by Lisa Cooke | Sep 15, 2013 | 01 What's New, African-American, Canadian
Listen in as we solve a family history mystery with high-tech and low-tech tools in the newest episode of the free Genealogy Gems Podcast, episode 159.
Also in this episode, Genealogy Gems Contributor Sunny Morton discusses where to begin with African-American research with Dr. Deborah Abbott, and we explore newly available Canadian records.
And we wrap the episode with my thoughts on the value of work that we want to pass on to our kids and Grandkids as a family history legacy.
by Lisa Cooke | Sep 14, 2013 | 01 What's New, iPad, Mobile
Cliona in Ireland’s recent email question illustrates the point that not everything on the iPad is straightforward. But I’ve got an easy answer to her question that will make reading pdfs and ebooks on your iPad and other mobile devices a breeze:
“I bought your new book Turn your iPad into a Genealogy Powerhouse and I downloaded it to my PC straight away without problem. Ironically my problem came when I tried to download it to my iPad!
When I click to download the book to my iPad it downloads to the Safari Browser but I cannot find how to save it to iBooks or Kindle or anywhere else…I know I must be doing something wrong but I’ve looked on the Lulu site and they show that there should be an option to ‘Open In’ (at which point I should be able to specify, say, iBooks) but this option doesn’t appear in my browser. The only icons that appear at the top of my browser are the ‘book’ icon (bookmarks, history and reading list), the ‘cloud’ icon for icloud and the ‘forwarding’ icon which allows me to send to mail, Facebook etc., but not to iBooks…In short HELP please, before this drives me nuts.”
Here’s an easy way to add any ebook or PDF to your iPad:
- Get a free Dropbox account at www.Dropbox.com
- Install the Dropbox app on your tablet
- Create an “eBooks” folder in your free Dropbox account
- Save all pdf ebooks to the folder
- Open the Dropbox app on your iPad
- Navigate to the ebooks folder
- Tap the ebook you want
- Tap the “Open In” button at the top of the screen (folder icon with down arrow) and select Good Reader, iBooks, Kindle, etc.
Saving your ebooks in Dropbox also means they are easily accessible from all of your computing devices, regardless of whether they are PC or Mac. Sweet!
by Lisa Cooke | Sep 11, 2013 | 01 What's New, Ancestry, FamilySearch, Records & databases
Ancestry.com and FamilySearch International, the two largest online providers of genealogy data, just announced an agreement that’s expected to put a billion more historical records from around the world within reach online.
A billion is a LOT of records. If you wanted to count to a billion, it would take you 95 years.
According to an Ancestry.com press release, the organizations will partner “with the archive community over the next five years to digitize, index and publish these records from the FamilySearch vault.”
“The access to the global collection of records marks a major investment in international content as Ancestry.com continues to invest in expanding family history interest in its current markets and worldwide,” continues the release. “Ancestry.com expects to invest more than $60 million over the next five years in the project alongside thousands of hours of volunteer efforts facilitated by FamilySearch.”
This kind of collaboration (rather than competition) between these two enormous organizations will likely mean fabulous fruits for the genealogist. I love that the emphasis is on worldwide records, too. Though people in certain international markets may be the ones using their records, the ancestors of those folks have come from all parts of the world. As always, stay tuned to Genealogy Gems to hear news like this and for updates as these records start becoming available.
by Lisa Cooke | Sep 11, 2013 | 01 What's New
Hilary Gadsby is the winner of our Virtual Conference Giveaway! Hilary lives in the UK, but because this is a virtual online conference, she can attend from the comfort of her own home. Awesome!
Hilary reposted yesterdays blog post about the giveaway on Facebook, and used the hashtag #GENEALOGYGEMS. She was randomly selected from all the entries (thanks everyone!) and will receive one free registration to Family Tree Magazine’s Fall 2013 Virtual Conference this weekend.
There’s still time to register for the conference. I’ll see you there!
by Lisa Cooke | Sep 10, 2013 | 01 What's New, Who Do You Think You Are?
According to The Hollywood Report, TLC has ordered a second season of the revived U.S. genealogy-themed TV series Who Do You Think You Are? The current season averaged 1.8 million viewers in first run episodes.
And good news: the episode buy medication for gonorrhea online order by TLC for next season has been increased from eight to ten!
You can listen to my interview with Producer Allie Orton in episode 158 of The Genealogy Gems Podcast, available in iTunes and here at Genealogy Gems.
