​PAGE NOT BEING UPDATED

TECHNOLOGY STUFF

This is a new section on my website and I plan to include technology-related information relating to genealogy and genetic genealogy, including information for the iPad, Photoshop tips for genealogy, and Excel as I use it for genetic genealogy. I'll have to see how to split the pages up, so watch this space!

For the time being, I'm just adding some links below.

iPad Tips

Lisa Louise Cooke (Genealogy Gems) did a great presentation at the 2014 Rootstech Conference, Become an iPad Power User (this is the link to the recording of her livestreamed talk). Her handout is available at www.lisalouisecooke.com/ipad.pdf (Rootstech screwed up with a link to her correct handout, and you need the correct one, shown on the link here, for the instructions).  Every day I use my iPads (as in plural, I have an iPad 2 and iPad Air) as well as a laptop – I added the following to my iPads:
Check out iosbookmarklets.com for a whole host of additional bookmarklets.
Video Tutorial: How to Setup the Evernote Bookmarklet on an Apple iPad (2:35)

Recommended Google Chrome Extensions

I use Google Chrome as my main browser and like the following extensions:

What I Use

  • Weebly – used to create this website and blog, although I do write code for certain features from scratch (I'm not a programmer, so the code is quite basic) and I modified the style sheets to customize the overall layout. There is a good free version of Weebly and you can have up to 10 websites from the same account, but I use a paid version (the lowest cost one) for $79 for 2 years (in 2013). Unless you have the website hosted (by Weebly or elsewhere – I use GoDaddy), your website address will include "Weebly" in the URL and you won't have the option to remove "Weebly" from the footer of each page (I looked for somewhere to tweak the code, but their programmers outsmarted me). Several people have asked how I create this website, so I hope that means they like it!
  • Broken Link Checker (free) – scans webpages for bad hyperlinks
  • Feedly – used as my RSS feeder, for when blogs don't have the facility for updates via e-mail (which I prefer). Note to Self: Try Blogtrottr (yes, without the "e"), which sends RSS feeds via e-mail.
  • Backblaze – used for backup of all my PC data (also works for Mac). I've been using this for a while now and I'm very impressed, as it works in the background and I don't have to remember to do any backups. It also allows me to access any of my files via the web, in the event I need them wherever I am. The other big plus is that there is no limit on the amount of data that can be stored and backed up – for the amount of data I have (especially tens of thousands of high resolution images), their very modest cost ($5/month for each computer) is much less expensive than paying for back-up on a gigabyte basis.
  • PrimoPDF – is a free PDF converter, which converts all sorts of files (including webpages) to PDFs. This is a great program, which I've been using for years, and in some respects is better than the paid version NitroPDF (which I bought and use primarily for adding a signature to documents, without having to scan a paper copy) and also better than the full version of Adobe Acrobat (which I also have) for making PDFs of webpages. I like to make PDFs of certain webpages, in the event they are eventually removed.
  • Snagit – screen capture, mark-up, and sharing (much easier than marking up in Photoshop). A trial version is available, and also a free version (but I upgraded from the free version). Highly recommended and well worth $49.95 (March 2016 price).

  • <ADD MORE>

Photoshop and Image Capture

Photoshop for Genealogists – there are a few pretty simple things that can make a world of difference to improve scanned family photographs, while retaining the "old" look, for example, removing mould/mold spots, disguising cracks or tears, improving fading, straightening something that is cock-eye (this is particularly important for the achieving great-looking signatures – see Home Page and Boulton Signatures), judicious cropping (especially for head-shots on Pedigree Charts), etc. And there are ways to allow a larger image to be created and printed, without losing resolution, as long as the original image is sharp – "upsizing" alone, without other manipulations, doesn't work. 

Initially just some odd notes and links:
  • JPEG, TIF, PNG – What You need to Know about File Formats – short blog posting that might be helpful if you don't want a lot of technical language to explain the file formats used for images.
  • How to Get Started with Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud – 10 Things Beginners Want to Know: YouTube video (46:25) – I use Photoshop CS5 (released 2010) and Photoshop 6 was released in mid-2012, but Creative Cloud is the only way to "buy" Photoshop now and it requires a subscription (I don't like that aspect, so I'm sticking with my old CS5!). This is a good video for the most common things people want to do, which would still be useful for CS5, CS6, and possibly also Photoshop Elements – it's fast-paced and certainly not basic, but it does include some things that Photoshop novices would be interested in learning how to do, so it's worth a watch.
  • Personal Digital Archiving: The Basics of Scanning (Library of Congress, 27 Mar 2014) – but I disagree with one point made in this, where the recommendation is to use the black and white settings when scanning a black and white image; everywhere else I've read (and what I do myself) is to scan using the settings for color.
  • <ADD MORE>

​Google Nik Collection, photo editing software suite, previously $150, is now FREE – I've downloaded it and the YouTube video (Here) looks great, but I haven't tried it yet.
 

Miscellaneous Links

​
  • www.take-a-screenshot.org – a really useful link to send to someone who doesn't know how to take a screenshot, as it covers Windows, Mac, iOS (iPad, iPhone, iPod touch), Android, etc.
  • www.isitdownrightnow.com – this checks whether a website you are having issues with is "down" or not
  • Microsoft's Snipping Tool – I use this all the time, as it's great for screen-shots and clips, with annotation capabilities (although I rarely use the latter). Available from 2007 onwards, so available if you have Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8 (Home Premium versions and above). There's a useful blog posting from Louise Coakley, Genie1, 4 May 2014, Snipping Tool for Genealogy and More
  • SpeedFan is freesoftware (supported by donations) that reads the temperatures of the computer's motherboard and hard disk, reads voltages and fan speeds and checks the status of the hard disk – I have got to try this 
only search Genealogy Junkie

Page updated 25 March 2016