Several people wrote in with recommendations about good free genealogy software. Here are few of them.
Good morning, Clif!
You mentioned The Master Genealogist, and wanted to know of any (good) freeware applications for genealogy. TMG, by the way, is the "ultimate" tool for recording family tree info. However, one that is not far behind is available in a free (standard) version. It is Legacy from Millenia Corp:
• Research Guidance - Researching your ancestry is easier than ever with Legacy's new built-in, 24/7 personal research assistant. Just choose your goal and Legacy automatically creates a To-Do list of expert suggestions and research tips.
• Publishing Center - Combine your favorite reports into an heirloom book. Add a Title Page, Preface, Dedication, Copyright Notice, and Abbreviations page, and Legacy will automatically generate the Table of Contents, Index, and Bibliography.
• Legacy Home - The new Legacy Home tab brings you genealogical news and Legacy tips (updated every day!), reminds you of upcoming birthdays and anniversaries, provides quick links for support questions, and has a built-in web browser -- now you'll never need to leave Legacy to surf the Internet.
• Timelines - Legacy now lets you see your ancestors' lives in history. Timelines can be merged with the ancestor's chronology giving you a sense of how they were affected by history.
GRAMPS is a genealogy program for Linux and other UNIX-like systems. It helps you track your family tree by allowing you to store, edit, and research genealogical data.
Mac Users are left out of the freeware stakes, at the moment. They may be helped in the future by a "work in progress" by Logan Alfred. Logan is building on an older version of PAF for Macs, with an entirely new application, now called MAF (was MacPaf). You can check on his progress at:
A personal genealogy program for Mac OS X, modelled after a previous version of PAF for Macintosh called Family Records. This is a document-based Java-Cocoa implementation, intended to be familiar to previous users of Family Records.
Personal Ancestral File (PAF) is a free genealogy and family history program. PAF allows you to quickly and easily collect, organize and share your family history and genealogy information.
Genopro has a free version, also a version with nag screen. After using this for a while changed to the paid version which I do not recall as expensive, but it is very good.
RonR
GenoPro Free:
If you do not want to pay for GenoPro, you are welcome to download and use GenoPro version 1.70 (November 2002). This original version was completely free with no advertising and no reminders. The only drawback of this older version is the lack of new features. GenoPro has improved the genealogy software by including a Report Generator, the Table Layout, online publication, emotional relationships and several other great features, making the new product easier to use and more versatile.
Genopro 1.7 (free) - A free beta version is also available
I saw an article about good freeware start menu replacements and I tried out three of them. This one looked the best and loaded the fastest. If you want a cool looking start menu, this one is really nice. The feature that I found most useful is the program search box. It scans through the entire start menu to find what you need.
Note: It will place itself as an auto-run application in your registry. However, it's easy to change that in this program's configuration menu.
Quote from the website
Vista Start Menu is the convenient alternative to the plain Start menu you find in Windows XP and Windows Vista. The program uses your cognitive abilities (visual memory, reflexes,etc.); however, while it is easily understandable for beginners, it is also highly efficient for experienced users.
Go ahead and try replacing your Start menu right now! It is safe because Vista Start Menu does not change your system settings, thus making it easy to install, as well as simple to remove.
What does Internet Explorer hide from us? IE hides information about web sites you visit in it's index.dat files. These files are nearly impossible for the average user to find and remove. Some people claim that it's a conspiracy between Microsoft and the U.S. Government.
The truth about the index.dat files: What, why and where?
by Steven Burn
Two of the most common questions I get asked are, "what are the index.dat files?" and "will deleting them harm my computer?", the answer to the second is quite simply, no - deleting them will not harm the computer, at all.
The answer to the first however, is not quite as simple.
Not only does Steven tell us some of the history of index.dat files, he also offers a solution. Steven is the author of the well known freeware Index.dat Suite. Steven had recently updated the suite and it now supports 9x, ME, 2K, Server 2003, XP and Vista.
It's not uncommon for Internet Explorer to start getting buggy or slowing down. Quite often, I've seen experts recommend that you clean out all of your Internet Explorer temporary files and to clean up some of the other files not needed on your PC. If you've read Steven's article above, you'll also know that the index.dat files from Internet Explorer may also be a way for others to see your surfing history, if your PC should ever be accessed by someone else. Steven's Index.dat Suite is a tool that will remove the index.dat files and do much of the cleaning that is needed to keep your PC running smoothly. Here's what Steven says about it.
Index.dat Suite is a rather unique program that allows you not only to delete the index.dat files, temporary internet files, temp files, cookies and history, but it also allows you to view the index.dat files on your system.
Index.dat Suite's current features include;
View and delete index.dat files
View and delete Temporary Internet Files (TIF)
View and delete Cookies
View and delete History
View and delete Temp files
View and delete Recent Documents
Delete Typed URL's
Delete Prefetch folder contents
Auto-generation of batch file to assist in deleting the index.dat files in DOS.
Gary at Internet Fixes continues to amaze me with hundreds and thousands of tips for your PC. Whatever your operating system, or how you use it, a visit to Gary's site will soon have you saying "So that's how you do this!".
13. You went to use your CD ROM drive for something and when you go to look for the icon it has suddenly disappeared. It was there a couple days ago, so how could it be gone now?
COOLSITES is a list of safe, fun, useful, informative and just plain cool websites and programs that are FREE, FREE and FREE. All of the programs and websites I list are free. If I list anything that is so good but isn't free I will list the price with it.
Wow! Over 900 people and still growing! I invite all of you to record your locations on this map. You can include as little or as much information as you wish. I think you'll enjoy seeing yourself there.
Here's a small look at my frapper map.
Get Gmail! and Get Firefox!
You need a free 6 GB Gmail account to access many of the cool features at Google. After more than two years in beta testing Gmail is open to the public. Just go to http://gmail.com and sign up for an account.
I think Gmail works best in the awesome Firefox browser. It's free, easy to use, and it's way more secure than Internet Explorer. My favorite thing to do is to customize Firefox so that it does much more than IE ever could. You can select new button controls for your toolbars, install extensions to add new features, or change the look of your browser with themes - the way Firefox looks and works is under your control.
I get many of the reviews in the newsletter from the readers. You don't have to be a genius or computer guru. Just answer a few questions and send me a review. I'll probably put you in the newsletter.
What do you have to say?
Just tell me what article you are talking about and leave me your comment.
• Research Guidance - Researching your ancestry is easier than ever with Legacy's new built-in, 24/7 personal research assistant. Just choose your goal and Legacy automatically creates a To-Do list of expert suggestions and research tips.
GRAMPS is a genealogy program for Linux and other UNIX-like systems. It helps you track your family tree by allowing you to store, edit, and research genealogical data.
A personal genealogy program for Mac OS X, modelled after a previous version of PAF for Macintosh called Family Records. This is a document-based Java-Cocoa implementation, intended to be familiar to previous users of Family Records.
Genopro has a free version, also a version with nag screen. After using this for a while changed to the paid version which I do not recall as expensive, but it is very good.
Quote from the website
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