Ozarks Genealogical Society

This discussion will focus on hardware and software that may enhance our genealogy research. I have also included some excellent free software sites that may be of interest.

Digital Camera: Such as a Canon PowerShot, Kodak EasyShare or Nikon CoolPix. Don’t worry about resolution; every camera has at least seven megapixels. Look for features such as at least 3x optical zoom, an optical viewfinder, a non-proprietary battery, and first-shot delay. Besides the usual uses for a camera, these are a great "scanner" for the courthouse files or "automated transcription" of gravestones. 

GPS Navigator: Such as Garmin's nüvi 260W or TomTom XL 330. These are great for finding the old cemeteries and towns. Look for a 4.3-inch (diagonally) wide touchscreen, ability to manually enter locations, and battery backup so you can use them outside the car. You can find locations for cemeteries, historic towns, etc. at the Board on Geographic Names (formerly GNIS) at: http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/ 

Large Pedigree Chart: These are great for family reunions and the like. You can print these out using dedicated (and expensive) software and printers. Most genealogy programs will print a chart on several pages that can be taped together. Finally, you can have the charts printed at a local print shop or online at www.printmyfamily.com.

Eastmans Online Genealogy Newsletter: A daily blog by Dick Eastman that covers the latest genealogy web-sites, hardware and software. http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/

Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy: There are still openings available for this informative group of presentations being held January 11-15, 2010, in Salt Lake City. http://infouga.org/

AirCard: A device for a laptop, PDA or cell phone that allows the user to connect to wide area wireless Internet access (essentially a data cell phone signal). They connect to your laptop using an available USB port, PCMCIA card slot or ExpressCard slot. You will need a service plan (normally through your cell phone service provider) that allows you to access the Internet.

FamilySearch Indexing: Help create free public access to the U.S. census indexes and other records. http://www.familysearch.org/eng/indexing/frameset_indexing.asp

And, last but not least, we all want more time to work on our genealogical research (and volunteer to help OGS)!

Free Software

Virus, spyware, and other malicious software protection:
Microsoft Security Essentials: http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/ 
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 9: http://free.avg.com/us-en/homepage

Backup important files:
SyncBack Freeware V3: http://www.2brightsparks.com/freeware/
*Mozy Online Backup: http://mozy.com/home

PDF viewing and creation:
Primo PDF 4 Creator: http://www.primopdf.com/ 
Foxit Reader 3: http://www.foxitsoftware.com/downloads/index.php 
*Adobe Reader 9: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

*Firefox 3 Web Browser: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

E-Mail:
*Thunderbird 2 E-mail Client: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird/ 
*Google Gmail: http://mail.google.com/mail/help/about.html 

Office Suite:
*Open Office 3: http://www.openoffice.org/index.html 
*Google Documents: http://docs.google.com/

Genealogy Software:
Rootsmagic 4 Essentials: http://www.rootsmagic.com/Essentials/ 
Legacy Family Tree 7: http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/

Image editors:
Paint.NET: http://www.getpaint.net/
GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP): http://www.gimp.org/ 
*Picasa 3 (organize, edit, and share photos). http://picasa.google.com/

Miscellaneous utilities:
CCleaner: (Removes unused files from your system.) http://www.ccleaner.com/ 
File Hippo Update Checker: http://www.filehippo.com/updatechecker/ 
CDBurnerXP: (Burns CDs and DVDs). http://cdburnerxp.se/ 
*Google Earth 5: http://earth.google.com/

Note: These programs work with Windows XP, Vista or 7, but not older versions of Windows.

*Compatible with Mac computers.