Wednesday, August 29, 2007

How is FamilyTreeMaker 2008 doing?

I decided last month not to download the Beta version of FamilyTreeMaker 2008 and test it, mainly because of time conflicts. Thankfully, bloggers and message board posters tested the Beta version and made suggestions - I tried to summarize them here.

FTM 2008 was released two weeks ago, and now there have been many comments about the software - features, installation, use, reporting, etc.

Here are some web sites that have pro and con comments about the software:

* Dick Eastman's post "Family Tree Maker 2008 is Released" -- there are many comments here with substantive issues.

* The "Using FamilyTreeMaker Forum" Message Board at Genforum - at http://genforum.genealogy.com/using/

* The "Family Tree Maker Software" Message Board at Ancestry (requires registration) -- http://boards.rootsweb.com/topics.software.famtreemaker/mb.ashx

* The FTMTECH Mailing List archives - at http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/FTM-TECH (you will have to select a month to view, then scroll down to see the messages. Start with August 2007).

Frankly, most of the comments are negative to date. Part of that is a natural reaction to anything new and different from what people are used to. But many of the comments described flaws in the software or features that were in early FTM versions and are not yet in FTM 2008.

I'm glad I didn't order it. If I buy it, it will be later on when the software has been improved and, hopefully, all of the problems are fixed.

No comments: