Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Follow-up: ST Genie Converts Microfilm to Scanned Computer Images

On February 19, I published an article describing a $1,075 device that converts microfilm to digital images. It should be the perfect device for your local society or museum to computerize their microfilms.

I ended the article by writing, "Has any newsletter reader tried the ST Genie or a similar low-cost device? If so, could you let me know of any successes or failures you have had with it? I'd love to write a follow-on article based on your experiences."

Recording Longitudes and Latitudes

Genealogists have always been taught to record our sources of information. We not only record the name of the book or other source of genealogy information, but we also record the location of the building (repository) where we found it. Typically we record the building's name, street address, city and state.

With today's technology, shouldn't we also be recording the geographic coordinates? With GPS receivers and the plethora of high-quality on-line maps, it is now easy to find the exact latitude and longitude of any address. Unlike street names, the longitude and latitude will never change.

magicJack: Never Pay a Phone Bill Again

NOTE: This article contains no genealogy-related information at all. If you are looking for genealogy-related articles, I suggest that you skip this one.

One of my interests is the way in which new technologies revolutionize business and personal activities, making life simpler and/or cheaper for all of us. I have written often about things that were supposed to simplify our lives and make things cheaper. Often, today's technologies have the opposite effect: complicating things unnecessarily.

This week I had the chance to use a new device that performs exactly as advertised: it simplified my life a bit and also reduced my phone bills significantly. .

I have written before about the multiple revolutions in the telephone industry. First, the break-up of the Bell System into the "Baby Bells" allowed for innovation and then fostered competition. Soon after, the new technology of cell phones revolutionized the telephone business. Now an even newer technology, called VoIP, is waging a new revolution.

ScottishHandwriting.com

A new web site offers online tutorials in paleography (the study of old handwriting) for historians, genealogists, and other researchers who have problems reading records written in Scotland in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. ScottishHandwriting.com provides online interactive tutorials and weekly posers to help you study the characteristics of Scottish handwriting. The emphasis of the web site is on practical help to improve the paleographic skills, rather than on the academic study of Scottish handwriting.

More Virtual Presentations

I wrote recently about Dick Cleaveland's recent virtual presentation: he spoke to a genealogy gathering that was many miles away. Dick was at home and used a computer to display PowerPoint slides, log onto web sites, and perform other tasks while the distant audience watched every move as displayed by a computer projector in their meeting room. Dick's voice also could clearly be heard as it was played on the speakers in the distant meeting room.

That article is still available at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2007/11/virtual-present.html.

I have since received numerous e-mail messages from people reporting similar experiences. Apparently, virtual presentations are more common than I realized. Indeed, I have done the same thing myself in the business world although not to a genealogy gathering. Perhaps it is time for me (and perhaps you as well) to move into the twenty-first century's method of making presentations!

Virtual Presentations

We live in a great high-tech world! It is now possible for experts to give presentations to remote groups without traveling. Newsletter reader Dick Cleaveland recently did just that: he gave a presentation to a genealogy group that was located many miles away. He used a combination of Skype and LogMeIn.

He writes:

The readers of your newsletter might be interested to know that I recently gave a presentation to a meeting of the Roots Users Group of Arlington, VA. Given that I have been an active member for several years, that, in itself, is not particularly surprising. The punch line is that I gave it from my summer home on the shores of the Atlantic, many miles away from the meeting place.

Update: VoIP Enables Ancestry.com Users to Record Oral Family Histories

Yesterday I posted an article with a title of "VoIP Enables Ancestry.com Users to Record Oral Family Histories." In that article, I wrote "The two new services apparently are not yet operational." This morning, a representative of Ancestry.com called me with a correction. It seems that the new conference and intreview features ARE enabled right now and are available to all Ancestry.com customers. Even better, a method of recording live video is also available now.

This service is free for any registered user of Ancestry who has created a Family Tree. You can either attach an audio story to an individual, or you can assign it to the entire tree.

VoIP Enables Ancestry.com Users to Record Oral Family Histories

VoIP is an acronym that stands for "Voice over Internet Protocol." Almost all the new online services that allow you to place voice calls over the Internet use VoIP technology. That would include Skype, Vonage, and a number of other voice services. It is easy to place long-distance telephone calls for free or for very little money. You can see some of my past articles on the topic at http://tinyurl.com/3yn9bq.

Now Ancestry.com is adding VoIP voice services to record oral histories and to interview family members.

Why Isn't It Free?

I recently received an e-mail with a question that I have heard many times before. My correspondent questioned why some web sites charge money to access genealogy information. The question was simple: "Why can't all genealogy information be made available on the web free of charge?"

New FGS Web Site is Online

The Federation of Genealogical Societies is holding an annual conference this week in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Federation took this opportunity to announce that its new web site launched today. http://www.fgs.org has an all-new look and feel, along with some new information.