Reviews (3)

Lots af useful data - very complete
I do not know about others but so far I have been mining data from the CDs for over 4 months and don't see and end to it, I come across linked names and locations and find new sources everytime, the 20 cd set is the most complete I have seen.

The collectors version is the most complete and very detail, unless your family name is krsoifj from eslobacovia then you may have a hard time, but it "may be" there; just have to search harder!

Very good I recommend.

Watch out if you're migrating from Family Origins
I bought Family Tree Maker (FTM) for two reasons: (1) It is the most popular genealogy program among people that I share databases with, and (2) I was using Family Origins, but support for Family Origins has been discontinued.

In trying to get you to switch from Family Origins to FTM, they tell you, "Your Family Origins data imports accurately into Family Tree Maker via the GEDCOM format." I found this not completely true. I have run into serious problems in porting data from Family Origins to FTM. So far, I have found that key words are dropped from custom facts, long notes are truncated, and suffixes such as "Jr." are dropped from names. In addition, notes that Family Origins associated with facts are disassociated from the facts and dropped into the person's general Notes bucket, so that these notes lose their contexts, and many of them no longer make sense. And I expect to find more problems, as I have only begun sifting through the 1,197 warnings and error messages generated during the import. Another case of false advertising for FTM, to echo a charge made by other reviewers.

A number of customers on FTM's own message boards recommend migrating from Family Origins to RootsMagic. RootsMagic is supposedly done by the same people who did Family Origins.

On the other hand, this program is easy to use and produces nice reports and graphics, even better output than from Family Origins.

I'm surprised at the bitterness in other reviews regarding the CDs. I'm not so disappointed with the CDs, maybe because I wasn't expecting much from them anyway. If you rely heavily on CDs, you'll have to look at an awful lot of CDs to find many direct hits on your ancestors. In this set, I find several CDs interesting. Not bad.

Save your money
I was using Family Tree Maker 3.4 for a number of years. I decided to upgrade by purchasing Family Tree Maker 10.0 "Collector's Edition". I am pleased with Family Tree Maker version 10.0, but I was disappointed with the 20 CDs that were offered. The selection of data offered on the 20 CDs did not meet my expectations. I think it would be of marginal use by most people doing genealogical research.

I would suggest a person pay less and purchase the basic Family Tree Maker 10 by Broderbund. Additional money would be better spent on a subscription to genealogy.com or ancestry.com. Well, as I mentioned, I'm not disappointed with the Tree Maker version 10.0 software, just the selection of data on the 20 CDs. At the very least, I think it would be nice if the Web site had posted the titles of the 20 CDs included in the package. ... Read more

Features

• Twenty-six exotic species of fish are included here
• Watch in amazement as these 3D fish turn and swim
• Enhance your virtual aquarium with adjustable lighting, bubble and sound effects
• Watch your fish in silhouette or wire frame mode
• Peaceful and hypnotic, you'll feel as if you were underwater in the tropics, every time you look at your monitor!

Features

• Prepare for a first date, job interview, or cocktail party
• Impress friends, influence people, or simply brush up on interesting topics
• Speaking with confidence provides a verbal advantage
• Complete and easy-to-use resource offers the knowledge needed to succeed
• From Romanticism to Renaissance to the Pre-Modern Era, never again be left speechless

Features

• Search over 2 billion records: birth, passenger lists, etc.
• Collaborate with others on the same project
• Wall Chart for Ancentry and Descendants
• Fan, Hourglass and exclusive Bow Tie Charts
• Photo gallery of 14,000 historical images

Reviews (3)

Nice software
I have used this software for the past 6 months and I think it's great. There is a lot of features as far as recording your information. I even created a website using this software. It's not the most exciting website, however it presents the information in a clean and organized way. you can take a look at it at tomaskogenealogy.com. I only wish the instructions were more clear and detailed. I have tried an older version of Family Tree and didn't like it. Mostly for the same reasons of the reviews of others on this website. I hope this review helped.

Not that bad
This progam was the first of it's type I have used. However, I had little difficulty in building a reasonable data base, with photos, on those family members I had information on. It did take a little time to learn how to navigate around the program and to learn it's many features, many of which I am still discovering. However,I am finaly getting my arms around the snake nest of people within the immediate and extended family. And the price of this program is very reasonable. That said, I find that there is no easy way to gather the raw data needed to build a comprehensive family history. There are tools which might help gather information on some individuals but, considering the millions of people in the world and the relatively recent advent of computers, your chances of finding information on some distant relative on an existing data base is not that good. That takes time and effort which no program can do for you.

Not worth the time
I bought this program because it said it was easy to use on the box, well it turned out it was anything but that. I couldn't figure out how to use the different options and after about an hour of playing with it .. I gave up. ... Read more

Features

• Prepare for a first date, job interview, or cocktail party
• Impress friends, influence people, or simply brush up on interesting topics
• Speaking with confidence provides a verbal advantage
• Complete and easy-to-use resource offers the knowledge needed to succeed
• From Astronomy to the Universe to the Solar Systems, never again be left speechless

Features

• Prepare for a first date, job interview, or coffee house visit
• Impress friends, influence people, or simply brush up on interesting topics
• Speaking with confidence provides a verbal advantage
• Complete and easy-to-use resource offers the knowledge needed to succeed
• From Shakespeare to Dickens to Short Stories, never again be left speechless

Amazon.com Product Description

For years, the producers of Family Tree Maker have been digitizing centuries of genealogical information. They are able to provide you with the most in-the-box data, including records from both the U.S. and abroad, as well as other CD and online resources. For beginners and experts alike, Family Tree Maker is an easy and complete resource for building your family tree. Find ancestors with powerful search technology, personalized search plans, and access to the largest and highest-quality collection of genealogy data. Display your results with the widest variety of printouts available. You can even create family books and a personal home page. It's fun and easy to use--simply enter information you already know about your family. A data-entry wizard starts you on your journey of discovery, while a step-by-step how-to guide provides useful tips on tracing your ancestors in the U.S. and abroad. The new FamilyFinder Tips can be called up on demand to provide customized recommendations to further your search. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

As useful as a marshmallow crash helmet
Bought this software believing it would allow me to trace my family, and got a bunch of records that are of no relevance to anyone who doesn't hail from America. The template you can use is the only thing of use but is not worth the money the product costs. I would suggest you avoid this product unless you are only interested in American research.

Program is great but CD's are a waste of time
I don't know who wrote it originally, but I concur: the software program 'Family Tree Maker' is great. It's easy to use, offers a variety of ways to organize your family data, and lots of options for printouts. But you will be wasting your time and money to purchase any edition with the CD's. In the first place, you'll be wasting your time viewing the CD's. I've studied about 15 of them and never found one piece of pertinent information or genealogical leads. However, if you insist on looking, then go to your local LDS Family History Center where most of the CD's are available for viewing. A better use of time at your local FHC would be to study the materials they have available. In addition there are live people working there who are both knowledgeable and helpful and who can and will answer most of your genealogy questions.

Family Tree Maker Deluxe Collector's Edition 8.0
I did not find this product useful! So far, I have not found ANY new links or tree members as a result of this software (and I only have about a dozen at this writing). The software is slow and the search engines are poorly written (if you have a tree with only one member, and search for a surname beginning with 'T', the s/w wants to start with the 'A' index). You cannot search a CD unless the s/w finds an index reference to that particular CD. The instruction manual is **really** bad - and lacks directions to 'advanced' features.

Family Tree Maker Deluxe Collector's Edition 8.0
Do not waste your money on this version or any other packaged version that includes CDs with it. If you have a computer, access to the Internet and can type, you need not spend your money buying this product. The only thing worthwhile in this is the basic Family Tree Maker software. Everything else that is in this package, and more, can be found on ancestry.com!!

The 35CD Set Plus WFT Bundle 43-49
See my reviews under the Family Tree Maker 8.0 Deluxe 24-CD Set and 35-CD Set. This is the same as the 35-CD set with the addition of World Family Tree Vols 43-49. So you get the these WFT CDs for the difference in price. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Explore the world of creative design with The Print Shop's most powerful, versatile version yet. Bursting with more than 12,000 project templates (both on CD and online) and over 160,000 premium images (again, on CD and online), this software gives you everything you need to get your creative juices flowing and come up with exciting and beautiful projects.

The Print Shop 15 makes you the master of on-paper projects. From personalized greetings to colorful banners, from eye-catching signs to warm invitations--and much, much more--you can design projects for every occasion. A friendly and intuitive interface and powerful wizards make it easy to feel comfortable getting started. You can even save your files in professional PDF format for bulk printing at the local print shop.

Achieve flawless results with powerful design features like Color Set Creator, professionally designed headlines and fonts, and Card Converter. Transform your snapshots into masterpieces with a complete, integrated photo workshop. Edit, crop, and correct anything. When you're done, experiment with an array of eye-catching special effects. If you can imagine it, you can design and create it with The Print Shop. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

exasperating
The standard version is just a teaser to get you to buy the upgrade to the "Deluxe" version. After getting the software installed, you then find that it can't even change the paper size. The on-line instructions aren't customized for each version so you'll spend a lot of time wondering why selections aren't available. Of course with the deluxe you get video editing, which if you don't need it is just software bundling at it's worst.

Very Poor Photo Printing
Bottom line: does a poor job of printing photo's. Tried the help desk, but they knew little more than me.

I wanted to like this program. It's the only one that I could find that would allow me to print the inside of a card and then the outside. That would negate the need to feed a printed photo back through my printer to print the inside. I have a 2ghz Dell and a Canon S820 printer which does a great job printing photo's.

I inserted a high res photo into my card. The print out was very grainy. I tried lightening the photo and it helped a little. I then printed the same photo OUTSIDE of Print Shop and it looked great Obviously the problem is within Print Shop. I sent it back. I can't believe it would print photo's so bad, but it did.

Good Enough
I have enjoyed using this program. I haven't had any problems with it. There are plenty of graphics, with more "free" ones available online. The photo tools are nice and east to use. If you want a straight-forward print program to make signs, flyers, cards, envelopes, newsletters, etc., this is for you.

You get what you pay for
Broderbund is very deceptive when they say you can save your files as PDF's for bulk printing at your local printshop. As someone who works for a print shop I can tell you we CRINGE when we get these files. All pdfs are not created equal and there are invaribly problems with anything created in this program that is not going to be placed on the glass and copied.

You want home publishing, get MS Publisher. ...

If I made a print package: this would not be it..
I borrowed this from my sister in-law, and should have known something was wrong when she said, "keep it". It's time consuming and lead's to alot of frustration. If you only want basic, simple project's, this might work. I was dissapointed in it's overall capabilities. ... Read more

Features

• Prepare for a first date, job interview, or coffee house visit
• Impress friends, influence people, or simply brush up on interesting topics
• Speaking with confidence provides a verbal advantage
• Complete and easy-to-use resource offers the knowledge needed to succeed
• From the Civil War to the Great Depression to the U.S. Government

Amazon.com Product Description

From personalized greetings to colorful banners, eye-catching signs, and more, The Print Shop Essentials 15 lets you create projects for every occasion. The CD contains more than 8,000 images and 1,000 templates. Go online to add another 102,000 images and 6,000 templates.

Jump right in with the friendly interface and smart wizards that make learning The Print Shop Essentials 15 a breeze. Enhance your projects with amazing artwork and photographs, and turn your own photographs into masterworks with a photo workshop that lets you edit, crop, correct, and explore an array of amazing special effects. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Access is "iffy"
I've owned previous versions of this product, and I enjoyed using them. I found switching CDs a little annoying though, and welcomed the idea of one disk, with most of the art stored online, without taking up space on my computer.

The art is wonderful; my real complaint with the program is the website access. All too often, I find myself in the middle of designing something when suddenly an object cannot download. There appears a blurb from the manufacturer telling you to try again later. Sometimes "later" is just a few moments later, other times it can be quite a while. Also, I find that the thumbnails are a little slow appearing, making scrolling through the art time consuming. I would give this product a much higher rating if it wasn't for this unreliability. I like the PrintShop, but I just bought Version 20 Deluxe, to be installed when I install my larger hard drive. I haven't installed it yet; I'm reading reviews here to see if anything else sounds more promising.

Experienced Print Shop user
I bought the print shop deluxe version 15 because I had been very pleased with its previous editions. Well not with this one. It installed only part of the program, I uninstalled the whole program and started installation again, but the program insists it is already installed. So here I sit with a new program that is useless. Have contacted Broderbund but have not had a reply. Have had the computer checked out and it is the program not the computer causing the problem.

Terrible Software - Does edit photos
This is terrible software. I gave it two stars because it does edit photos and I needed that feature, but, overall I am very sorry that I spent my money before looking at these reviews.

The interface is AWFUL! For example, if you want to add a rectangle you would think you would just click on a rectangle tool and draw it. Nope! Instead you click on "Insert Shape", then you get a dialog box of possible shapes. You have to select the shape you want and the color in this dialog box. Then you click OK. Now you have a rectangle that you can reshape.

The Wizards are OK, but the designs are very lame and unprofessional. The system creates some integrated letterhead and business cards, but you wouldn't want to use them.

I bought this ... figuring, ...how much worse can it be than Microsoft Publisher 2000? Afterall, this isn't rocket science. The answer was MUCH worse!

Is there an award for Worst Software Imaginable?
This is great if you want to send a note to your Aunt Helen. Anything more substantial and it is full of quirks and bugs. Huge Waste of Money----the programmers should be lined up and shown the door or preferably worse.

No Manual
This is a disappointment for the high price as it has no manual. I've enjoyed previous versions of P.S. Deluxe, and this is the first that didn't include a paper manual. I don't like reading instructions on the computer screen/electronic manuals. ... Read more

Features

• Ancient card-reading combined with CD-ROM software
• Ask questions in the Reading Room
• Receive answers about personal romance, finance, and more
• Reveal the past, present, and future in full color on your monitor
• Archive and print previous readings

Features

• Browse through incredible historical documents -Early voter rolls, ships' logs from Ellis Island, military rolls from the Civil War, even the passenger list from the Titanic
• One-click searching makes it easy to find leads on your ancestors -- then import them into a family tree, with just another click
• View two Family Files simultaneously, to check for differences -- and copy & paste between them
• Add your own notes to each branch of the family tree
• Simple database tools make organizing your data collection more simple and effective

Amazon.com Product Description

Calendar Creator 9 puts you in control of your busy schedule without compromising personal style. Loaded with thousands of premium graphics, eye-catching fonts, and even photo editing tools, this program has everything you need to satisfy your creative side. Plus, ready-made layouts in a huge variety of versatile formats and a host of advanced scheduling features ensure that your calendar creations are as practical as they are artistic.

Select and customize a professionally designed layout, or design your calendar from scratch. Customize your creation with more than 110,000 premium images, themed collections, colors, and your own photos. Create subtle backgrounds with your favorite images with Tint Control.Turn your favorite snapshots into art with the Photo Workshop, featuring powerful new editing options like Repair Tool, Warp & Distort, Brush Support, and Gamma Correction.Add appointments, birthdays, and other important events to your onscreen schedule. Use streamlined organizational tools to schedule repeat events and edit calendar entries in seconds. Find a format to fit every need--view a day, a week, or even a year at a glance. Even print pages to fit your favorite planner. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Will not install using XP
I could not get Calendar Creator 9 to install on my Dell using Windows XP.

Calender Creator 9
This item has a lot of variety! You have to take the time to go through all that is offered .... the help page tells you all you need to do as far as details.
I would buy this item again.
I would have found it more helpful to have a manual instead of the online help. It's more convenient than having to log online to use the help button.

Gets worse with every version
The Calendar Creator 9 packaging lists among features: "Save as HTML, Bitmap or JPEG." After you install it, you find that this feature is available only in the Deluxe Edition. I can't get CC9 (or CC8) to print correctly in PCL or Postscript. I didn't have these problems in the early versions.

DO NOT BUY THIS!
I've never seen such a blatant display of false advertising. The box says "Save as HTML, Bitmap, or JPEG", and when you run the software you find that you can't save in any of the those formats. Go to their website and it will tell you this option is not available with Calendar Creator 9, but if you buy the Deluxe version...

Even if you don't care about this feature, please don't let such a ripoff go unpunished. Who knows what other shortcuts they took? There's plenty of calendar software out there - try something else.

Lost Touch
I've used Calendar Creator since it first came out and it was a wonderful product until taken over by the big software companies. Not only has it become more difficult to install and use, technical support has fallen to the worst I've had experience to use. The older versions would allow you to print horizontal half-page calendars which allowed for more room for daily comments. I've called technical support several time to try to work this out in versions 7 & 8 with no response. If it does it, they won't tell you. What's the alternative? I haven't found one yet. ... Read more

Features

• Prepare for a first date, job interview, or coffee house visit
• Impress friends, influence people, or simply brush up on interesting topics
• Speaking with confidence provides a verbal advantage
• Complete and easy-to-use resource offers the knowledge needed to succeed
• From Romanticism to the Renaissance to the Pre-Modern Era

Reviews (2)

Family Tree Maker V5
This is a great product and I would highly recommend it for a beginner. I have no problem saving data. It saves automatically. It allows you to fill in the blanks to add info and also gives you tons of room to add notes. It also gives you a variety of methods for report viewing and printing. Info can also be used in "copy/paste format". I studied and priced alot of this kind of software, and decided to invest in a least costly product for my first purchase. I will definately update as I get more info and experience in geneology.

Simple to use, hard to save and retrieve
I really enjoy this program and have found it excellent for saving all of my family data. But it's method of saving is a bit obscure. It has what is a backup system to floppies which can not be read from, but must be reloaded to a hard drive instead to be read. I find this tedious, and would much rather the program save to floppies like most programs and then be able to read the information directly from those floppies. I have also found that I have had little luck finding ancestors on any of the additional CDs, so would not recommend purchasing anything beyond the 4CD set. Although you might get lucky, one never knows. It really depends on where your family came from and where they settled in the United States. Otherwise it is a very user friendly program and a great way to store family information and photographs and I would recommend it to anyone trying to organize their genealogy. ... Read more

Features

• This set of four CD Cardz gives fans a breakdown of Mario Lemieux, Patric Roy, Marc Messier and Brett Hull
• Get complete athlete's bios, player stats and photo galleries
• Includes screensavers, wallpaper, and e-cards
• Watch interviews with them and see them at work in the highlight clips
• Almost as good as getting on the ice with your favorite players

Reviews (1)

Player Power book, rocks!
This is the future of multiplayer, I could't believe the fact that this title is buried below EA and hitz. Starz 2003 is a collection of Player info, video clips, trivia, games, screensaver and postcardz. The real deal is Player PowerBook, the online gaming function where I can compete against everybody in trivia games and rankings, I have to get the next set!

Rock On! Go Wings ... Read more