JCK74656

I like the idea of using dummy facts. How do you list them? do you call them "vital records to do" and "census to do", or somesuch? I ask because I'm tired of re-tracing my steps when I figure out I'm not setting up my data correctly (eg, not putting media files in folders of the last name or location. STILL trying to fix the broken links on that one!)

strong pertinent filenaming in the first place which should result as pretty unique will serve you better than any folder structure although I use both

 

 

 

I think Rootsmagic bet the farm on getting some kind of tree sharing with ancestry and just dropped RM8 development while coping with that feature and the resulting unhappy user fallout. 

My research strongly suggests something went terribly wrong along the way and I guess we all need to see what the next version has behind those screens. I use Family Historian side by side with Rootsmagic at present, I find the features quite powerful and easy to get straight to the person you want but on the other side I would miss some things from Rootsmagic. If Rootsmagic had the will and ability to close on the features FH6 offers then I think I would be more than happy. It's worth saying FH6 is the same age as RM7 and there might also be an upgrade due but I can't find and rumours, there are videos on Youtube and they offer a full featured time limited trial, tha's confident in my opinion.

I have read about FTM2017 and now 2019 is due, I always avoided that package due to customer reviews but that may be the old FTM so I am watching that space. On new and old company strategy the company around rootsmagic and it's pervious software seem to have enjoyed a well deserved reputation for listening to customers and responding, maybe things got too big but it would seem something went wrong along the road. FTM had a pretty horrible reputation in the past but maybe with the take over things are moving towards better research software? we will have to wait and see.

I have a relatively large database and study one name extensively so a glorified note book with colored surrounds falls far short of my needs but it does seem to please so many so a safe bet. I have probably said before I am intent on waiting until mid 2020 before making a decision as to my future path, I do feel so sorry for those in the mac camp who have endured such difficulties while waiting for the promised Mac version, but at the same time I doubt you would want something rushed to market and bug ridden, I know I wouldn't.

Life in the development world is a race and one where you need to keep running to stay competitive. Rootsmagic seem to have experienced some twists in the road over the last years but that does not excuse the many small problems within the program which should have been ironed out over a few lunchtimes over the previous years. I am relatively new to Rootsmagic and it's not my sole program, I should say I'm a PC user also. The current reputation of the program is deserved, ignoring users and many small quirks for many years has been a big mistake in my opinion, when you stop giving your users what they want that only leads one place. However there are many a loyal comrade who are happy to buy an expectation despite the experiences of the past and they will see Rootsmagic through. From what I read the majority of those individuals only scratch the surface of the program so do not understand the deeper deficiencies and difficulties of more intense users, some would probably be better with a hard back notebook and colored pens. Without wanting to be disrespectful I believe the majority of genealogy software users would not know a good enhancement until it was already in place and the usefulness demonstrated to them.

The genealogy software world looks like it will change dramatically in the next 6 months with many new versions, at the end of that time my goal is to be using the best software to suit my needs and not jumping in and out of slightly different data sets due to transfer incompatibility. Taking any sort of break in the middle of a race means you need to run dam fast to catch the leaders, from what I have seen on the blog so far I am not hopeful for Rootsmagic.

Genealogy is not a new concept, outside of noting and reporting the needs of researchers are well known. The possibilities from various online sources are very well established and need to be mined. Rootsmagics reporting and filtering really need to move into this century in my opinion, I expect to find, filter and report every piece of data I enter into my database, otherwise it is lost to me, I expect professional graphical displays of data disbursement and all linked to take me directly to that data, I expect powerful analysis and number crunching of geographical clues all to be presented in the previously described fashion.

All my opinion, but I find Rootsmagic not even close to the competition on many of these goals. I was gifted version 7 and aside from those deficiencies mentioned had great hope for the next version based on an outdated reputation of the developer working closely with his customers. Having researched development history, read the endless wish list and reached out to some long time users I don't hold great expectations for version 8. However for the sake of a few months I will not shoot myself in the foot just yet and migrate totally to another platform.

jck:

 

Macs are the only pc segment showing growth over recent years and has become significant in all consumer markets. My genealogy group in Tucson has a lot of macs. Apple has reshaped expectations of what a good device and interface must be.

 

Probably a mistake to not do RM8. Bruce seems to be focused on the user interface and a common database structure for both windows and macs. He certainly has taken enough time to get it mostly right. Yes there will be bugs but having a strong mac user base will force a better response to user issues. We have higher standards than Microsoft and will only stay/return if RM8 works.

I think they should leak something appealing beyond Mac interface, I also regarded the Mac brigade as the posher and more demanding side of computer users. So if all features rise to the Mac user accepted and polished standard then that may well be worth the wait as I find many features well rooted in the last century.

Rooty, yes i am primarily a PC user but I understand the relatively small mac user base needs and if TomH is correct in his assumptions I will just give it a miss.