The End of a Millennium
This week we will see a monumental moment in time.
Looking back over the past few years, I see a huge change in the manner
in which we research our family trees. Fifty years ago the only practical
method of accurately researching your ancestry was to go to the places
where your ancestors lived and to look in the original records. Wealthy
individuals hired people to do this research for them. Less-wealthy
people wrote hundreds of letters to distant records repositories, asking
the employees to look at records for them.
The invention of microfilm changed all that. Now
we can do our own research by looking at high-quality reproductions
of original records without traveling to distant locations. I believe
that the accuracy of genealogy research has increased since each of
us can read the originals; we are not forced to depend upon someone
else’s interpretations.
The invention of the home computer roughly twenty
years ago meant another huge change in the way we do genealogy research.
With PC’s we could track, store and sort the results of our own research
much more easily. Even better, the widespread appearance of e-mail in
the mid-1980s made it easier to expand our "networks" of individuals
with similar interests.
The introduction of the first genealogy CD-ROM
disks about 10 years ago marked still another leap forward for family
historians. Today there are hundreds of genealogy-related CD-ROM disks
available with references to hundreds of millions of our forebears.
The biggest change is not yet ten years old. The
World Wide Web didn’t even exist on January 1, 1990. Yet this technology
invention has quickly revolutionized many things in our everyday lives,
including genealogy research. According to Time magazine, genealogy
is one of the three most popular topics on the World Wide Web, along
with sex and finance.
It’s a great time to be a genealogist. Things are
changing quickly, and we can only guess what the next few years will
bring. Here’s a question you might ponder: If you could enter a time
machine and go back 100 years, how would you explain all this to one
of your ancestors that you met on the morning of January 1, 1900? I
suspect that your ancestor would think you were crazy as you described
all the tools available to you today.
The
Top Ten Genealogical Web Sites
A few weeks ago this newsletter carried an article
on "the most popular genealogy sites on the World Wide Web." The readers
of this newsletter who cast votes by e-mail determined the ratings for
that list. During that time Cole Goodwin contacted me and described
a study he has been conducting. Mr. Goodwin wrote, "I recently completed
a project begun almost eighteen months ago in which I surveyed some
60,000 genealogical web sites and rated them according to a number of
objective and subjective criteria to discover what I believed were the
ten most useful sites for genealogists on the Internet."
He also wrote, "I serve as a family history consultant
in the Suitland Ward, Suitland Maryland Stake [of the LDS Church]. I
began doing my research as a benefit to my ward members while I was
sick and in the hospital last year and during the early part of this
year." He also wrote, "I test-drove the sites listed at a recent Internet
genealogy workshop I gave in Charles County, Maryland. The local newspaper
advertised my visit and invited all interested parties to ‘bring your
hardest-to-find ancestor’. At the conclusion of my three-hour demonstration
of these ten sites, we had found 21 of the 22 ancestors brought to the
workshop. Many of the participants told me they had spent years trying
to discover this or that particular ancestor, only to find him that
day--and usually the name of another interested researcher."
I read Cole’s report and found it to be fascinating.
He obviously has spent a lot of time and effort on this. He has kindly
given permission to have the report published in its entirety in this
newsletter. Please note that, unlike the other articles in this newsletter,
this one article is copyright 1999 by Cole Goodwin and cannot be republished
elsewhere, electronically or in print, without his permission:
The Top Ten Genealogical Web Sites
© 1999 by R. Cole Goodwin
If you were looking for an ancestor, on which ten
Internet sites would you most likely find him or her? Which sites can
help an individual, a family, or a group research family history?
With over 1,500,000,000 names on over 60,000 genealogical
web sites on the Internet, finding the best sites is no easy task.
Eighteen months ago, I started evaluating over
60,000 web sites which provide information of genealogical interest
in order to determine the Top Ten. Using Encyclopaedia Britannica’s
Alexa service, independent reviews, and personal [observations], I evaluated
each site’s freshness, speed, links in, links out, subjective ratings
by reviewers, site size, and other criteria. I have tested my findings
along the way, having found over 16,000 ancestors during the past twenty-two
months, mostly with the help of the computer. Below are my top ten sites:
FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org)
Owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah, FamilySearch.org has a
little (or more) of genealogical interest for everyone and it is growing
quickly. In its third full month, it has become one of the most popular
sites on the Internet.
Using FamilySearch, you can do the following:
Search for your ancestors using the International
Genealogical Index (I.G.I.) with over 360,000,000 names, at present,
online; Ancestral File (A.F.) with about 36 million names in linked
pedigree charts; and with hyperlinks to other genealogical web sites.
Over the next month, the site will grow to 600 million online names,
then to 1,000,000 by next spring;
Collaborate with others who are searching for the same ancestor, surname,
or place as you. At present, there are over 60,000 collaboration lists
and the number is growing by over 1000 per day;
Access the Family History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, which has over two million rolls of microfilm with the names
of over two billion people. Once you have identified a microfilm which
interests you, you can order it online and it will be delivered to an
Latter-day Saint Family History Center of your choosing near you;
Learn from online Research Guides. For almost any place or ethnic group
for which you wish to do genealogical investigation, there are online
guides that will allow you to learn how to do the research you seek;
Access over 60,000 genealogical web sites by categories, such as those
which specialize in census, land, migration, military, royalty, surnames,
and more; Preserve your family history by downloading one of the most
popular genealogical software programs in the world today, Personal
Ancestral File (P.A.F.) 4.0 for Windows, as well as upload your own
genealogical information to FamilySearch to be preserved and to be shared
with others in Pedigree Resource files. Coming Up: Australian, British
and North American Vital Records Indexes will be incorporated into FamilySearch
as will the complete 1851 and 1881 British Censuses, the complete 1880
U.S. Census, the Ellis Island Index of 17,000,000 immigrants, and more
source guides. Also coming up: Pedigree Resource Files, containing the
online submissions of FamilySearch users (12,000,000 names already received);
Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com)
With over 274,000,000 U.S. names in over 1700 databases,
Ancestry.com can help you find and put flesh onto the bones of your
ancestors. It offers the following features:
Census Indexes, 1790-1870, for the entire U.S.,
as well as the complete 1790 U.S. Census and assorted later censuses
for sundry states and counties;
Social Security Death Index (S.S.D.I.): updated through June 1999, it
is the most current index on the Internet and can help you locate the
disposition of a relative or friend as well as their parentage;
World Family Tree: like FamilySearch’s Ancestral File, this contains
millions of names linked in pedigrees;
Periodical Source Index, which references over 5,000 genealogical periodicals
for the past 200 years. For the most part, once you have the index entry,
you can view the articles at the Library of Congress;
American Genealogical and Biographical Index (Ryder’s Index): the contents
of 200 volumes of genealogical references to individuals in the U.S.
throughout the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries;
The Daughters of the American Revolution Lineage Books (125 Volumes)
Ancestry News—Daily and weekly newsletter providing news and features
of genealogical interest.
Although Ancestry.com is a paid, subscription service,
major portions of its holdings are made available freely to the general
public. In addition, right now they are offering a free, 14-day subscription
to those who sign-up through the following link (sponsored by ThirdAge)
(https://www.ancestry.com/ancestry/signup
/SignupUser.asp?SignupType=TRIALFREE&SignupCode=g99af)
Cyndislist (http://www.cyndislist.com)
Cyndislist catalogues and indexes over 43,000 genealogy
web sites and is in the process of adding 10,000 more. If you are looking
for genealogical web sites from different countries to different surnames,
you will find them listed and indexed here. Online since 1996, it is
operated by Cyndi Howells of Puyallup, Washington.
RootsWeb (http://www.rootsweb.com)
RootsWeb has over 150,000,000 million U.S. names
online and is operated by the non-profit RootsWeb Data Cooperative of
Pine Mountain Club, California and is a project of the Rand Corporation.
RootsWeb has the following helpful features:
Surname Resources on RootsWeb allow you to search
submissions on surnames by other researchers;
County Resource tie you into genealogical discussion forums organized
by state and by county.
USGENWEB (http://www.usgenweb.com)
covers the United States by state and by county, organizing cemetery,
census, obituary, historical, and biographical resources by locality.
Can be very helpful; for an excellent example of USGENWEB, go to the
Bradford County, Pennsylvania web site (http://www.rootsweb.com/~pabradfo/bradweb.htm);
Mailing Lists for over 16,000 genealogical areas are sponsored by RootsWeb.com
The Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, an online project to transcribe
the passenger lists of all passenger ships which have entered America.
Currently, 400 ships are online;
Social Security Death Index (SSDI), similar to Ancestry.com’s database;
The Library of Congress (http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/genealogy/)
Through The Library of Congress’ Local History
and Genealogy Reading Room, you can access the holdings of the largest
library in the world, which has a collection of over 250,000 local history
and genealogy books available for researchers, as well as a large repository
of microfilm holdings from The Family History Library of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City. Through the
site, you can search or browse the catalogs, access special holdings
of various ethnic and historic reading rooms, and enjoy the American
Memories Collection, an extensive, visual database of American History.
Also available through the Library of Congress is the National Union
Catalog of Manuscript Collection (N.U.C.M.C.) (http://lcweb.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/nucmc.html)
which indexes millions of unpublished documents and contains valuable
genealogical information.
GenForum (http://genforum.genealogy.com/)
The largest online area for people to share surname
and local history information, with over three million messages posted.
It allows researchers to collaborate one with another in researching
family and local history.
ProFusion (http://www.profusion.com/)
Rather than a site for genealogical research, ProFusion
is a Microsoft-sponsored meta-search engine, which can use up to nine
Internet search engines (such as AltaVista, Google, InfoSeek, etc.)
simultaneously to find that ancestor, or relative of yours on that obscure
web page. Unlike typical search engines which, at most, index only 16%
of the web pages on the Internet, meta-search engines such as ProFusion,
Dogpile (http://www.dogpile.com/),
Fast Corporation’s AllTheWeb (http://www.alltheweb.com)
and MOMMA, The Mother of All Web Sites (http://www.mamma.com/)
use individual search engines to collectively scale the web.
The Ultimates (http://www.theultimates.com/)
Like ProFusion (above) rather than a single web
site with genealogical information, The Ultimates is a search engine
for multiple online telephone white pages and e-mail directories. It
can help you find people with the same surname you are seeking. This
is especially useful when you are seeking an unusual surname.
MyFamily.com (http://www.MyFamily.com)
MyFamily.com is a place where you can post your
family tree, family news, family photos, recipes, and chapter-by-chapter
history for your family to show and to share with others. It can help
a geographically dispersed family collaborate on its history.
The U.S. National Archives (http://www.nara.gov/nara/nail.html)
Using the new U.S. National Archives and Records
Administration’s Archival Information Locator, you can locate information
about the microfilm, archival holdings, and digital copies available.
Also useful is The National Archives Research Room (http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/)
Bonus Web Sites
In addition to the Top Ten, above, following are
some excellent, specialized genealogical web sites. Please bear in mind
that much of this specialized information is available through the using
the Top Ten genealogical web sites above; indeed, some Top Ten sites
have more specialized data than their more limited counterparts, below,
but the following are always worth checking:
Biographies
From the Arts & Entertainment Network’s "Biography"
series, you can search 22,000 online biographies at the following link:
(http://www.biography.com/)
Cemeteries and Graveyards
Find A Grave
(http://www.findagrave.com/)
Censuses on the Internet
Censuslinks
(http://www.censuslinks.com/directory/)
Educational Resources for Online Genealogy
PBS’ Ancestors Series
(http://www.pbs.org/kbyu/ancestors/)
Ethnic Genealogy Resources
The Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies Online
(http://www.libertynet.org/balch/body_index.html)
Family History for Kids
Disney’s Family Tree
(http://disney.go.com/ads/sponsors/ancestry/index.html)
Family Reunions
Family-Reunion.com
(http://www.family-reunion.com)
Geography
The U.S. Geological Service’s Geographic Names
Information Service (GNIS)
(http://mapping.usgs.gov/www/gnis/)
Heraldry
Heraldry on the Internet
(http://www.digiserve.com/heraldry/index.htm)
Land Records
The Bureau of Land Management has placed all federal
land patent records online, including millions of 19th Century Homestead
Act records.
(http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/)
Medical Genealogy
The Disease Chart (19th century medical terminology)
(http://www.geocities.com/Heartland
/Valley/1030/diseasecharttable.htm)
Military Records
Military records databases at Ancestry.com
(http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/military/main.htm)
Newsletters—Online Genealogy
Ancestry.com’s Daily News (free sign-up from home
page, with alerts to new, limited-time access to databases, tips of
the day, features, and specials) (http://www.ancestry.com/)
Newspapers
The United States Newspaper Program links you to
hundreds of online newspapers, some of which have put back issues up
to 200 years old online; excellent for births, marriages and deaths.
(http://www.neh.gov/html/usnp.html#NEW%20YORK)
Photographs
With over 250,000,000 prints, Corbis Corporation
has the largest inventory of historic and newsworthy photographs in
the world, and has put many online—for free. (http://www.corbis.com)
Vital Records
Vital Records Information for the United States
(http://vitalrec.com/index.html)
WebCasts on Genealogy
Generations is a live, interactive television show
focusing on family history research and is broadcast over the Internet.
It is sponsored by Sierra Software and carried by TalkSpot, an Internet
broadcasting company.
(http://www.sierra.com/sierrahome
/familytree/community/webcast/)
World and International Genealogy Resources
WorldGenWeb (http://www.worldgenweb.com)
will take you to resources for almost any country in the world.
I would like to thank R. Cole Goodwin for sharing
the results of his studies. Again, his article cannot be republished
without his permission. You may contact R. Cole Goodwin directly at:
cole_goodwin@hotmail.com
Ancestry.com Offers Free Access
To All Databases
This year Ancestry.com is pulling out all the stops
as we celebrate the last holiday season of the century! Visitors to
Ancestry between December 20 and January 4, 2000 will be able to sign
up for free access to all of our databases. Search 500 million records
in over 1,890 databases, including the Periodical Source Index (PERSI),
AIS Census Indexes, the Social Security Death Index, the Civil War Research
database, and the American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI). Sign
up for free access at: http://www.ancestry.com/ancestry
/signup/signupuser.asp?signuptype=guest
But that's not all! We're so sure you're going
to love having access to Ancestry, we're knocking $20 off our most popular
subscription plan and offering a one-year subscription to Ancestry.com
for only $39.95! This offer includes a 30-day money back guarantee,
but the offer ends on December 31, 1999, so sign up now to take advantage
of this incredible offer. Current subscribers will also be able to extend
their subscriptions for another twelve months at this incredibly low
price. To take advantage of this offer, visit our holiday page at: http://www.ancestry.com/home/celebrate/holidays.htm
Visitors to the site this week will also notice
that, after months of planning, focus groups, surveys, and incorporating
your comments and feedback, the Ancestry.com site has been redesigned
to better serve you. Improved navigation, and helpful articles and tips
in the "Today@Ancestry" section will help you take your research to
new heights at Ancestry.com.
Online Family Tree
The following is an announcement from MyFamily.com:
MyFamily.com, Inc., the premier resource for connecting
and strengthening families through the World Wide Web, today announced
the launch of Online Family Tree(SM), the first genealogy database software
that allows family members -- from around the world -- to simultaneously
contribute to building a family tree, absolutely free.
Online Family Tree, powered by Ancestry.com, is
easily accessible on Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com)
and MyFamily.com ( http://www.myfamily.com
). The program allows users to view and print pedigree charts, family
group sheets and source notes with standard features including the ability
to add, edit and delete information.
"MyFamily.com, Inc. is committed to providing the
most powerful and easy-to-use tools for connecting families with their
ancestors," said Curt Allen, CEO and President of MyFamily.com, Inc.
"Online Family Tree is a unique tool that harnesses the endless resources
of the Internet and combines it with the power of collaborative genealogy
to help family members keep track of their family."
With Online Family Tree, many people can contribute
to one database and have all of their changes immediately available
to everyone else. The tedious process of exchanging new information
and performing multiple updates is no longer necessary. The information
is always current. The program also offers a genealogy help section
for beginners and expert genealogists on general help topics.
Traditional genealogy programs allow one person
to create a family tree database and then share that database with others,
who then add it to their personal programs. Each time new information
is added all other copies of the information become obsolete. In order
to share the updates, copies of the new information must then be forwarded
to all other parties involved.
The entire Online Family Tree program and all family
tree information are securely stored online in a password-protected
area, where only authorized family members can add and update information.
Each site will be able to designate an administrator to customize the
look of each family tree and coordinate collaboration among all contributors.
There is no limit to the number of family trees users may create, and
each tree has the capability to store an unlimited number of names.
"The release of Online Family Tree comes at a time
when MyFamily.com, Inc.'s web sites have broken into the Nielsen NetRatings'
top 50 in page views, currently at number 41. The achievement of this
high ranking is a result of our dedication to providing new and innovative
services, like Online Family Tree, that keep users returning again and
again to our sites," said Allen.
The Online Family Tree software is housed on Ancestry.com
and MyFamily.com and is easily accessed through the Internet. To get
started, simply visit http://www.ancestry.com or http://www.myfamily.com
and select the link labeled "Start Your Own Family Tree Online!" After
completing a simple registration process, users can begin collaborating
at will.
About MyFamily.com, Inc.
MyFamily.com, Inc. is creating the largest online
community in the world for families. Its three Internet properties,
MyFamily.com, Ancestry.com, and FamilyHistory.com, which can function
independently, work together to form the only family service of its
kind. Founded on a 16-year heritage in family history publishing, MyFamily.com,
Inc. brings together deep resources and interactive tools that connect
and strengthen families. Privately held, MyFamily.com, Inc. is based
in Orem, Utah with offices in San Francisco. Investors in MyFamily.com,
Inc. include @Ventures, the affiliated venture capital arm of CMGI (Nasdaq:
CMGI), AOL, Compaq Computer Corporation, Tango, Group Arnault, Pivotal
Asset Management LLC and Amerindo Investment Advisors, Inc.
For more information, visit http://www.myfamily.com/pressroom.htm.
Australian Census to Preserve Personal
Information
Everyone seems
concerned these days about personal privacy. This is a two-edge sword
for genealogists, as we want to know more about our ancestors’ lives.
Therefore, we should be interested in preserving information about our
lives so that our descendants can learn about us. The quandary is: How
to do this in a manner that protects privacy today and yet ensures easy
access after we are gone?
The next Australian census may have discovered
the answer. Residents have the option of having their personal information
retained for future studies, including genealogy. The keyword here is
"optional." The following is from the Australian Census Web site:
The Minister for Financial Services & Regulation,
Joe Hockey, today [17 December 1999] announced that the next National
Census of Population and Housing will be retained by the National Archives
and released for research purposes in 100 years.
The next Census will be held on Tuesday August
7, 2001
In the 2001 Census, Australians will have the choice
of having their name-identified data retained.
"This is a one-off for the celebration of the centenary
of Federation.
"It will provide a fantastic snapshot of Australians
at this time for Australians of coming centuries," the Minister said.
"People choosing to have their data retained can
do so with the full confidence their information will be protected.
The Australian Archives will be the agency responsible for the secure
storage and release of the information," the Minister said.
The 2001 Census content has been prepared following
extensive consultation. Public meetings and bilateral discussions with
major users of census data were held in all capital cities.
The Census will contain 53 questions, one more
than in 1996. The census form will remain unchanged at 16 pages and
the time needed by householders to complete the form will be similar
to the 1996 Census.
"Three new questions will be included for the 2001
Census: one question on ancestry and two on the use of computer technology
at home."
The Census's main objective is to measure the number
and certain key characteristics of the people in Australia on Census
night.
This provides a reliable basis for estimating the
population of each State/Territory and local government area, primarily
for electoral purposes and the distribution of government funding.
The Census provides the quality statistical foundation
for a vast array of information used in informed decision-making.
My thanks to Faye Guthrie for letting me know about
the 2001 Australian census.
Managing a Genealogical Project
This week I had a chance to look through a new book.
Perhaps I should say, an updated book as "Managing a Genealogical Project"
by William Dollarhide has been on store shelves for several years. It
is one of the books that every new genealogist should add to the bookshelf.
Bill Dollarhide has now updated this 98-page book for the first time
in several years.
The first section of the book covers the three
basic types of the projects--pedigrees, lineages, and descendancies.
The second section tells how to organize notes and keep paperwork to
a minimum, while the third section shows the various methods of cross-referencing
notes for purposes of retrieval and evaluation. Section four describes
ahnentafel numbering, and section five explains descendancy numbering
and the merits of the three main numbering systems--the Register, Record,
and Henry systems--plus Dollarhide's own combined Ahnentafel/Henry numbering
system. I wish someone had shown this information to me before I started
my first genealogy endeavors!
The major updates to the new edition include a
section on the applications of computer software to the project and
a section on diagramming techniques and methods of presenting a pedigree
or descendancy in polished form. The book ends with a set of nine master
forms that are useful to anyone researching their family tree. One that
I like is the "Relationship Chart" that visually explains relationships,
such as "second cousin, once removed." The author invites the reader
to photocopy and use the forms as often as needed.
"Managing a Genealogical Project" by William Dollarhide
is a great reference for the newcomer as well as the long-time researcher.
Dollarhide’s writing style is light and easy; he doesn’t get bogged
down with terminology. I’d recommend this book to everyone. It costs
$14.95 (U.S. funds) plus shipping. For more information, look at: http://www.genealogybookshop.com/genealogybookshop
/files/General,Guides_and_Manuals/1495.html
Ready for Y2K?
Will your
computer operate next Saturday morning? It may be a bit late to start
think about your computer’s Y2K compliancy. However, I’d suggest that
late is better than never.
There are a number of programs around that claim
they will check your computer and various programs you use for Y2K compliance.
There are free programs and shareware programs that you can download
online as well as commercial programs down at the local computer store.
I have been using one of the free ones, called "Y2K Test for Windows"
and it seems to do the job. You can find others online with a quick
search as well. Of course, we won’t know how effective any of these
programs are until next Saturday, will we?
If you would like to check out Y2K Test for Windows,
you can find it at:
http://hotfiles.zdnet.com/cgi-bin/texis
/swlib/hotfiles/info.html?fcode=000RAM
By the way, have you received an e-mail claiming,
"Every copy of Windows will fail on January 1st unless you fix it now,
to fix it..."? The message goes on at some length saying that you must
click on "My Computer", click on "Control Panel", click on "Regional
Settings" and then change some settings. People who obviously do not
know what they are talking about are perpetuating this hoax.
This particular Y2K hoax message seems to bounce
around as much as all the false messages about e-mail viruses. To read
the truth about this particular Y2K hoax, look at Microsoft’s Web site
at: http://www.microsoft.com/y2k/hoax/y2khoax.htm
StarOffice
Part of this week’s newsletter was written with
StarOffice, a complete desktop productivity tool. StarOffice is a competitor
to Microsoft Office. StarOffice includes:
StarOffice Writer - word processing
StarOffice Calc - spreadsheet
StarOffice Impress - presentation software
StarOffice Draw and StarOffice Image - graphics software
StarOffice Schedule - calendaring
StarOffice Mail - e-mail
StarOffice Base - database interface
StarOffice Discussion - newsreader
StarOffice Math - formula software
StarOffice Workplace - desktop environment
Most of these programs are fully compatible with
Microsoft’s programs. For instance, StarOffice Writer can read and write
Microsoft Word files, StarOffice Calc can read and write Microsoft Excel
files, StarOffice Impress can read and write Microsoft PowerPoint files,
etc. In fact, StarOffice seems to be as powerful as the Microsoft equivalents
although the programs do vary a lot in details. All the StarOffice programs
are fully integrated into a smooth desktop environment, so switching
from one StarOffice program to another is easy and consistent.
Unlike the Microsoft competition, StarOffice is
available on a variety of platforms. Not only are versions available
for Windows 95, 98 and NT, but there also are versions for OS/2, Linux
and Solaris. (The last two are versions of UNIX.) There is no Macintosh
version, however.
OK, so it is a powerful, integrated package that
is mostly compatible with the $500 or so Microsoft Office, so how much
does StarOffice cost? That’s the best part: StarOffice is free. Yes
free. Zero dollars.
Star Software is a company in Germany that was
recently acquired by Sun Microsystems, a company best known for providing
UNIX (Solaris) hardware and software. Sun also has been a long-time
Microsoft competitor, and it looks like they are taking aim at one of
Microsoft’s most profitable products: Microsoft Office. Microsoft Office
includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and a number of other related
office productivity programs. Sun Microsystems obviously wants to replace
those programs on the user desktop.
I installed the entire suite of StarOffice programs
on a Windows NT system and was using StarOffice Writer (the word processor)
within minutes to write this article. The program opened up the Microsoft
2000 document that I had previously been writing. I wrote several paragraphs,
then closed the file and re-opened it with Word 2000. Indeed, the two
programs do seem to be file-compatible. I can read and write .DOC files
with either Microsoft Word 2000 or with StarOffice Writer. One irritant
that I encountered is that StarOffice apparently marks the entire Word
document as "do not check spelling," and it took a long time to figure
out how to turn that back on in Word. (I found it under Tools and then
Language, not an intuitive place for the spelling check option.) The
spell checker in StarOffice, however, worked perfectly all the time.
I later conducted a similar exercise with some
Excel files. I could read or write them either in Microsoft Excel or
in StarOffice Calc. My testing of file compatibility was quite limited.
All I can say is that it worked for my brief test, with one exception
involving spell checking. It is possible that a more exhaustive test
could find other inconsistencies. I would expect as much in two different
programs.
To be sure, the "look and feel" of the two programs
is somewhat different. StarOffice is not a clone of the Microsoft suite
of programs. It has its own user interface, which is quite different
in many details. One thing that I liked about StarOffice is that the
various programs are more integrated than in Microsoft Office; StarOffice
looks as if it is one program that is able to handle word processing,
spreadsheets, Web browsing, database and other types of files. In fact,
the hard drive light flashed a lot when I switched from .XLS to .DOC
to .PPT (PowerPoint) files, so I know that the different formats were
being handled differently. Yet, the on-screen appearance always looked
as if I had remained in the same program. Microsoft Office, however,
is obviously a collection of different programs. For instance, when
switching from Word to Excel documents, the user is very aware that
he is switching between programs.
StarWriter also does a credible job creating and
manipulating HTML files. It probably won't replace the high-end HTML
editors, but it certainly is better than some of the simpler (and more
expensive) HTML editors. StarWriter also will import graphics files
in a wide variety of formats.
StarOffice is available in English, French, German,
Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Dutch, and Portuguese. Not bad for a free
program.
There are two ways to get StarOffice. You can download
StarOffice at no charge from Sun's Web site at: http://www.sun.com/products/staroffice/get.cgi.
Keep in mind that it is a 65-megabyte download. That's a lot for anyone
using a dial-up modem. You can also order a full media kit, including
printer manuals and CD-ROM disk, from the same site. The charge for
the full kit is $39.95 plus shipping.
If you are looking for a full-featured suite of
office programs, including word processor, spreadsheet, Web browser,
presentation program and more, you won't find a better program for the
price. In fact, I doubt if you will find anything close to this for
even $200 or $300 retail price. If you use Microsoft Office on a Windows
computer but also use UNIX or OS/2 on another, you’ll like StarOffice.
You can use one user interface across all platforms.
This brief article was only able to describe a
few of the features available in StarOffice. For more information, look
at: http://www.sun.com/dot-com/staroffice.html
Home Pages Highlighted
The following
is a list of some of the genealogy-related World Wide Web home pages
that have been listed recently on http://www.rootscomputing.com:
Murdock Family Home Page for descendants of Robert
Murdock, born September 6, 1665 in Sterling, Scotland:
http://members.aol.com/wcmurdock/index.html
Powers family of Birmingham, Warwickshire, and
the Botevyle/Botfield family of Shropshire. A family reunion will be
held on 24 Jun 2000 in Birmingham:
http://members.aol.com/ihstanley/index.htm
The Bothwell Family History and Surname Resource
Center, a central site where all researchers of the Bothwell surname
(and variant spellings) can share information, ask questions, or submit
to the master database of Bothwell ancestors:
http://www.bothwell.cx
Are you interested in the articles in this newsletter?
Would you like to learn more or ask questions or make comments about these
articles? Join this newsletter's online discussion group on CompuServe's
Genealogy Techniques Forum. CompuServe members using Netscape, Internet
Explorer or CompuServe 2000 can go to http://go.compuserve.com/GenealogyForum.
If you are using Classic CompuServe, you can GO ROOTS.
If you would like to submit news, information or press
releases for possible inclusion in future newsletters, send them to
roots@compuserve.com. The
author does reserve the right to accept or reject any articles submitted.
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