News

I just started using a service called Dropbox to store a remote backup of my genealogy database and share GEDCOM files with family members and other genealogists. Free accounts are limited to 2GB of storage. More space is available for a monthly fee.

The drop-dead easy install creates a folder in your home folder (you can specify a different location) and puts an icon in your Finder sidebar and menubar. Any files and folders you put in the Dropbox folder are synchronized to the online copy. This simple act makes it easy to:

• keep files synchronized between multiple computers (including Windows and Linux)
• backup your genealogy files
• share files with other people (you have to explicitly share the folder)
• access the files from another computer via a secure website
• access files (like PDFs) from an iPhone

I think you’ll find Dropbox as amazingly simple to use as I do and a valuable addition to your Mac genealogy software toolbox.

Synium have made available for download, another update to their free beta of their upcoming release, MacFamilyTree version 6. Their web page says it:

• Full featured User Guide now available from the help menu or the startup window
• Several localization updates
• Fixed issues on PowerPC based Macs
• Smaller user interface fixes

I missed the release 7 which Synium states includes these changes:

• Several User Interface improvements
• GEDCOM Importer now handles census and age tags correctly
• After a GEDCOM import, the document was incorrectly marked as having changes
• Date Parser improved for date ranges
• Description of events are now shown in all charts
• News and Tutorials improved in the startup window
• Improved launch time

I’ll be having a look and will let you know what I think. If you’re interested in having a look yourself,grab a copy and let us know what you think by leaving a comment.

There was an update last Friday to this PC virtualization software. It’s used by some MacGenealogists to run Windows genealogy software on their Mac. There doesn’t appear to be anything in this build of particular interest to genealogists and no major fixes.

Here is the list of enhancements and fixes according to the producer:

• Mac folders shared with Windows now work correctly with MS Outlook, Lotus, Quicken and other Windows applications.
• Support for Autodesk Revit 2011 was fixed.
• MS Office 2010 activation is preserved in Boot Camp virtual machines.
• OpenGL now works correctly in Ubuntu 10.04 virtual machines.
• Virtual machines using Boot Camp partitions on 512 GB solid-state disks (SSDs) now work correctly.
• The problem with invisible virtual machines list on new MacBook Pros (released in early 2010) was fixed.
• A rare problem with Windows virtual machine’s screen turning black after upgrading to Mac OS X v10.6.3 was fixed.
• Problems with Parallels Service stopping to respond when the Parallels Desktop settings file is corrupt were fixed.
• Problems with screen resolution in Mac OS X Server v10.6.3 virtual machines were fixed.

Ancestry.com Tree to Go version 1.1 is now available for download in the iTunes App Store. The version notes say the iPhone and iPod touch genealogy application can handle bigger trees (“including trees with over 2,000 people”) and gives you the ability to delete a person from a tree. It also states that performance is “improved.” I’m downloading it now. Try it out and let me know what you think in a comment.

Synium has made available for download, a free beta of their upcoming release, MacFamilyTree version 6. Their web page says it:

• has a new user interface
• integrates with New FamilySearch (although this is in closed beta right now)
• more and better charts and reports
• to-do management

I’ll be having a look and will let you know what I think. If you’re interested in having a look yourself, grab a copy and let us know what you think by leaving a comment.