MacKiev, 'Faffing' Family Tree Maker - I've given it a new name

Yes I had forgotten that email and that is almost certainly why I received the update reminder from MacKiev. However Tim will find he can also get on their mailing list in the way I mentioned

 

My download and install went without any problems. I did do a full backup including about 3500 media files before installing.

The install did ask whether I wanted to convert my existing file(s) to the new format but was not the recommended option. I opted to create new file(s). The database opens fine and all the images are there BUT it is not connected to Ancestry because it has a new name. I opted not to give it the old name with a (1) on the end but called it the "New xxxx family tree". I was n't prepared to upload it all to Ancestry again and then have to re-invite people to see the tree so I then opened the old tree and was again asked whether to convert to the new format. This time I converted and all went well. Again all the images are still there and the tree is connected and synced with Ancestry.

 

My amazement is not that we are all different, but the decision making process for most people seems amazing. I see people on many sites, fora and the futurelearn course site who are thinking of starting genealogy research and their first step is to throw money at a commercial site and buy some software without seeing if they are going to enjoy the journey, or seeing what different sites and software offer that may suit their requirements. Perhaps it is because in the modern world more people seem to expect instant gratification whereas I , and I think many others here, get as much pleasure from the journey as the destination.

 

Yes quite impressed with Gramps and even if I didn't know in advance -and even when viewed in Windows - positively SHOUTS Linux. It will take quite a while for me to be at one with the program but I can certainly see its potential.

You are clearly intuitive with Linux and Gramps I can only say your Tree written with the aid of Gramps is a 'tour-de-force' and you are to be congratulated.

My own equivalent 'Tribal Pages' (but unlike my Ancestry Tree which is Public, solely for family) amounts to the same thing but based over 20 years research unlike your incredible 40 years which long pre-dated internet research so all the more remarkable. However TP I believe is much more user friendly for family viewing and understanding and goodness knows the additional problems I would face were they faced with one written in the gramps format. As you say and it hold very true, Gramps was written by Genealogists for Genealogists and that is why I can appreciate what you have accomplished.

 

Thank you for the kind words, it is things like that that make it seem worthwhile. None of my family are remotely interested in it but my hope is that my grandchildren or later generations might get interested and they will have a good start.

It is always a fine balance between ease of use and depth of information, most online sites tend to go ease of use and some even make it difficult to add citations etc. I still have a Tribal Pages tree, uploaded easily from Gramps, but it is not complete or updated for many years, I still catch a few lost cousins from there or other online trees. Currently I am adding latitude and longitude to the places so the family maps display better and I have now got some more photographs to add, it keeps me off the streets.

 

A problem experienced by many Family Historians, one can but hope that someone from a future generation will catch the bug so to speak, and then of course, as you say, they will have a good start.

When I began I knew very little of family history. My mother told me her Aunt possessed a family bible which was interesting but limited to one small aspect of her family. But it was a throw-away remark made from my father's brother (then in his 80's) that his grandmother (my great grandmother) came from Galway, Ireland that really roused my curiosity...but why had my own father not related this fact to me before? My mother came up with little snippets of information remembered from her own childhood like: "I think (her) Grandma and sister were Confectioners" and I duly made notes. In the end I found my mother's younger brother a mine of information about the past and it was he who encouraged me to research the family. So the bug hit.

I wasn't able to do much local research as I was working and living some 200 miles away from my Midlands birthplace but with my early interest in Computers (all self taught) I latched on to available internet resources such as that produced by the LDS Church and early Ancestry. I interrogated prototype FH programs until finally latching on to Family Tree Legends (FTL) which although long outdated I still use.

I do not decry internet research it is just learning how to use it and this Forum (and Peter's Newsletters) assists with tips and advice. Steering clear of sites like Family Heritage and learning how to get good subscription deals is part of the learning curve. But at the end of the day it is all in the hands of the researcher; 'caveat emptor'. Which I am told should be emptor cavete; Whatever!

 

I have been playing with Gramps and am most impressed with its reporting facilities, especially an Ahnentafel TEXT report in RTF with me as the base person and going back 10 Generations (the last one or two hit and miss of course). Remarkably clear and concise and I have printed it off to keep by me. Likewise a Kinship Report which I set at 3 generations, and again very clear and concise.

I have produced many such over time but I think Gramps produces the best I have seen to date so will continue to experiment to see what else it offers.

 

I am glad you find it useful, one or two reports need to have a bit of creativity to get them exactly how I want them, sometimes I have to create filters first. There are dozens of reports with dozens of options so there should be something for almost any occasion. It is possible to add your own reports if you know python or quick reports which does not require programming skills (much.) I use the quick views a lot, right click on people, families or places to get a context menu of quick reports.

I also have my Ahnentafel by me all the time, on my tablet of course, I cannot remeber the last time I actually printed something

 

I know a little about most computer orientated things on the basis of 'Jack of all trades, and Master of none' . The only programming language I ever attempted (on a self tutor basis) was BASIC on a Sinclair Spectrum in the early 80's and mastered that quite well. I never worked in IT (in fact I doubt Information Technology was a term in vogue at that time) but was instrumental in getting the company I worked for into computers and had hands on experience with the first original IBM Personal Computers and DOS. With the advent of a Windows platform (the MS version not Apple) I found mastering spreadsheets using Lotus 123 and later MS Excel much more useful and for a short time I tutored in both. So Python is out and I think your 'much' qualification with Quick Reports says it all. If I don't like the way something is presented, or lacking in some way, I am more apt to copy & paste across to a format where I can tinker with it; much more my style.

I've come across that printing comment before, in fact in the Forum if memory serves, so for the sake of balance can I just say I use my printer daily and often hourly. It is the most valuable (not in cost) add-on facility I possess and is wirelessly connected to all my machines. I do not use a Cloud storage facility nor do I use a Tablet for storage. Everything is either to be viewed on a PC and if I deem it necessary, printed off as a personal 'hands on' record.

Each to his own!

 

Duly noted and may well do.

Yes I did.

 

The short answer is no I have not.

The reason being that I only run linux OS and as FTA needs .net framework I assume I would have to intall mono which I cannot do as I do not agree with the license terms, if my assumption is incorrect then I would be happy to try it out, although I am quite happy with Gramps I am open to improvements.

 

In speaking of Linux perhaps this tale might amuse.

Some years back I had met the mate of a very old friend of mine in Solihull who used to sermonise on the virtues of open sourced anything, so Linux was his OS and his browser was Mozilla Firefox. I heard most of this second hand via an early p2p communication version of Skype (can’t recall its name) with my friend as my visits home were few and far between.

After trying Linux I recall telling my friend to pass on the message that in my opinion Linux was like comparing the bicycle to the motor cycle. Both were modes of transport but trying to adapt the bike by adding a motor, overcoming gear and clutch problems, one might as well fork out for the motor bike.

My friend sadly passed on but back in the summer I met his mate and this time found him soliloquizing on his second hand Android Tablet but complaining it could not be updated to a new OS version. I think it was something like he had ‘KitKat’ but ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ was now in vogue. I commiserated and left him to his own device!!(Sorry about that).

So, it was no surprise at Christmas to learn via my wife speaking with his on the phone that hubby was now into “Raspberry Pi”. My wife hadn't a clue what that was but I chuckled when I heard this and asked to speak with him. He was in seventh heaven as he explained he now had 4 modules ‘piggy backed’ together and was putting them through their paces, finding out what they could and (mostly) couldn’t do. I listened of course, and ended by saying that perhaps, just perhaps, one of these days you are going to buy yourself a half decent laptop and join the real world. But it made not the slightest impression.

 

Oh dear that says so much of what I found with Linux, having to adapt -such as installing Mono to emulate .NET Framework -and by not so doing missing out on something available to others, such as FTA.

I know you are highly principled - hence not accepting licence terms - but it may just pay you on this occasion to install Mono on a temporary basis (on say a spare device) and check out FTA. Or dare I say it, beg, borrow (perhaps not steal) a MS device with .net framework installed and try it that way.

Just a thought because someone with your computer experience should at least know what is available. Plus FTA was written (if that's the right word) by one of our own, Alexander.

 

http://mcgg-letstalkgenealogy.blogspot.co.nz/

Appears that there are some teething problems!

 

Latest news. I have to say this is not filling me with positive thoughts regarding their ability to provide a stable product. I'm tempted to request a full refund and await Rootsmagic's solution.