Family Tree Maker 2008

A new version of Family Tree Maker (FTM) will be available in late August (according to Amazon.com). There are virtually no details available yet, just a teasing splash screen on the Family Tree Maker site.

New versions of software always brings wild speculation, especially early when there are few details. I've seen a comment that suggests massive restructuring, but there is not detail or source information<g>.

So what would make this release interesting? Here are some of my thoughts - and keep in mind I am still a newbie in this space.

1. Vista. It would be really cool if FTM 2008 was enhanced to take full advantage of Vista's UI enhancements. The possibilities for a more visual approach are quite staggering. The reality is that it will of course have to run on Windows XP so the odds of a true Vista application are pretty slim. I've been waiting (though not very patiently) for Yahoo to release their designed from the ground up Instant Messenger for Vista. It looks amazing.

2. Isolate. This is a feature that I've been considering that provides the ability to view a family line with filters applied. So, if I'm looking at a tree view of a file, I could select an individual and filter to just see the ancestors or just the maternal/paternal live of the individual. This would allow you to still have a broad (many lines/families) file, but still be able to easily focus on a particular are of research.

3. Live Zoom. This is loosely tied to the isolate feature above. The idea is that as you zoom in you are provided context options to Isolate and\or show additional details. It's more like Microsoft's Virtual Earth in that as you zoom in closer, more detail is available vs. just making the box bigger. Example, in FTM 16, All-In-One view give you a good view of your family. It has a zoom, but it is too basic - it literally just makes the box bigger. There are so many options for making this a truly intelligent feature (display facts, links, photos as a few of the simpler options) that would make the experience interactive. There is still a need for the more basic version of the All-In-One view - printing or exporting to PDF but it should be in addition to the Live (interactive) zoom.

4. Timeline. This is an idea that is not completely baked yet, but has been mulling around in my noggin a bit. This would allow you to display the tree or more likely key facts in a timeline manner. This may be suited to a narrative type of software. I envision using as a research aid as well as for telling the story later. As an example, if I'm looking at a line and start building details relating to their emigration, I see being able to drag facts onto a timeline (think building a timeline for a family or a specific research topic). Having the ability to then add items flagged as research, action plan or speculation (any tag/label you want) to help document your next steps would be a very powerful tool. I'd argue that having it integrated (vs. a standalone application) would make a better experience. As new facts are validated and added they would be immediately available for reconciliation with your research tags.

5. Relationship Visualizations. Making it easier to see how people are related would be a very useful enhancement. The ability to simply click on a person and be presented with an option to show how they are related to a specified person - visually would be excellent. This is tied to the isolate and zoom to an extent. So I have two people "far" apart in the tree - this option isolates to the common ancestors and allows zooming in and out.

A key theme for me is visualization. I am a highly visual person. I can certainly deal with text and lists but if you can see it the possibilities open up...can't wait to see what they have created.

Chess for Kids, 1.1

There is a common theme I've discovered in trying to find the best way

to teach chess to kids - play people better than you! There is also a school of thought that focuses on pattern recognition. If you recognize checkmate patterns that you've seen and studied before you will win more games. It's an interesting approach, somewhat common for the uninitiated it appears. The book on the left seems to be a good pick. I'm not finished, but like the direction of the book as well as his writing style.

 

Chess: Teaching Children, Part 1

I learned chess as a child and have played very little during the interim years. It is a fun, but sometimes frustrating game. Teaching it to children can be a challenge. Starting with the pieces and how they move to setting up the board - to actual game play. All good up to this point. Even discussing the need to keep a close eye all over the board (not just the genius offensive plan you are hatching) is ok, even when pieces are lost. The main challenge is building up confidence. Read any book on the subject and they warn you that you will lose, lose and lose. However, you will get better. You will build skill and eventually get that first win under your belt. This can be enough of a challenge with adults, but children take this challenge up a few levels.

I'm going to do some research on the subject, looking for strategies that teach game play without the disappointment of losing. Could be just part of learning the game, but its worth a look.

 

(Oh yea, I know this has a very dubious title, Part 1 indeed...)

Neighbors

This is nothing new, but fresh experiences just remind us that there are generally two ways to approach anything. Positive and negative. If you chose the latter, you should expect the same in return - regardless of the issue. Even as it is happening, the receiver could choose to try to make it positive...but if this is not the first experience from the sender - not likely.

Like I said, nothing new - let's just all try to be more positive.

Genograms

I'm still pretty new to family history and genealogy (though I can now spell it correctly at will). I really enjoy tracking down relatives and collecting information about my family. It can still be challenging to explain to people why I like to spend time doing this. I look at it as providing context to future generations of the family. Being able to articular where you really hail from is a good feeling. There is satisfaction in solving puzzles and the list goes on...still working on the silver bullet to not only explain why, but to enlist helpers in the search for history.

As I build out the family tree there are interesting charts that you create to really see the tree. For showing the tree and layout, they are functional and look ok. However, I stumbled across another way to document a family - genograms.

A genogram is a visual, multi-generational representation of familial relationships and patterns of behavior. *

Genograms can be used to show more detailed family relationships, medical history, emotional ties and much more. This is well and good, but requires some diligence to maintain. These are very dynamic attributes; some can change on a daily basis.

The two images show the same family - the top is a standard genealogy view of the family. The bottom image is a genogram. They both show the family hierarchy, but you can get additional detail from the genogram.

 

The genogram (above) shows divorces more clearly (twp slashed in the relationship line) as well as complex relationships (conflict, hate, love). There is also provisions for showing pets. In addition to that type of information, you can show medical history - like cancer, heart disease etc. If you accurately research and document this - it can be a big help to you and your physician.

As I said, there seems to be value in both views - what I need now is one application that can track and display both!

Windows Live Writer Beta 2

Live Writer is an excellent way to post blog entries. It is a client side tool that provides a full Windows/Office like experience. Including spell checking, saving drafts and published posts locally. It handles pictures rather nicely. There is also a bunch of stuff for handling tags, maps, tables etc. It rocks!

To read more and download, check our their blog.