by Lisa Cooke | Nov 8, 2012 | 01 What's New, iPad
In my last post I shared Genealogy Gems Premium Member Cherie’s questions which revolved around using her iPad for Genealogy. I
answered her first question about using
Dropbox, and today I’ll answer her second question:
“How much confusion/trouble, etc., is there in working between a Windows platform on your computers, an Android platform on your phone (if that’s what you have), and an Apple platform on your iPad? My daughters are urging my to get the iPad, but everything else I work in is either Windows (computers) or Android (smartphone). Basically, I’m looking for comments from users of, especially, iOS and Windows. How easy is it to transfer and/or sync info between the two?”
I have the exact scenario Cherie describes: a PC, Android phone, and iPad. But it’s no problem!
Many apps are available across the various platforms. And as in my last post, Dropbox holds the key to super easy file sharing among your computing devices. I also have an iMac which I don’t use that often, because I personally prefer the PC. However, even though the iPad is an Apple product, it is a different, and easier, animal to deal with. In my book
Turn Your iPad into a Genealogy Powerhouse, I start you off by explaining the “tablet mindset,” which focuses on tasks and apps. Once you embrace that concept, the transition is a breeze.
By having Dropbox on your computer as well as the apps on your phone and tablet, you’ll be able to easily share all of your files between devices. Simply save the file to Dropbox on one device (and I recommend setting up various folders within Dropbox for further organization) and then open Dropbox on your other device and the file will be there waiting for you. And the real beauty of Dropbox is that if you alter the file on your tablet, as soon as you resave it the file will be synchronized through the Dropbox service and updated on all devices. You’ll never find yourself working on an outdated copy of a file again!
by Lisa Cooke | Nov 7, 2012 | 01 What's New, iPad
From the Genealogy Gems Mailbox:
I have 2 questions about using an iPad, although I think one of them applies to any tablet.
1) When you take photos how do you transfer them from your camera or phone onto your iPad?
2) And much more importantly, how much confusion/trouble, etc., is there in working between a Windows platform on your computers, an Android platform on your phone (if that’s what you have), and an Apple platform on your iPad? My daughters are urging my to get the iPad, but everything else I work in is either Windows (computers) or Android (smartphone). Basically, I’m looking for comments from users of, especially, iOS and Windows. How easy is it to transfer and/or sync info between the two?
Sincerely,
Cherie
Genealogy Gems Premium Member
Cherie, those are great questions, and ones that I am guessing many genealogists have! In this blog post I will tackle your first question:
1) When you take photos, and you want to transfer them from your camera or phone into your iPad the answer is simple: Dropbox.
Start by going to www.dropbox.com and taking just a few minutes to take the Dropbox tour at https://www.dropbox.com/tour. This gives you a quick overview of how it all works. Then sign up for a free account. Download Dropbox to your PC, and then install the free Dropbox app to your iPad, smart phone, etc.
Now that you’re all ready to go, when you snap a photo with your phone or iPad just upload it to Dropbox. You can then pick up the photo on any of your devices. Here’s how to do it:
- Open the Dropbox app on your phone or tablet and press the UPLOADS tab from the tab bar at the bottom of the screen.
- Press the plus sign
- Tap the photos (or videos) you want to send to Dropbox from the photo gallery.
- Press the UPLOAD button at the top of the screen.
- The photo will be filed in Dropbox under the first letter of the name of the image.
(Good news for iPad users with iOS version 4.0 or higher – longer uploads will continue to transfer even after you exit the app.)
Stay tuned to this blog because I will be answering Cherie’s second question in my next post!
by Lisa Cooke | Nov 6, 2012 | 01 What's New, Ancestry, Canadian
Free Access: Ancestry.ca is providing free access to select military records from some of the most popular collections, from November 8th to 12th, including records covering Soldiers of the First World War, the Rebellion of 1837 and the 
War of 1812, which can be accessed by visiting www.ancestry.ca/11remembrance.
Also, in honor of Remembrance Day, on November 1, 2012 Ancestry.ca announced the launch of more than 1.5 million new historical Canadian military records spanning more than 100 years. The following press release offers up all the details:
TORONTO (November 1, 2012) –
These new records, covering the First and Second World Wars, highlight the everyday lives of soldiers who served their country. The records which include military awards, service records and information on pay, will provide Canadians with a greater understanding of the men and women who fought in the conflicts that helped define this nation.
Two brand new Canadian collections: Canada, Military Honours and Award Citation Cards, 1900-1961, and Canada, Nominal Rolls and Paylists for the Volunteer Militia, 1857-1922, along with 30,000 new records in the existing Canada, War Graves Registers: Circumstances of Casualty, 1914-1948 collection, will be of great interest to any Canadians with military ancestors. Ancestry.ca has also added the UK, Commonwealth War Graves, 1914-1921 & 1939-1947 collection, which includes graves and memorials for Canadian soldiers who fought in the First and Second World Wars.
“Remembrance Day is such an emotional time for Canadians to reflect on the people who made the brave and often ultimate sacrifice for this nation and its ideals,” says Lesley Anderson, a genealogist and Content Manager at Ancestry.ca. “We are so happy and proud to be able to provide a forum for Canadians to discover more details about their military ancestors and the lives they lived through the preservation and digitization of these rare historical records.”
The collections, which launch on November 1, 2012, include:
Canada, Military Honours and Award Citation Cards, 1900-1961, containing almost 70,000 records documenting awards and honours received by Canadian service personnel, both men and women. Some records include valuable and rare information on the soldiers’ next of kin, a physical description, their home address and a description of the meritorious action.
Canada, Nominal Rolls and Paylists for the Volunteer Militia, 1857-1922, contains more than one million records that provide detailed information about a soldier’s everyday life, including payroll. The records also include travelling expenses, battalion or regiment, rank, pay for the use of a horse and signature of the member for received pay. These small details can help paint a richer picture of the day-to-day routine of Canada’s servicemen and women.
UK, Commonwealth War Graves, 1914-1921 & 1939-1947, contains more than 500,000 records and includes information from both World Wars. The records list names of grave sites and memorials maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and document who is buried in a cemetery and where, names of people with no known grave, next-of-kin and a history of military action in the area. The collection includes burial and memorial sites in about 150 different countries.
Canada, War Graves Registers: Circumstances of Casualty, 1914-1948, contains almost 30,000 new records added to the existing collection already available on Ancestry.ca. The collection includes military burial documents from Canada, as well as casualty records from the U.S., prisoners of war and members of the Australian Air Force, Polish Air Force and Royal New Zealand Air Force.
The collections also provide opportunities for Canadians to learn the details of service of some of the nation’s most famous soldiers, including:
- William Avery “Billy” Bishop – As a pilot in the First World War, Bishop achieved 72 kills, which made him the top Canadian ace in that war and earned him a Victoria Cross. The Toronto City Centre Airport is named after the award-winning Air Marshal.
- William George Barker – A pilot in the First World War, Barker is the most decorated war hero in Canadian history. Only two other servicemen have received as many medals from the British Empire for gallantry.
- John Weir Foote – Is the only member of the Canadian Chaplains’ Services to be awarded the Victoria Cross. In the Second World War, after a battle in Dieppe, France, Foote surrendered to the German Forces as a prisoner in order to be of help to the men that were captured. He remained with these men in captivity for almost three years.
- Helen Elizabeth Hansen – A Nursing Sister during the First World War, Hansen was awarded a military medal in 1919 for distinguished service in the field. She was known to be ready for any duty, while always remaining cool and courageous.
by | Oct 5, 2012 | 01 What's New, Google
With more than 20 million books digitized and online, Google Books is an amazing resource for genealogy, so much so that I devoted an entire chapter to it in my book The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox. However, Google Books has been under the cloud of a law suit from publishers and authors who say that Google’s digitization project violated their copyrights.
The good news is that yesterday the Association of American Publishers and Google announced that they have reached a settlement to end a lawsuit filed by five publishers in October 2005. Publishers will now be able to choose which books are included in the project. Read more about the settlement at USAToday.com.
To learn more about how to use Google Books for Genealogy, get my book The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox, in paperback or ebook.
by | Oct 3, 2012 | 01 What's New, Ancestry
While the world’s largest online family history resource, Ancestry.com, awaits a possible buy out, they are keeping busy 
buying other companies. Yesterday, Reuters reported that Permira Advisers LLP has emerged as the front-runner to take Ancestry private in a deal that could exceed $1.5 billion. (Read more about the possible acquisition at PEHUB)
Today, Ancestry released the following press release about the company’s latest acquisition, San Francisco based 1000Memories. You can learn more about 1000 Memories by listening to my interview with Michael Katchen, Director of Business Development at 1000Memories in Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode 119.
(PROVO, Utah) – Oct. 3, 2012 – Ancestry.com Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOM), the world’s largest online family history resource, announced today it has acquired 1000memories Inc., the San Francisco-based startup that has been focused on helping people digitize and share the estimated 1.7 trillion paper photos stored in their albums, attics, and shoeboxes.
Founded in 2010, 1000memories’ mission has been to help families and friends preserve their personal memories and share those memories with others. 1000memories will provide Ancestry.com members a compelling new way to share their family history discoveries with friends and family as well as scan and add their old photos to their family trees. It also brings an innovative team to the Ancestry.com family to advance Ancestry.com members’ abilities to share the past with others.
The 1000memories acquisition also brings with it the popular ShoeBox app that turns mobile phones into photo scanners providing an easy way to digitize, save, and share photos online or on-the-go. With more than 500,000 downloads since its launch, the ShoeBox app has become a popular way for people to get their old photos out of their shoeboxes and into the cloud.
To mark today’s announcement, 1000memories has launched a new version of ShoeBox for iOS, enabling Ancestry.com members to post photos directly to their forebears’ profiles on Ancestry.com. This is the first step in a broader plan that will see tighter integration of the two services in the coming months.
“1000memories has built a popular way for people to capture and share their memories,” said Eric Shoup, Executive Vice President of Product for Ancestry.com. “The addition of the 1000memories team, their website and the Shoebox mobile app provides a powerful boost to Ancestry.com’s mission of empowering our users to discover, preserve, and share their family histories.”
“We began with the idea that the web provides an amazing vehicle for capturing and sharing the memories we hold most precious,” said Rudy Adler, cofounder of 1000memories. “We’re excited to expand our reach to Ancestry.com’s millions of users and help them share and preserve their family stories in a beautiful way.”
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Ancestry.com does not expect the acquisition to have a material impact on its financial guidance as issued in connection with its second quarter earnings release on July 25, 2012. It’s expected that all 1000memories employees will join Ancestry.com effective immediately.
