Family Tree Maker to be retired

Ancestry has announced that it will stop selling its genealogy software Family Tree Maker.

The full announcement can be found at http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2015/12/08/ancestry-to-retire-family-tree-maker-software/ “Ancestry will continue to support current owners of Family Tree Maker at least through January 1, 2017. During this time, all features of the software, including TreeSync™, will continue to work, and Member Services will be available to assist with user questions. They will also address major software bugs that may occur, as well as compatibility updates.”Many have responded with horror to the announcement and bombarded Ancestry with their concerns. Ancestry has been quick to answer and have explained very clearly that the program will continue to function, unless you switch to a new operating function that doesn’t recognise it. Ancestry is also considering partnerships with other companies to all the tree syncing feature on the website to continue. You can read more at http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-world-is-not-ending-more.html#ixzz3uRHAntsR

Gould Genealogy has also responded with an article on their blog “There is Life Beyond Family Tree Maker”. Gould Genealogy offer a range of alternate programs. Read their article at http://www.gouldgenealogy.com/2015/12/there-is-life-beyond-family-tree-maker/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GouldGenealogy+%28Gould+Genealogy+-+Australian+Family+History%29

Personal Ancestral File (PAF) Discontinued

If you are a user of Personal Ancestral File (PAF) like I am, you will be disappointed to learn that the product is to be discontinued. FamilySearch has announced that the program will be retired on 15 July 2013 and will no longer be available for download or support. I have found this a wonderful product to use as it did all I needed in organising my family history and for free. Dick Eastman and Ancestry Insider have both noted its passing. PAF was first introduced in 1984, but has not been updated since 2002. You can still keep using the program, but FamilySearch recommend that you update to an alternative. So it seems like a good time to bite the bullet and try something else. For full details and information on alternative products, you can visit http://familysearch.org/PAF.

Ancestral Quest, Legacy Family Tree, and RootsMagic have been introduced in recent years are supposed to be significantly better alternatives to PAF. These products are also available free through FamilySearch.