Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Today, I received an email from the makers of FTM who are hosting a webinare to try and get people more familiar with the FTM 2008 program. I also received a first - a survey to ask me what I liked and disliked about the program. Evidently FTM 2008 is not being embraced by enough people. For me it has been an unpleasant program to work with and I have removed it from my computer and have reverted to a much earlier version. I am not a Luddite - but if a program like FTM 2008 doesn't work easily or make my hobby easier, then I have no time to fuss with it.
FTM 2008 is for me the Edsel of genealogy programs for two reasons. First, the developers have created a program for genealogy beginners, one that is very tightly tied to Ancestry.com's fee based product lines accessible through their web site, and two, the developers have completely forgotten how advanced hobbyists approach family groups.
And like the dashboard of the 1958 Edsel, the user interface of FTM 2008 is full of lots of clutter, distractions and commands which seem to be counter intuitive. I would assume that for older users, this clutter would make it not only difficult to add data, but would also make those who use it yearn for Version 11, the last "plain Jane" version of the program.
What I wanted to see on this program was greater functionality in its report generator area and its ability (when exporting *.rtf reports) to better interface with standardized office productivity suites (MSWORD, etc.) - which is an issue with the core program not being updated to work with non-ancestry fee based services.
It just seems to me that with all the advances in data manipulation available today that the people behind FTM could do a better job at charting marriage between families and within families, but they seem to have a finite skill set and think that enough tinkering will distract people from the lack of innovation that their products feature.
In my personal opinion, this version of this program is not only unnecessarily complicated, and makes no real strives beyond what previous versions accomplished.
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Family Tree Maker 2008 DeluxeWhether you're new to family history or a seasoned genealogist, Family Tree Maker 2008 makes it easy for you to discover, preserve and share your family history.Windows XP (Home and Pro) SP2/Vista, Pentium II 500 MHz processor or equivalent (recommended Pentium III 1 GHz or equivalent), 256 MB RAM (512 MB RAM recommended), 400 MB free hard-disk space (additional space required for data files), 2X CD-ROM drive or faster & DVD-ROM drive for bonus content [recommended 32X CD/CD-R (CD-R required for the Backup to CD Feature)], Monitor with 800 x 600 resolution (recommended Monitor with 1024 x 768 resolution), Keyboard and mouse, Note: ALL online features require internet access. Administrator privileges are required to properly install the program on Windows XP and Windows Vista. User is responsible for internet service provider account, all internet access fees, and phone charges.
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