of e-mail messages. Apparently quite a few newsletter readers are interested in genealogy programs for the iPhone.

I am aware of no less than five different genealogy programs for iPhone owners to choose from. All of them can be downloaded and installed within seconds from the iPhone App Store. However, you do need to choose carefully as two of the programs will only work in conjunction with specific desktop genealogy programs.

I have decided to write reviews of all five programs and publish them in this newsletter over the next few weeks. The first was already published yesterday and the others will follow soon. However, here is a brief description of the available genealogy programs for the iPhone and iPod Touch:

A Hands-On Review: Family Tree Maker 2010 Platinum

The Epoch Times has published an article by Joshua Philipp that describes Family Tree Maker 2010 in depth, or so he claims. The interesting thing is that the 2010 version isn't yet available. I suspect he really meant the 2009 version. In any case, he writes:

Everyone has some interest in their family tree. By looking into our past we can gain a deeper understanding of our origins, and perhaps a greater insight into ourselves. Now there is a new computer program that helps research your ancestry—Family Tree Maker (FTM) Platinum 2010 from Encore. But just how effective is it?

This is the most popular genealogy software on the market for a reason. Without question, it places a powerful research tool at your fingertips that truly allows users to delve as far back into the past as records will allow.

Shrubs: a Genealogy Program for the iPhone

I like to carry my entire genealogy database with me at all times, and now I can do so with nothing more than my cell phone. My database is sitting inside my iPhone, the cell phone from Apple. If I owned an iPod Touch, I could use the same program on it. Any time I want to look at something in my genealogy database, I can grab the iPhone, enter a few "clicks" with my finger, and find what I want within seconds.

I find that having my database with me at all times is a great convenience when at a library, a courthouse, or even at a local genealogy society meeting or a genealogy conference. Many times I've run across an ancestor that I wasn't researching at the moment and knew that we were related but couldn't remember the connection. Perhaps I met someone else who is researching the same family or the same county, and I wanted to compare notes. I've found that having all the info at my fingertips lets me do a quick query and know for certain if "John Doe" is really my John Doe or someone else's.

Break from Microsoft Office with Free Alternatives

I have written several times about free alternatives to Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. For my word processing needs, I mostly use OpenOffice.org and a Macintosh variant of the same program called NeoOffice. I am writing this article in NeoOffice. When traveling or when I need to collaborate with others, I use Google Docs or Zoho Docs. Now Scott Spanbauer has written a rather detailed side-by-side comparison of these and other free programs in the Windows Secret newsletter.

Scott writes:

More Information About Google Wave

Two weeks ago  I wrote about a newly-announced product from Google, called "Google Wave." In that article, I wrote, "The Wave may offer tremendous potential for genealogy projects, especially for group efforts when multiple people are working towards a common goal."

The Google announcement at that time sounded great but gave very few details about the inner workings of Wave. Now Stephen O'Grady has spent some time evaluating Google Wave and has published his thoughts. The article is not specific to genealogy although I suspect that any experienced genealogist can read O'Grady's article and then envision future projects.

Opera Releases an Updated Web Browser That Puts You on the Web

Knowledgeable Windows users have known for years about the various security issues associated with Internet Explorer. Macintosh users quickly stumble across the shortcomings of the free Safari web browser. Users of both operating systems usually upgrade to better web browsers, namely Firefox or Opera. The producers of Opera have now released a major update that includes several features not found in any other web browser.

Opera 10.0, dubbed Opera Unite, radically extends what you are able to do online. The new version even includes a full-fledged Web server. You can use your Windows or Macintosh system as a web server while you continue to use the same system for all the other tasks you normally use.

Another Way to Reduce Spam Messages

Here is a trick for anyone who uses Google's Gmail service:

Here's a method of creating unlimited virtual addresses to make it easier to sort mail and identify spam. For example, you can create a separate email address for each account you establish with an online merchant, such as amazon or ebay or ancestry.com. It even works for this newsletter. As long as you set up a "catchall" address with your email provider, all of these will be forwarded to your main account, and you can use your email client to sort and filter these as you see fit.

Big-name Sites Spread Latest Malware Infections

Writing in the latest Windows Secrets newsletter, security expert Susan Bradley describes the latest Windows malware (malevolent software) floating around the Internet. Many well-known and popular web sites have become infected and they spread the infection to any Windows PC that visits the site using Internet Explorer and some out-of-date software.

I didn't see any genealogy-related web sites mentioned in Susan's list but I'd still suggest caution. Susan lists ColdwellBanker.com, Variety.com, and Tennis.com as web sites that are infected or have been infected in the past.

GEDitCOM II 1.0 - A Completely Rewritten Version of GEDitCOM.

GEDitCOM II is a new genealogy application for Macintosh OS X that sets the standard for Macintosh ease-of-use editing of genealogy files, for customization of the user experience, and for power features allowing the greatest access to your genealogical data.

GEDitCOM II is a rewritten version of GEDitCOM using Apple's Cocoa environment. It will greatly exceed user-interface features of GEDitCOM. It will retain the philosophy of GEDitCOM to be a customizable genealogy application for editing and viewing GEDCOM genealogy files. Users of GEDitCOM, should find GEDitCOM II easy to use.

Adobe Reader 9.1

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the security vulnerabilities in all versions of Adobe Acrobat Reader. That article is still available at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/04/update-time-to-get-rid-of-adobe-reader.html. Acrobat Reader is widely used on Windows, Macintosh, and Linux systems to read and print files that are independent of the operating system. Millions of PDF files are found on the Internet, including many genealogy-related documents.

Now Adobe has released a new version that supposedly fixes the security problems. I downloaded the new version on one of my Macintosh systems today and found the installation was simple.

Apple Announces Snow Leopard

I have Windows, Macintosh, and Linux systems sitting on my desk. All systems are connected to a KVM switch so that I can use one monitor, one keyboard, and one mouse to connect to any of those systems. I can switch between systems in less than a second by simply pushing the appropriate button on the KVM switch.

For most tasks, I prefer to use the Macintosh. It is easier to use, requires less "fussing" to keep it operational, and generally works better. It also makes constant backups of the entire hard drive so that I can instantly restore anything should I delete something accidentally. Nothing is ever 100% but the Mac seems to get most tasks done with ease when compared to Windows or Linux. I can always switch to Windows or Linux within a second or so, but I don't do that very often as the Mac seems to be the most effective tool for most tasks.

I was interested and a bit amused to read today's announcement of the new version of the Macintosh operating system.

How to Read Office 2007's New Formats

Did anyone ever send you a file in .DOCX format? Or one in .XLSX format or .PPTX format? These are new file formats introduced in Microsoft Office 2007. Of course, opening such a file is trivial if you use Office 2007, but most people do not. Most computer users rely on older versions of Microsoft Office or on word processors made by other software companies. Trying to open a .DOCX or .XLSX or .PPTX was impossible for most people. However, you now have options.

Article Archivist for Windows and Macintosh

Did you ever go looking for an article in a genealogy magazine or journal that was published several years ago? "I know it was in here somewhere!" If you were using Article Archivist, you could find the article instantly.

Article Archivist is a database for magazine articles. It does require a lot of data input and that means you input the data. Each time you receive a magazine, you need to enter information about the articles: title, author, date of publication, magazine name, and more. For genealogy articles, you might want to add the surnames mentioned in each article.

Catch a Laptop Thief with Prey

I had a laptop computer stolen several years ago. I wrote about the robbery at the time at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2006/11/i_wuz_robbed.html. Luckily, I had a full backup of the laptop's entire hard drive stored on an online backup service, so I didn't lose any data. However, I suffered the indignation of my property being "ripped off" and also the possibility that someone could steal the data I had stored on the laptop. (The laptop was well secured with a user name and a lengthy password required to access the data on the hard drive, but a knowledgeable thief probably knows how to overcome that).

Experience is a great teacher. I decided to look for a laptop recovery program that would periodically report my laptop's whereabouts via the Internet. If stolen, I wanted to find out where my laptop was, assuming that the thief had powered it up and was using it. I believe that I found such a program.

Prey is a simple and lightweight program that will help you track and find your laptop if it ever gets stolen. It works on all operating systems.

MyBlood for Windows and Macintosh v1.0 Beta 1 is Released

The following announcement was written by the producers of MyBlood:

Product Description
MyBlood is a new genealogy program. The program has several unique features. First of all, it is available in two versions: Windows and Macintosh.

It is multi-lingual. English, French and Dutch versions are available today and the program includes a Translator Tool to help you translate everything in the application. You can modify the program to create a new language if your preferred language is not yet available. All reports and generated Web-Sites can also be translated.

A Really Simple Explanation of Really Simple Syndication (RSS)

The World Wide Web was invented by Tim Berners-Lee when he launched the first web site on 6 August 1991. That web site described a new protocol that Berners-Lee had invented, called "HyperText Transfer Protocol," or http.

Tim Berners-Lee's invention has become very popular in the eighteen years since that modest beginning!

How info-glut wastes valuable time

Of course, the World Wide Web has encountered various problems and "growing pains" in the past eighteen years. One of the biggest problems, in my mind, is simply that of popularity. There are millions of web sites available today. I like to check frequently with a rather large number of web sites to see what has been added recently. However, I find that checking each web site by using the 1991 technology that uses http protocol is time-consuming. Going out to each site and manually scanning to see what is new can consume quite a bit of time, especially if you want to check several hundred web sites!

Luckily, there is a simple solution: skip the http and use RSS instead.

Backup Maker Offers Dead Simple Backup Creation

All hard drives will fail sooner or later. Will you be prepared? In the words of Dirty Harry, “Well, punk, do you feel lucky?”

Backup Maker is a super-easy-to-use program that makes backups for Windows users. It offers a simple wizard-driven backup to a variety of local media and remote hosts. Whether you'd like to backup to another disk, burn the files to a CD, transfer them to a remote FTP site, or transfer them to a jump drive, Backup Maker has a variety of solutions to backup your data. It handles both the backup and the restoration of files and has an easy to use wizard for creation of scheduled backup routines. Best of all is the price: free.

Mailplane: A Gmail Addition for Macintosh Users

If you use a Macintosh and also use Google's Gmail, read on. I have been using a new program for several days and am impressed with it. Mailplane is for users of Google Mail (Gmail). It replaces your web browser when using Gmail: Mailplane makes you more productive and saves you time.

I have been using Gmail for several years and love it. The free e-mail service from Google has numerous options. It uses labels instead of folders and can store tens of thousands of messages. Using Google's search technology, Gmail can locate and retrieve old messages within seconds with great accuracy.