|
|
 |
Download: $2.00 In 1854 self-educated English mathematician George Boole published a paper that eventually resulted in 21st century genealogists finding more information about their ancestors. Boole published The Laws of Thought that illustrated new ways of looking at mathematical data.
Boolean algebra emerged in the 1860s and went on to become a standard method of analyzing all sorts of data. In the last half of the twentieth century, computer scientists and programmers found many applications for Boolean logic. Now Google and many other search engines and quite a few genealogy sites also use Boolean logic extensively. If you understand a few of the simpler Boolean search methods, you can greatly increase the probability of finding the information you seek.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 I wrote earlier: “Disk space is no longer much of an issue these days. Hard drives have become so cheap that we can almost ignore those problems. “ A newsletter reader sent an e-mail questioning that statement. His message was longer, but he basically asked, “Where can I find cheap disk drives?” He also said he wasn't prepared to open the case of his computer, bolt things in, and then hook up cables.
I took this as a bit of a personal challenge. Besides, I wanted another big disk drive for a backup project I had in mind. I decided to purchase a 500-gigabyte external disk drive. As it turned out, the price even surprised me. It was cheaper than I expected.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 I recently purchased a new digital camera that can create pictures of up to 8 megapixels. I love the quality of the photographs made with this camera. However, storing and sharing 8-megapixel images creates a few problems.
First of all, the file sizes are huge. Most of the pictures I take consume about 3 megabytes of disk space to store a single image. That’s twice the size of a standard floppy disk just to store one picture! (Does anyone use floppy disks anymore?) Of course, there are no film developing costs; so, I click the shutter many, many times in hopes of obtaining the perfect picture. I may not save all of the photos, but I often keep two or three variations of everything I photograph. The result consumes many megabytes of disk space.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Lots of new buzzwords are creeping into Internet-related vocabularies: Web 2.0, social networking sites, wikis, folksonomies, XML, and more. I thought I would write a mostly non-technical explanation of Web 2.0. I will do so from a genealogist’s point of view. In short, I will try to answer the question, “What does Web 2.0 mean to genealogists?”
|
 |
Download: $2.00 I get to talk about technical subjects with a lot of genealogists. One vexing problem that I hear over and over concerns setting up publicly-accessible computers in a public library, a genealogy society's library, a school or at a local Family History Center.
The question is: How to limit library patrons to only access the specific programs, web sites and data that the society wishes to make available?
|
 |
Download: $2.00 I received an e-mail message from a newsletter subscriber that asked a common question:
"I just read your article about the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. I am interested to know why the Mormons have such an interest in everyone's genealogy."
In fact, I asked the same question when I first started researching my own family tree. I suspect that most non-Mormons did the same. I thought I would post my answer here in case others have the same question.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 The web is making all of the world's information accessible. Isn't that great?
It really is great, but the world is a very big place and contemplating all of its information makes my brain hurt.
There is more information available on the web than any other single place in the world. Best of all, much of this information is updated daily, some of it hourly. Whatever information you or I seek, there is an excellent chance that we can find it on the web.
All is not perfect, however. In fact, the web’s greatest strength is also its curse. There is so much information available and that information is updated so often that it is impossible to keep up-to-date with multiple interests. Even keeping abreast of developments in genealogy could require several hours every day for you to visit all the web sites that possibly may have new information.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 We all have read history books about the brave and noble heroes who helped shape today's world. Hearty explorers, brave immigrants, exemplary church-goers and the like did indeed create today's modern world. Yet these same history books rarely describe the everyday world of those heroes and heroines. Sometimes their lives were not all fame and glory. In fact, their lives were often repulsive by today's standards. I thought I would focus for a bit on everyday life in the 1600s in Europe, in England, and in the newly-created colonies in North America.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 You can add articles from this newsletter to your web site or a society’s printed genealogy newsletter or other publications that you edit.
Of course, this newsletter is not the only online publication that offers content that you can use. Articles about thousands of topics are available from many sources, ranging from private blogs to the BBC and the New York Times. Check the copyright statements closely. If the publisher allows, you can add those articles to your own web site.
A couple of people wrote to ask, “How can I automatically add articles to my web site without copying and pasting them?”
Actually, there are several methods available. However, I always like to do things the easy way.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 NOTE: This article was originally posted in three parts in Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter. All three installments are included in this archive article.
There's a plethora of web hosting services willing to host personal web pages that you create. You can post your genealogy pages on the web as well as other pages about most anything else that you wish to share with others, be it your bowling league's scores, your son's Cub Scout Den home page, or pictures of your grandchildren or family gatherings. Prices range from free to about $10.00 a month for personal Web sites.
However, you might not want to use a commercial hosting service. Many people are surprised to learn that they can create their own web server on any Windows 95 or later computer as well as on Macintosh OS X or on Linux. Your present computer can serve as a web server, even while you simultaneously use the word processor, read and write e-mail, surf the Web, or use other programs.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 You frequently see letters appended after the names of individuals, such as CG or AG. This means that the individual has received a genealogy accreditation of some level. I thought I would describe the various certifications and tell why you might be interested in obtaining certification.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 I was surprised and a bit dismayed this week when I read about the discovery of a lot of old records at a county courthouse. Local archivists spent thousands of hours sorting, filing, and organizing the documents. They repaired damaged documents and worked hard to preserve all the documents for examination by future historians, genealogists, social scientists, deed searchers, and others.
Such efforts are commendable. A handful of people labored intensely so that many others will be served in the future. Then I read one more line: the archivists also microfilmed the records. Microfilmed? My heart sunk. Hey folks, this is the twenty-first century!
Microfilm is so “nineteen eighties.” Today we have better and cheaper methods that will serve many more people.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 If you have family in another state or in another country, you can call them at relatively low rates using any of a number of methods. Low-cost VoIP providers abound; telephone companies often offer flat-rate unlimited calls; and some cellular companies also offer very low prices for calls. However, wouldn’t it be nice to offer those relatives the opportunity to call you at no charge or for a very low charge, too?
For instance, if you live in Australia, wouldn’t it be nice to offer your relatives in England the chance to call you for free or for very low toll charges? Of course, the calls do not need to be international. Perhaps you retired to Florida but would like to keep a Chicago phone number so that your children and grandchildren in that city can call you toll-free. All they do is call a Chicago phone number, and you answer the phone, regardless of where you are.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Digital cameras are perhaps the most universal technology of today. Hundreds of millions of people around the globe own and use digital cameras - not bad for a technology that barely existed fifteen years ago. In fact, you do not need to be an electrical or optics engineer to produce good pictures from a digital camera. You don't even need to own a computer, although a computer will allow you to accomplish a lot more than what you can do with just the camera alone.
Most people use digital cameras like the old box cameras: point and click. Very few people spend the time to learn how to obtain the best pictures possible. Indeed, "point and click" works well; but, there is so much more that one can do.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 An EOGN reader recently posed the following dilemma:
I live in New Zealand 5 months a year and use my laptop. Then when I move back to San Francisco, I use my desktop during the week and the laptop on weekends and trips. I can access my desktop and my assistant's desktop with www.gotomypc.com, which is part of my sanity.
But I have files on both computers and would like a way to have the same files on both computers. I know Windows XP has Briefcase, but it looked limited.
I would gladly pay for a good software program that I could sync them via my network or a cable.
My answer:
|
 |
Download: $2.00 A newsletter reader wrote this week, asking a number of excellent questions. Here is an excerpt from that message:
1. Do you recommend any particular basic software, memory, accessory requirements for a laptop that is to be used primarily for genealogical research? I would like a laptop to which I could export slide shows for display and/or lecture purposes.
2. Will I need to buy another version of TMG [The Master Genealogist] software to download on the laptop or can I transfer the software I already own onto another machine? Is it possible to export slide-shows as long as the software programs are identical or from the same supplier?
3. What is the best way to transfer data back and forth from the new laptop into my PC, and vice versa? If that best way is by burning data into a CD-ROM, how time-consuming a process is that? I'd like a short process possible!
|
 |
Download: $2.00 You or your local genealogy society might find great satisfaction – not to mention accomplishing a lot with minimal resources – by creating a wiki. It is a great way to let people collaborate on a project. That project might be listings of old tax records, transcriptions from census records or perhaps a written history of the town or county. A wiki is a great tool for almost any form of documentation that is created as a group effort.
The wiki software is a natural for almost any large collection of reference material, especial for information collected by multiple people. An encyclopedia is a natural application, as is a dictionary, thesaurus, or most any other reference work. A wiki also works well for almost any project where multiple people wish to share ideas and information.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 - On the Road Again
- (+) The Latest in GPS Technology
- (+) Multiple Computers on Your Desktop?
- NGS Announces a New UpFront Newsletter Editor
- Comments about NGS' New UpFront Newsletter Editor
- NGS announces Scholarship for Home Study Course
- MacFamilyTree 4.4.1
- Follow-Up: NARA Proposal to Increase Fees
- Free Online Storage Services
- Microsoft Books to Challenge Google Books
- New Website for Burke's Peerage
- Immigrant Servants Database now Online
- Geni.com Raises $10 Million in Funding
- Court Hearing on NYG&B's Proposed Building Sale
- Dutch Family History Workshop - Call for Papers
- A Computer Keyboard Just Like Granddad's
- Genealogy Announcements
|
 |
Download: $2.00 About ten years ago I wrote an article on how to use online databases and low-cost GPS (Global Positioning System) receivers to find cemeteries, even tiny cemeteries on farms and other rural locations. I have used these devices to find cemeteries with only five tombstones, all overgrown with scrub brush.
The devices I described ten years ago now seem primitive when compared to today’s offerings. This week I had a chance to use the latest and one of the greatest portable GPS receivers available. It is tiny when compared to older units. It has many, many more features than GPS units I have described in the past. Yes, it still finds cemeteries. In fact, it even has many cemeteries listed in its internal database. One warning, however: it is no longer cheap.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 In my recent article on “Hasta La Vista,” I mentioned, “I have had this powerful Windows Vista computer sitting on my desktop for a month now, alongside two older Windows XP systems, a Macintosh and a Ubuntu Linux computer.” A newsletter reader wrote to suggest that I must have a very large desk in order to hold that many monitors, keyboards, and mice!
Not really. In fact, I have one monitor, one keyboard, one mouse, and five computers.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 What day was that ancestor born? It seems like such a simple question, and yet finding the answer can be surprisingly complex, even when you have the numbers in front of you. Exact dates are often found in death certificates and frequently on tombstones. The problem is that these are often written as death dates followed by the person's age at death.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 The online world can be a hostile environment. Viruses, “Trojan horse” programs, spyware, and other unwanted gremlins are everywhere. I am surprised how many people run their Windows systems without any virus protection at all . That’s high risk as it is almost a guarantee that your Windows computer will become infected with a virus sooner or later. Luckily, there is a simple and free solution.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 I have written numerous times about how to make backups easily. Yet I still receive e-mails from newsletter readers that say, "I recently lost all the data on my computer and…" Such a data loss certainly is inconvenient, but it shouldn't be a disaster. Sooner or later, you will suffer a significant data loss. If you take steps now to make automated backups, you will be able to retrieve all your data. There is no need to lose your genealogy database, family photos, checkbook, or other important files.
This week I discovered still another backup service that (1.) stores your data either at your location or off-site or both, (2.) is either free or very cheap, depending upon which options you choose, and (3.) works on both Windows and Macintosh systems. In fact, I am now using this company's software to back up data on my PowerMac laptop. Even better, the company promises to add Linux systems "real soon now."
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Genealogists often have a need to make reproductions of old family documents, such as wedding certificates, military discharge papers, immigration documents, and especially of old photographs. Another common requirement is to make copies of pages in a book, be it a published genealogy book or entries from the book of deeds at a county courthouse.
Scanners are not the only way to create digital images. You may already own a great analog-to-digital image conversion tool. Perhaps you even carried it on your last family vacation. It’s called a digital camera.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 I am always amazed at how fast the technology world changes. A few years ago, the only method of creating PDF (Portable Document Format) files was to pay $300 for Adobe Acrobat. Indeed, Adobe created a great market for this product when it gave away the reader free of charge and then charged a high price for the matching program that creates PDF files. It reminds me of the story of Gillette's making millions by giving away razors free of charge and then making a big profit on the sale of razor blades. For several years, Adobe raked in millions of dollars as the only company to offer a program to create PDF files.
Today's PDF creation programs are often easier to use than Adobe Acrobat and yet produce equally good results. Prices range from free to a fraction of Abobe's program.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Anyone who is traveling can tell you what a great convenience a laptop or handheld computer is. That device, along with an Internet connection, can keep the traveler in touch with home, business, personal interests, and all the other “online necessities” of modern life. Most laptop computers sold these days include built-in high-speed wireless, or “Wi-Fi,” networking.
If your society is planning to hold a genealogy conference, you might think about providing Wi-Fi Internet access for your attendees. If you publicize the availability of such access well ahead of time in your conference brochures, you may encourage more people to attend. You may be surprised at the low costs of providing Internet access. In fact, when divided by the number of attendees who will use the service, Wi-Fi access costs per attendee become very reasonable.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Perhaps you have been tempted to switch to Linux, the free operating system that is more stable and less prone to viruses and other problems than the dominant Windows operating system. Millions have switched to Linux, and most refuse to go back. However, you may find significant disadvantages to Linux. For one thing, it will not use Windows programs unless you take special steps to add that functionality.
This article describes one easy method of running Windows programs on Linux. All the required software is free except for a copy of the Windows operating system. Even Windows may be free for you (actually it is "no additional charge") if you already own a licensed copy.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Plain text may be a fine way to send a newsletter, but if you want your message to get noticed and not sent to the virtual trash can, HTML can help you upgrade your organization's image.
I have some experience with e-newsletters, having sent roughly 15 million e-mail newsletters over the past eleven years (that's number of addressees times 52 weeks times eleven years). For many years I sent the newsletters in plain, ASCII text. That sufficed at the time, but technology changed, along with the tastes of newsletter readers. Instead of just boring, black-and-white text, an HTML newsletter includes text with different kinds of formatting (bold, colored text, different fonts, and other treatments), pictures, background colors, and columns. I now send the Plus Edition issues of this newsletter in HTML. This week I thought I would share some of my experiences.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Many genealogy societies and other organizations would like to create web sites that have some pages visible to the general public and other pages that are visible only to members or to paid subscribers. In fact, such a web site can be a very attractive money-maker for individuals or societies that have published books or lists of extracted records.
You or your society can now sell access to records in electronic format to potentially millions of customers on the World Wide Web. Thanks to the high security features available in today's web servers, your records will not be available to "hackers" or others who have not paid for access. The cost of making records available online probably will be much cheaper than printing, packaging, and shipping traditional books that contain the same information. Best of all, your buyers will obtain the information within seconds after making the purchase instead of waiting days or weeks for a printed book to arrive in the mail.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 I have written before about Skype, the service that allows you to talk around the world from your computer. The basic (free) Skype service allows your Skype-equipped computer to place voice calls to any other Skype-equipped computer in the world, free of charge. You can talk for hours with your relatives in Australia or with your college buddy in Pakistan and never pay a dime for toll calls.
One disadvantage of Skype is that you have to use your computer to place calls. In most cases, this means you can only use Skype from home or from the office or from wherever you can connect your laptop to a broadband connection.
A new product extends the Skype service to your cell phone or to any other telephone.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Would you like to create web pages for your ancestry or perhaps as a project for your local genealogy society? Every society needs a web site to both "get the word out" and also to sell the publications produced by the society. For several years Microsoft FrontPage and MacroMedia's DreamWeaver have been the two most popular tools for creating Web pages. These two powerhouse programs allow almost anyone, novices as well as professional Web designers, to build nice-looking Web pages in a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) environment. If you can use a word processor, you probably can create Web pages with either FrontPage or DreamWeaver.
These two software packages are expensive: Microsoft FrontPage has a "street price" of $175 to $200, and DreamWeaver typically sells for about $400. A newer program is now available to create Web pages. It is very powerful and yet is free of charge. I have been using the free program to create pages on this newsletter's Web site.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 I used to love Polaroid cameras. “Your picture in sixty seconds!” That was a great concept: take a picture, and the print is available to you almost instantly. Sometimes I would quickly snap two or three pictures: one for myself, and others to give to people who were in the scene. Of course, Polaroid pictures were expensive at nearly a dollar apiece.
This week I found a solution. I can now take a picture with my digital camera and make a high-quality printed photograph within minutes. I can give copies, even multiple copies of a single picture, to my friends and relatives within minutes after taking their pictures.
Best of all, the solution is rather inexpensive. The required hardware has a modest price tag, and the photo prints cost about thirty-two cents each.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Would you like to publish the results of your genealogy research? Does your genealogy society or family name organization want to publish data in book form? Publishing genealogy books has long been an expensive proposition. Genealogy authors often have paid in advance $2,000 to $10,000 or more to a book publisher in order to have a book published. However, today those "up front" expenses can be as low as zero, thanks to online services. In fact, if your book is ready to be sent to the publisher, you might be able to make it available for sale within the next ten minutes. Would-be purchasers can order your book directly from you or your web site, from the publisher's web site, or from Amazon, Borders, or Barnes and Noble.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 The two leading operating systems of today are both excellent products. In some regards, the Macintosh operating system is better than Windows; for example, Macs are known for their reliability and graphics handling capability. In some other respects, Windows is better than Macintosh; for instance, Windows users have many more software choices. Luckily, thanks to a program released just a few weeks ago, it is now possible to have the best of both worlds all the time.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 NOTE: Many online companies do not want you to read this article because it describes a simple method of avoiding most of their advertising e-mail messages.
One of the handiest tools available for any Internet user is disposable e-mail addresses. There are several scenarios where you might want to receive e-mail from a company for a few days but not be bothered with advertising e-mails in future weeks. Disposable e-mail addresses are a perfect tool for this scenario.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 I travel quite a bit, both for business and for pleasure. Under the term “pleasure,” I include genealogy-related trips. I spend considerable time going to genealogy libraries, archives, town halls, and cemeteries. Like many people today, I am also “connected.” That is, I use e-mail, the web, and other online resources frequently. As a result, I own a laptop computer and use it a lot when traveling.
The various advertisements make it sound so easy to travel with a laptop. After all, it only weighs six pounds or perhaps a bit less. That should be easy to take along and use daily, right?
Wrong!
|
 |
Download: $2.00 How much do you know about the inner workings of your genealogy society? Such organizations would include the larger societies, such as National Genealogical Society, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, and the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. It also includes smaller societies, such as the African-Atlantic Genealogical Society, the Charlotte County (Florida) Genealogical Society, and the Dallas (Texas) Genealogical Society.
Do you know how much money is collected each year by your society? Are the total fees collected increasing or decreasing each year? Do you know how much of that money is spent? Even more important, do you know HOW it is spent? How much of it is spent on members' services versus on the building or on salaries? In fact, just what is the salary of the executive director, CEO, or whatever the position is called? How about the salaries of the other senior executives of the society?
|
 |
Download: $2.00 If interest in genealogy is declining, why is interest in genealogy cruises soaring? Or is it simply a symptom of a different problem: the possibility that traditional national genealogy conferences are no longer attracting genealogists like they used to?
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Your computer is under attack! If you ever connect your computer to the Internet, it is constantly exposed to viruses, spyware, password-stealing programs, and more. The unprotected computer can be compromised within seconds after going online.
This article will discuss Windows systems. To be sure, viruses, spyware and other attacks theoretically could exist for Macintosh and Linux systems. However, experience has shown that such problems are very rare on Linux and Macintosh. Ninety-nine percent of the attacks occur on Windows systems because of its popularity and its many security holes. Luckily, a few simple precautions can keep your Windows computer safe and secure.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 What could be simpler than a calendar? The printed one from the local real estate office shows twelve months, each with 28 to 31 days. Simple, right?
Well, it hasn't always been so simple. After all, I keep stumbling upon genealogy records that are logged with “double dates.” That is, a birth record might state “22 February 1732/3.” Which was it: 1732 or 1733? Well, it actually was both. Just to make things more complex, most of our ancestors didn't know what day it was. You see, most people in the early 1700s were illiterate. They couldn't read a book, much less a calendar. Most people did not know what day it was or even how old they were. Very few remembered their own birthdays.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 There are many different reasons for copying all or part of a web site. First of all, if it is your site, you need a backup! More than once I have talked with people who lost their entire site when their hosting service had a hardware problem or even went out of business.
You can also copy someone else's web site although you want to be careful about that for several reasons. Copyrights and other legalities pop to mind. Also, it is downright rude to copy someone else's information and re-use it. Yet there can be very good reasons for doing so.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 The rampant spread of disease was common in the days before penicillin and other "wonder drugs" of the twentieth century. Our ancestors lived in fear of epidemics, and many of them died as the result of simple diseases that could be cured today with an injection or a prescription.
If you ever wondered why a large number of your ancestors disappeared during a certain period in history, you may want to investigate the possibility of an epidemic. Many cases of people disappearing from records can be traced to dying during an epidemic or moving away from the affected area.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 I have written a number of times about the problems of accuracy in various online databases. This "problem" is not limited to any one database; it seems common in all of the web sites that contain genealogy information contributed by the general public.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 For every genealogist who is completely content with the results of their efforts, I wonder how many more are nagged by questions they wish they had asked family members when they had the chance. We scour the vital records, consult the census reports, and probe the probate for clues about those lost to us. If you’re lucky enough to have old diaries or letters, you try to piece together their lives to discover what they really thought and felt. We spend hour after hour reconstructing our ancestors’ lives. However, if you have the ultimate good fortune to have older relatives still among you, think of the priceless memories they may have to share today!
You need to take steps now to record information that is available today but otherwise will be lost in coming years. In short, you need to capture the family stories and trivia that are known only to your older relatives. The time to do that is now! Any delay increases the risk of valuable information being lost forever.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 I own and operate a number of web sites, including http://eogn.com for this newsletter. I realize that having graphics, especially a site logo, adds appeal to the site, encouraging visitors to return time and again. Creating such a logo is a problem for graphics-challenged individuals, such as myself.
Until recently, I had a choice of two methods of creating logos: (1.) do it myself, resulting in something that is rather crude looking, or (2.) hire someone to create the logo and other graphics for me. Now, thanks to computer software, I have a third choice.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 This article discusses two separate questions:
1. How do I convert data from one genealogy program to another, including notes, facts, and photos?
2. What genealogy programs will still be in business and be supported years from today?
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Computer prices keep dropping and dropping. You can now find desktop computers selling for less than $500. One low-priced example may be found at Wal-Mart.com. It is now cost-effective to use two or mroe computers. Also, wwhen you purchase a new computer, you may wish to continue using the old one also.
Do I have room for two monitors, two keyboards, and two mice (or is that "mouses?") on my shrinking desk? Absolutely not! Could I connect the same monitor, keyboard, and mouse to whatever computer I need at any given time?
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Now is the time to copy your old VHS tapes to digital DVD media. This is true both for technical reasons and because you want to do so before Congress makes it illegal!
It is time for many of us stop to consider family documents, photographs, and videos. Many of us take new pictures, both still photographs and video. Over a period of many years, some of us have collected boxes of pictures and videos in whatever formats were available at the time.
One problem with stored videos in boxes is signal deterioration.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 One has to wonder about dental care as practiced by our ancestors. Ready-made toothbrushes and toothpaste was not available until the mid-1800s. Prior to that, everyone had to make their own.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 The hurricanes of recent months should teach all of us many lessons. One lesson concerns preparedness; waiting until a hurricane is bearing down on you is not the time to start planning! Even those of us outside the "hurricane belt" are not immune from disasters. Other parts of the nation face tornadoes, wildfires, flooding, and other threats. Some years ago I remember watching a television news story from California when a reporter interviewed a woman in front of her burning home during a wild fire that leveled the entire neighborhood. The woman was obviously crying and, when asked about her losses, she moaned that she had lost years of genealogy work in the flames.
Of course, anyone can suffer from a burst water pipe that ruins documents, photographs, fabrics, and many other precious items.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 I have a question. None of my living relatives knows the answer to this question. I have not found the answer to this question in any public records, nor have I been able to find the answer in cemeteries. I have read a few magazine articles and Internet pages about the topic, but none of them have directly answered the question.
The question is… “Why do we study genealogy?”
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Beginning U.S. genealogists soon learn that the 1890 census records were destroyed in a fire in the basement of the Commerce Building on January 10, 1921. Many people who would like to see these records just shrug their shoulders and move on.
A short search on the Web, however, soon reveals that not all of the records were destroyed. In fact, census fragments for 1890 in Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, and the District of Columbia survived and are available now.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 You can count the number of your ancestors by performing a very obvious mathematical progression: two parents, four grandparents, eight great-grandparents, and so forth. In the past twenty generations, you have a mathematical chance of having more than one million ancestors. Thirty generations produces more than a billion ancestors, and forty generations results in more than one trillion.
The calculation is correct from a mathematical viewpoint but ignores one obvious fact: there have never been that many humans on the face of the earth since the dawn of evolution!
|
 |
Download: $2.00 As your genealogy expertise increases, you may find yourself in demand as a speaker at genealogy meetings and conferences. If you become knowledgeable about researching a particular ethnic group or the records of a particular area or a genealogy program, others will seek your advice. In fact, being asked to speak on a topic is flattering to the speaker and can also provide a service to those in the audience. The words you speak may help others accomplish tasks they otherwise might never attempt.
Of course, public speaking brings with it many challenges. By far, the biggest obstacle is the butterflies in the stomach. Next, learning how to make public presentations can be a challenge. Finally, in most cases, you need to have "presenters' tools." Nowadays, that means a laptop computer, presentation software, a projector, a laser pointer, and more.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Genealogists love microfilm. Visit any genealogy library anywhere, and you will see genealogists in darkened rooms, hunched over microfilm viewers, trying to solve the puzzles of their family trees. I have taken several pictures of genealogists sitting at rows of microfilm readers. However, I suspect that within twenty years those pictures will become collectors' items, recalling an era that exists only as distant memories in the minds of "the old-timers." You see, microfilm and microfiche are about to disappear.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 I often receive e-mails asking questions about converting genealogy databases. The questions usually are more or less like this example:
My organization has been entering data for a long time in a general-purpose database program, not a genealogy program. We use Microsoft Access (or FileMaker Pro or SQL or some other general-purpose database program or Excel spreadsheets). We have thousands of entries in our database. We now want to put this information on the Web (or on CD-ROM or in a book), and we want to use the report generation capabilities of the Brand X genealogy program. Can we convert our Access (or other) database to GEDCOM and import it into the genealogy program?
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Many people believe that, when a computer dies and will not boot any more, all data is lost forever. They assume that all the files on the hard drive have disappeared and that nothing can be done about it. In some situations, that may be true. However, after repairing many computers over the past 36 years (starting long before the invention of the PC), I can assure you that most or all the data can be recovered in a high percentage of computer failures.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Genealogists often scan old family photographs. Once digitized, it is easy to use these photographs in any number of ways. For instance, I carry a few hundred photographs with me most everywhere I go. Luckily, I can easily carry thousands of old family photographs inside my shirt-pocket.
This is a great convenience at family reunions, genealogy meetings, and elsewhere. It is easy to show photographs to others when you carry a huge photo collection in your shirt pocket or in a purse.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 The millions of genealogy records available online are a huge help to genealogists. Today we all can sit at home and use our computers to search records that only a decade ago were often unavailable to us. Only ten years ago, we had to travel to distant repositories to find many of these records in person or on microfilm, often expending a lot of time and effort. Even then, many of the records had not been indexed a decade ago. Today’s new computerized indexes have made the records better and easier to use.
Or have they?
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Computer malfunctions can destroy your data at any time without warning. The most common cause of data loss, however, is human error. More than once, computer users have exclaimed, "Oh @#$%^&*, I didn't mean to delete that!"
Having a recent backup available is the best way to recover from both manmade and other file losses. Computer experts will also tell you to store backup copies of your files "off site" to protect them from major catastrophes, such as fire, flood, tornado, hurricane, or other damage that can destroy computers and backups alike.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 I published an article about a recent DNA study. The study proves that a widely-believed legend about Indian chief Blue Jacket is just that: a legend with no truth to it. It is but one more example of science improving the accuracy of genealogy studies. However, the repercussions may be huge for many societies.
The Mayflower Society, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Sons of the American Revolution, the First Families of Virginia, the Order of Descent of Ancient Planters, the National Huguenot Society, and the Flagon & Trencher (Descendants of Colonial Tavern Keepers) are but a few of the societies that limit membership to those who can prove descent from a person involved in a particular event or time period in history.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Genealogists love old books. Many of us would love to scan some of these books for our own use or to make them available to others when copyright laws allow. Scanned books can easily be distributed on CD-ROM disks or via online web sites. The only difficult part is the scanning of the original books.
Almost any scanner can be used to make images of old books. However, using a desktop scanner purchased at the local computer store has significant disadvantages. For one thing, these units are designed for scanning photographs and other individual sheets of paper. They do not work well for bound books. Trying to place a bound book onto the glass plate of a typical inexpensive scanner can damage the book's binding. In addition, words printed near the center binding will not be flat against the glass, causing "curling." If OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software is used, the words near the center binding are difficult to decode and will lead to high error rates.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Do you have a document or even a full-length book that you would like to enter into a computer's database or word processor? You could re-type the entire thing. If your typing ability is as bad as mine, that will be a very lengthy task. Of course, you could hire a professional typist to do the same, but that is also expensive.
We all have computers, so why not use a high-quality scanner? You will also need optical character recognition (OCR) technology.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Over and over we read articles bemoaning the lack of privacy. Lawmakers propose silly laws to "protect privacy" or to "stop identity theft." The proposed laws actually would do no such thing. The fact is that we don't have any privacy today, laws or no laws. Our movements and our personal information are easily available to anyone who cares to check. In fact, our ancestors also had no privacy. The only difference is that today's technology makes it easier to spy on you, me, and other citizens.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 I recently started using a little program for making free calls over the Internet to anyone else who also has the same software. It is free and easy to use. Best of all, it works with Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and even some handheld PocketPC computers. If you make a lot of long-distance telephone calls, this free software can reduce your telephone expenses significantly. Even better, it will even (optionally) allow the two participants to see each other via the use of inexpensive web cams.
Want to talk with and see that grandchild? This software may be your answer. All you need is a computer, an Internet connection, and (optionally) an inexpensive webcam. Do you need to hold a "meeting" of a society's Board of Directors? This software can do that inexpensively, with or without video.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Would you like to carry your genealogy data with you at all times? How about your e-mail messages, checkbook data, family photographs, and much more, all stuffed inside a tiny device weighing a couple of ounces? When visiting a local Family History Center near you, would you like to quickly and easily copy data from their computers onto a tiny data storage device that you can carry in purse or pocket? Best of all, it is cheap and easy to do so.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Warning: This article contains personal opinions.
As you might expect with any conference of 150 or more presentations, there are many stories to be told at this year’s conference of the National Genealogical Society. The one that surprised me this week was the high failure rate of hardware and software among the presenters. I heard stories of no less than six different presenters who had major problems with their laptop computers, operating system, PowerPoint slides, or other critical computer tools.
Perhaps there are two or three lessons to be learned here.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Are you eligible for citizenship in the country where your ancestors were born? You might not have to give up your American citizenship. Many Americans may be surprised to learn that they are eligible for dual citizenship.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 We often think of speculation in stock market, real estate, oil futures, or dot-com companies to be modern ventures for risk-taking entrepreneurs. Not so. Our ancestors were known to take perhaps even greater risks in a largely unregulated business atmosphere. Perhaps the most famous was the Dutch Tulip Mania of 1636-1637. However, it was not confined to the Dutch; many of our ancestors in other countries also joined in the frenzy. Many of them lost fortunes, large and small.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Podcasting is the latest method of distributing multimedia files, such as audio programs or videos, over the Internet for playback on personal computers or on portable music players. These broadcasts are rapidly becoming very popular on the Internet. What began as a way of broadcasting music to iPod devices (hence the term “podcast”) has grown to include many kinds recordings that anyone can enjoy from any computer connected to the internet. It’s now easy and cheap enough that people like you and I can add recordings to our own web sites or to the web site of our local genealogical society, historical society, or museum.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Sending large files to other people, such as photographs, GEDCOM files, word processing documents, PowerPoint slides, video from your digital camera, or other large amounts of information can be problematic. To be sure, there are many ways of accomplishing the task, but none of them are very convenient.
All of this is complex enough make it difficult to send files to only one person. How about situations when you want to send pictures or other files to everyone at the last reunion? Perhaps 50 or 100 people? Perhaps some of them are using Windows while others use Macintosh. How do you handle that?
The "simple" task of sending a few files to a group of people quickly becomes complex. Luckily, there is an easy answer. Best of all, the solution is available free of charge.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 I love technology. It allows us to do many things that were unthinkable only a few years ago. As hard core an enthusiast as I am, I still occasionally find new things that cause me to exclaim, "Wow! That's neat!" I had one of those moments this week. I used a combination of technologies that I never dreamed of before. Yet, when I used the service for the first time, I instantly became a fan. This new service has many uses, but I immediately thought about using it on genealogy field trips. I know I will be using this service again and again.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 I used to have a spam mail problem. Everybody receives spam mail these days; but because my e-mail address is plastered all over the Web, I get more spam mail than most people. The "spam harvesters" that scour the web looking for e-mail addresses always find mine. About 400 spam messages per day bombard me, many more than the number of legitimate e-mail messages I receive.
A few months ago I found an easy solution. It works on Windows, Macintosh, and Linux. It deletes about 99.9% of the junk mail, and more importantly, it never deletes a legitimate message. I went from 400 or more spam mails per day in my in-box to less than five.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 There are myriad ways to organize genealogy data. The “best method” depends upon your own preferences and organizational skills. For many of us, a computer is a valuable organizational tool. Whether you use a high tech device or paper and pencil, eventually you will want to produce lists of ancestors or descendants. Ideally, those lists should be in a format that is easy to read and quickly understood. Sooner or later, you will look at assigning identity numbers to each individual.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Is it time to stop the presses?
It seems that every week I report in this newsletter about more and more genealogy books that are being converted to electronic format. Sure, old books have been digitized for several years now. However, even new books are now appearing as electronic publications.
Is this an indication of the end of book publishing as we know it? Will simple economics drive printed books out of existence?
|
 |
Download: $2.00 I have learned that having a booth at a genealogy conference is expensive!
Typically, the rental of the booth space is one of the lower expenses. I have paid as little as $35 for an 8-by-10 foot booth at a regional conference held in a small city. The highest price I have paid was $250.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Like many people, I have owned and used digital cameras for years. I have always used them as “electronic box cameras.” That is, I just aim and shoot. The results have been variable: I have captured some great shots as well as quite a few not-so-great images. I decided it was time for an upgrade.
Being a techie, I decided not to opt for just any ol’ camera. I wanted a suitable one with lots of buttons, switches, bells, whistles, megapixels, and whatever gadgets I could find. I eventually purchased one that met those requirements. It also turned out to be a great learning experience.
In recent weeks I have wrestled with ASA settings, filters, RAW versus JPG images, and other things that I had never dreamed existed. I think the result has been worth it. I have snapped some great pictures in the past few weeks, better than anything that I have ever taken before.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 A newsletter reader wrote and described his tale of woe. He is unhappy with his current genealogy software and asked about any “reliable” genealogy software that will be supported for years into the future.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Hundreds of thousands of Americans, Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, South Africans, and probably many others can legally obtain Irish passports because of their ancestry. Why would you want to do that? Ask any of the 138 Irish passport holders who were safely evacuated from war-torn Lebanon a few days ago. They were able to get out safely when Americans and others could not, thanks to their passports and the prominent placement of the Irish Tricolours on the front of the two buses carrying them across the Syrian border.
One’s Irishness, and in particular the carrying of an Irish passport, has helped many Irish citizens avoid potentially life-endangering situations. The Irish are known worldwide for being politically neutral. Irish humanitarian workers have often reported that they are able to win the confidence of needy groups in distressed situations.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 One of the vexing problems with old cemeteries and historical sites is the difficulty of finding the locations of unmarked graves. In many cases, the desire is to locate the graves so that they may be identified and left undisturbed by new construction. To be sure, the locations may have been marked at one time with wooden or even stone markers. However, the ravages of time, weather, animals, vandals, and acid rain over the years may have removed all traces of those markers. Locating unmarked graves is also vitally important in solving murder cases.
Historically, the only method of finding unmarked graves has been to start digging – not a very practical solution. However, modern technology now allows cemetery associations, historical societies, family societies, genealogists, archaeologists, police departments, and others to identify the locations of buried bodies and other objects with no digging required.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 week I added a rather extensive combination of hardware and software to my primary Windows PC. The word “genealogy” did not appear anywhere in the new product's description or user’s manuals. Nonetheless, I believe my new acquisition will revolutionize how I store and manage my genealogy documents. I am now more organized than ever before. I also expect to spend less time and effort in managing and citing the many photocopies of documents that I have accumulated over the years.
In short, I am converting my 4-drawer filing cabinet full of photocopied documents and other pieces of paper into a modern document management system. I am now able to retrieve any document within seconds. I can also directly attach these documents to the various records in almost any modern genealogy program.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 I always had a difficult time finding things on my computer. I often used to remark, “Now where did I put that?” Old newsletter articles, e-mail messages from two years ago, a web page that I saved earlier this year, the letter I wrote to the local newspaper, and many more items seem to disappear amongst the thousands of items stored on my hard drive. I have been known to search and search for items only to eventually give up without ever finding them.
It is easy to find things stored within the hundreds of millions of documents on the web. All you need to do is use any of several search engines, such as Google. I couldn't believe that it is easy to find information within hundreds of million web pages but difficult to do the same thing with a few thousand documents on my own hard drive!
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Why would you spend hundreds of dollars for a word processing program? That seems silly in this day and age. You can use a very powerful word processor right now without touching your pocketbook and also without installing any software.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 “Conventional wisdom” amongst genealogists, historians, and archivists states that digital media is a poor method of storing data for decades or for centuries. This “conventional wisdom” claims that the only practical method of storing information for many years is to do so on paper or on microfilm/microfiche. There's only one problem: “conventional wisdom” is wrong!
To understand the challenges involved, let's first review the processes used by those who espouse “conventional wisdom.”
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Would you like to protect your Windows, Macintosh, Linux, or handheld computer from known "phishing" web sites? Would you like your computer to correct typo errors when you enter web addresses? Would you like your computer to run faster when surfing the web? One service can do all that. Best of all, it is available free of charge.
Would you also like to have your computer automatically correct your typo errors when you enter web addresses (URLs)? For instance, if you enter "www.eogn.cm," wouldn't be nice if your computer "knew" that you wanted to end the address in "com" and automatically took you to www.eogn.com instead?
Would you like your computer to surf the web faster than ever before?
Best of all, would you like to do make these improvements to your computer in a minute or two at no charge?
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Onomastics or onomatology is the study of proper names of all kinds and the origins of names. The word is derived from the Greek word, "onoma," meaning name.
Members of royal families still use single names. A few celebrities, such as Madonna or Prince, also adopt single names to further their careers. The rest of us use two or more names to reduce confusion in identifying individuals. In most of the world, hereditary family names, or surnames, have become the norm. Many names originally were based on a person's physical characteristics, place of residence, occupation, or other distinguishing characteristics. As the centuries passed, the surnames have remained although those who carry the name today usually bear little resemblance to the ancestral namesake's original unique characteristics.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 When going through a box of old photographs or viewing the latest digital pictures on your computer, did you ever ask, “I wonder where this photograph was taken?” Now a new software tool can record the exact location of every digital picture in your collection. This includes old family photographs that you have scanned as well as new pictures that you or someone else takes with a digital camera.
This product will not do the detective work for you. You must still find where the picture was taken in the traditional manner. You then scan the photograph, saving it as a JPEG image. Once the photograph is on your hard drive, you use this small Windows program to embed the longitude and latitude information into the photograph in a hidden area of the image. Once the information is recorded, you and future viewers of the image will wonder no more. Even better, with the appropriate software, you can just click on an icon to display a map that shows the exact location.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter - Plus Edition - May 18, 2009 Edition. Articles include: (+) Restoring Damaged or Faded Photographs, (+) ALong Those Lines… by George G. Morgan: The Five Types of Internet Resources, Report from Raleigh, EOGN Readers' Dinner in Raleigh, Ancestral Atlas adds GEDCOM Uploads, The Lives of Jefferson's Slaves Documented, The National Archive of Memorial Inscriptions, Search Immigration History at EllisIsland.org, and more.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 This archive edition of the newsletter contains all the articles posted to Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter blog From May 4 through May 10, 2009. Articles are posted online daily while this "archive edition" is created once a week. You can check the latest articles at any time at http://www.eogn.com.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 I recently installed some new software that has quickly become indispensable. If you own two or more computers, such as a desktop and a laptop, and you need to keep the same files on each of them, read on.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 27 April 2009 edition of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter - Plus Edition. Articles include: - (+) Along Those Lines by George G. Morgan: Your Library is in Peril
- (+) Install Windows 7 the Easy Way
- (+) Casefile Clues: Finding Gesche by Michael John Neill
- NERGC 2009 is a Success
- A Neat Scanner
- Magic: Faded Census Records to Re-Appear
- Canada's Top Archivist Talks About Digitization
- MacFamilyTree 5.5 Enters Public Beta
- New York City Restricts Access to Vital Records
- Volunteers Transcribe 250 Million Historical Records
- FamilySearch News: Popular British Jewish Database Grows to 40,000 Records
- and more.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 A simple search on Google for John Smith returns more than 39 million pages! Even searching for a less-common name can be frustration. A search for my "genealogy brick wall" of Washington Harvey Eastman returns more than a half million pages and very few of them contain any mention of the person I seek. Thanks to a long-dead mathematician, I can quickly zoom in on the pages I want.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 A new technology has become very popular in the past two or three years: virtual computers. Five years ago, almost no one talked about virtual computers. Now it seems that almost every computer magazine you pick up has an article about virtual computing. I use virtual computers every day and love the convenience and money-saving features.
I thought I would write about virtual computing and try to take some of the mystique away. In fact, virtual computers are rather simple to install and use.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 “Let's move our databases to the cloud.”
For years, tens of thousands of genealogists have kept their databases on personal computers. Each database has been an island; these local databases don't communicate with any other databases. In this island mode, I may have data in my computer that partially overlaps data in your computer. Perhaps you have data that I need or vice versa. Yet most of today's genealogy programs do not allow us to easily share our research efforts. Several people duplicating the exact same records is a waste of resources, time, and money. Why not work together in a collaborative environment?
Indeed, the old-fashioned methods that most of us have been using are now going the way of buggy whips.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 So you gave a presentation? Perhaps you had handouts as well. However, it might be better to allow everyone to view your slides online at any time they wish. In fact, anyone who was unable to attend your presentation in person will also benefit from online availability, even if that person is on the other side of the world. Placing your slides online will give you "extra mileage" from your presentation, reaching a wider audience than you could ever accomplish otherwise.
How about your voice? Wouldn't it be great to place the slides online AND your accompanying talk as well?
|
 |
Download: $2.00 The technology described in this article was almost non-existent five years ago. At that time, virtual computers were so expensive as to be impractical. Today, virtual computers are cheap and practical, and hundreds of thousands of them are installed in commercial computer centers. Home computer users worldwide are rapidly adopting the technology now.
In this article, I will focus on desktop computers typically found in the home. Specifically, I will describe virtual computers that run on PC and/or Macintosh hardware with an occasional mention of Linux. More esoteric virtual computers may also be found on mainframe systems, but I will ignore those since mainframes are not typically found in the home.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Congratulations if you have scanned your old family photos and documents or invested in a digital camera to preserve today’s pictures for future family historians. Before resting on your laurels, take a moment to recall all the old photos you’ve come across that you wish had labels describing the people, places, or events pictured. Your digital images have a built-in capability to create such labels – descriptions that won’t get separated from their subjects – with ease that would amaze our forebears. With today’s image files, what you see is only part of what you get! Let’s take a look “behind the scenes” of your digital photos.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 My laptop computer was stolen from the trunk of my automobile a couple of years ago. I wrote about it at the time at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2006/11/i_wuz_robbed.html. I filed a stolen property report with the police, but I never did get the laptop back.
Shortly after obtaining a replacement laptop, I installed a commercial program that was billed as a sort of "LoJack for Laptops." I was never too impressed with the $40 program.
I later discovered a free solution. Even better, there is no annual fee or any other fees for tracking services. This program is available for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux laptops.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Do you need your telephone? Is it worth the price you pay for monthly service? I stopped using a regular telephone a couple of years ago, and don't miss it. Even better, I don't miss the monthly bills I used to pay. Now it seems that many Americans agree with me.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Lots of new buzzwords are creeping into Internet-related vocabularies: Web 2.0, social networking sites, wikis, folksonomies, XML, and more. I thought I would write a mostly non-technical explanation of Web 2.0. I will do so from a genealogist's point of view. In short, I will try to answer the question, "What does Web 2.0 mean to genealogists?"
|
 |
Download: $2.00 I enjoy staying abreast of the latest technology advances. When I first obtained the Amazon Kindle, I was very enthusiastic about it. The Kindle has great technology, is easy to read, and appears to be the wave of the future. I believe that the Amazon Kindle as well as the earlier Sony Reader and other future e-book readers yet unannounced will revolutionize the publishing industry. However, as I have continued investigating the Amazon Kindle and other e-book readers, I have become more and more concerned about privacy and legal issues. My concerns have nothing to do with the technology: I am still as impressed as ever with the readability and usefulness of these e-book readers. However, I am now so concerned with the privacy and legal ramifications that I am tempted to permanently power off my Kindle e-book reader.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Genealogists are experts at identifying deceased people. In fact, the same skills often work well at finding living people as well. Many genealogists find employment that involves locating missing heirs, finding criminals, or what is called "skip tracing:" finding people who skipped out of town with no known forwarding address. The ultimate challenge, however, would be to find D.B. Cooper. After all, the FBI has been looking for him for more than 36 years. Nobody even knows if he is dead or alive. Can you find him?
Very little was known about D.B. Cooper. However, within the past week the FBI has released several new documents that offer just a bit more information about this mysterious hijacker. It is theoretically possible that a skilled genealogist, using today's computer databases, might be able to figure out who this man was.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Amazon recently released a new "e-book reader" called the Kindle. I managed to obtain one of the first units shipped and have been using it for about three weeks. I find it to be an impressive device. In fact, I also see a lot of potential for genealogy uses. However, unlike many of the high tech devices that I write about, this one is not easy for individual genealogists to implement. The Kindle really needs to be adopted first by the authors, publishers, and retailers who supply genealogy information. Once a mass of material becomes available in Kindle format, the device could be very attractive for all of us. Luckily, that should be easy and inexpensive to accomplish.
But I am getting ahead of myself. Let me first explain what a Kindle is and its place in today's marketplace.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 A newsletter reader wrote to me asking a question about a particular web site that I mentioned in a previous newsletter. He was "worried" that the site might sell his e-mail address. I replied, "Who cares?" Let me explain.
Here is an excerpt from the e-mail message I received:
This sounds too good to be true, and so I am very curious as to the business model that [this site] is following. I am worried that they might sell my email address.
Indeed, selling of e-mail addresses is a common and odorous activity on the web. Thousands of e-mail sites gather addresses and then sell them. Even more common, many web sites will bombard you with their own advertising.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 This week I have been using a new laptop computer that is about the size of a VHS videotape. In fact, I can carry this powerful laptop in my overcoat pocket. This tiny computer weighs about two pounds (0.92 kilograms). It is an ideal system for use when traveling since it is so portable. This laptop’s keyboard is a bit smaller than standard computers, but one of my touch typist friends was able to use it easily after about five minutes’ practice.
This coat-pocket sized computer even includes more than 40 built-in applications.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 With today's technology, you do not have to give up your e-mail and various web sites when traveling. You can easily access your favorite genealogy sites as well as your preferred online bank account, stockbroker, news sites, sports scores, airline sites, and even the weather reports from many locations. Do you want to change your reservation for tomorrow's return flight home? Pull out your laptop and check all the possible alternatives from wherever you are. You can also communicate easily via e-mail with family and friends. You can make free long distance voice calls to friends and family back home if you have Skype installed. You can do all this from your laptop Windows or Macintosh computer or even from a handheld computer.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 The year 2007 has seen three major genealogy cruises departing from North American ports. I was fortunate enough to be a participant on all three and decided to write a bit about my experiences. If you are thinking about joining a future genealogy cruise, my experiences may help identify the best future cruise for you as well as for your traveling companions.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 A new hobby has appeared that is a "natural fit" for genealogists, historians, and many others. It is called "waymarking." It is fun, gives you a chance to get a little exercise, and also provides a great public service. If you join in the waymarking activities of today, you can help future genealogists and others for decades to come.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 I recently wrote about the U.S. Government’s Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). It is an excellent resource for locating old cemeteries, even small ones of only a dozen graves or even less. As I wrote previously, "The information includes the exact latitude and longitude of each named feature." You can read that article at:
Our ancestors had to go to pretty extreme measures to keep from getting lost. They erected monumental landmarks, laboriously drafted detailed maps, and learned to read the stars in the night sky.
Things are much easier today. For less than $100, you can get a pocket-sized gadget that will tell you exactly where you are on Earth at any moment. As long as you have a GPS receiver and a clear view of the sky, you'll never be lost again.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 I can carry this genealogy program and a rather large database in my shirt pocket at all times. It is convenient and easy to use, and the results will satisfy many genealogists, although not the more demanding experts.
"PAF" stands for Personal Ancestral File, a free genealogy program for Windows that is produced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The "stick" is sometimes called a memory stick, a jump drive, a thumb drive, or a USB disk drive. These are different names, but all refer to the same thing: small devices that contain some amount of memory and a USB connector. For the remainder of this article, I will call them jump drives or memory sticks. Whatever the name used, these small devices emulate disk drives when plugged into a computer's USB connector.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Scanning an entire book usually is a difficult task, at best. Turning the pages manually and holding the book on a typical desktop scanner is a tedious process for a typical volume of 200 pages or more. The other problem is "curl." That is, the binding is such that most books will not lie flat on the scanner and the resultant image looks poor. Trying to convert those images to text using OCR (optical text recognition) is probably impossible.
The usual solution to both of these issues is to cut the binding off the book and then use a scanner that has an automatic document feeder. The automatic document feeders work in a similar manner to a photocopy machine or FAX machine: insert a stack of papers, press a button and then walk away. The machine automatically selects one page at a time, inserts it and then scans the page.
However, many of us are reluctant to cut the bindings from our valuable books. Thanks to modern technology, there is a better solution.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 “I found it online, so it must be true!”
Of course not. If you have been involved in researching your family tree for more than a few months, you already know the truth about online genealogy data. Or do you?
|
 |
Download: $2.00 I recently read an article in which the author claimed to describe data preservation techniques. He correctly pointed out that floppy disks, CD-ROM disks, magnetic media, and other forms of digital storage all have limited lifespans. He then concluded by claiming that the only method of storing data for long-term preservation was to print everything on paper.
Wrong!
|
 |
Download: $2.00 A personal wiki is a great way to organize the random bits of information in your own life!I installed two wikis in recent weeks: one on a PC at home for my own use and another at the office for use by my co-workers. , I could use my home wiki as a place to store and organize information about ancestors. I could make a separate page for each individual, complete with details, source citations, to-do lists, and even pictures and scanned images of original documents. I don’t think my personal wiki will ever replace my favorite genealogy program, but I do envision its use as a supplemental research tool, possibly replacing my filing cabinet and obviously replacing my ever-growing “to do” lists.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Do you own a laptop computer and do you use it often when traveling? Do you need to access the Internet when traveling? Do you have a sophisticated cell phone that includes high speed Internet access? One new program makes it simple to use your cell phone as a modem. Best of all, there are no cryptic codes to install, no mumbo-jumbo, nothing complex at all. Simply connect your cell phone to the laptop, download the program to the laptop, double-click on the new file, and follow the instructions that appear on your screen. Within 2 or 3 minutes, you will be using your cell phone as a modem, connected to the Internet wherever you are.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 Tens of thousands of genealogists own personal web sites that display the information they wish to make public to the world. With today's technology, very little computer expertise is required to create a web site. You can find a wide variety of software tools to easily create and maintain a personal web site. Some of those tools will keep copies of everything on your own computer's hard drive while others do not. If your tool of choice does not keep a local copy, ask yourself one question:
"What happens when the web server has a problem?"
Whether you own a genealogy web site or any other sort of web site, you always need to make sure your site is backed up.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 The computer revolution, and especially the Internet revolution, has created business opportunities for thousands of everyday citizens. To create and sell goods or information, it is no longer necessary to have a "bricks and mortar" store. Likewise, to launch a mail order business, it is no longer necessary to have a fleet of trucks. In fact, you do not even need to maintain specific office hours when your business is open to the public. All you need is a personal computer and a presence in cyberspace. Your business will be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, even if you happen to be sleeping at the moment.
Genealogists are hungry for information. Genealogy information is often available in old printed books and records, printed works that are not covered by copyright laws. Many genealogists are willing to pay reasonable fees to obtain these books and other publications.
|
 |
Download: $2.00 In case you have not heard the news, many genealogy libraries are struggling financially these days. For this article, I will focus solely on the larger societies that have their own buildings or perhaps rent a significant amount of space in other buildings. I will also look only at societies that have libraries that are not funded by taxpayer dollars. Many of them have paid employees, although not all do.
Each of these libraries holds thousands of books of value to genealogists. Yet I believe that each of these libraries is in danger of extinction. Like so many species of creatures that saw their source of sustenance dwindling, some will evolve and others will disappear.
|
|
|
