jrw 0 Report post Posted December 19, 2011 (edited) Last announcement May 2011 Last live chat 2010 Previously hoped release date christmas 2010 Information from wholly genes? Nothing Truthfully this is very disappointing to those of us who have remained faithful. I even updated my exhibit paths this month in the hopes of hearing about TMG 8. I will confess I did install FTM on my machine and import my data base because i was curious about what has changed. What I like: 1. Seamless integration with ancestry web site 2. Easy import of documents and census data 3. Easily imports my pictures to a chart (something I havent been able to do with VCM in quite some time because of the size of my images) 4. Frequent updates - it updated at least once since i installed it already 5. Modern looking interface 6. Place atlas ( although some of my places are not listed, and I do understand that modern atlas ignores the reality of county formation What i dont like 1. It appears (so far) I can only assign one picture 2. It seems to be confused by multiple names for the same person in my data base 3. I really hate the why it shows people unless I look in time line. I like to track folks through the census data and see what i am missing, this is much easier in TMG where i move quickly between comparable parent children view 4. Still cant figure out how to print a report with my reference data (would like to make my sisters DAR application trivial). 5. Small working window and lack of understanding (by me) of what happens when I import census data which includes other family members 6. I find it somewhat difficult to work on multiple family members at teh same time. Overall I prefer hard research in TMG, but bring stuff down from web soucres FTM clearly wins atm. The experience of waiting does point out several of the long standing issues with TMG 1. Dated VCM module 2. Chronic problem with handling census has led to many census systems. I still use the Betty Frain system. This was an issue for me when I bought TMG3 and remains one 3. Lack of integration/easy import of web based data 4. Lack of any kind of auto fill for standard modern places Wont even comment on the well known fox pro and 32/64 problems. I am having trouble understanding why Bob doesnt/wont communicate with the user base to either instill confidence or despair. I really would prefer to stick with TMG but I do use ancestry an awful lot. I understand the one click additions make it some many people who are not careful add errors rather than data, and have seen that on pedigrees that have my family, BUT I would love to be able to one click import SSDI, Census, draft registration etc. Can someone at least let us know what the future holds for TMG? This was a concern I expressed many years ago when I bought TMG. I remember offending Bob by asking how would I be sure it would be updated over the years if I made the switch I am sure there are things I missed, but I needed to vent. jrw Edited December 19, 2011 by jrw Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy3rd 0 Report post Posted December 19, 2011 You must have missed this... http://www.whollygenes.com/forums201/index...c=14022&hl= Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jrw 0 Report post Posted December 19, 2011 I saw the thread and the issues with Bob's computer. My issue is really more why doesnt he talk to us. I know the live chat appears to be a thing of the past, but he hasnt appeared in a LONG time here Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Byram 0 Report post Posted December 19, 2011 http://www.whollygenes.com/tmgnew8.htm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nbradley 0 Report post Posted December 19, 2011 Thanks Jim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jrw 0 Report post Posted December 22, 2011 Its good news it is up. That and the TMG8 category happened after I posted. I did indeed purchase the upgrade. I STILL wish Bob would discuss some of the other points... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Terry Reigel 0 Report post Posted December 22, 2011 jrw, Could you amplify a bit on the "Chronic problem with handling census" you mention above? I see TMG's flexibility in handling census data as one of its strengths, so I don't understand your viewpoint. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jrw 0 Report post Posted December 23, 2011 Sure. Happy to respond. Overall I like the information supplied when i enter a census. I have used to Betty Frain system for years. I struggle each time a new census is released, or as currently , when i need to enter census data from the canadian census. My system is like hers, but i also take the jpg of the census from ancestry and link it to my entry so i dont have to search for the original again. I have always wondered why some decent system for census, templates for census arent hard wired in. I freely admit that on some issues (since i do descents of my lines) I prefer to be a little quicker than on my own ancestry. I LOVE that I can go on ancestry site with FTM and find the census, click merge and decide which folks to link and get the image and the timeline event. I FREELY admit there are problems with this (linking to the wrong person, people who dont show, dates, names that are off, spellings that are off, assumptions about relationships). Which system for census data do you use? Wouldnt you like the reference and the jpg to auto import (or have you found a way)? I do like that when i enter data in TMG I do it from the person screen and create and event for that entry. Why can't this be done in some sort of auto fashion off the ancestry site. I am REALLY not addicted to typing everything in, just to making sure it is correct. jrw Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jrw 0 Report post Posted December 23, 2011 BTW i also still wish that external drives/usb drives worked for taking your project with you... jrw Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Terry Reigel 0 Report post Posted December 23, 2011 I have always wondered why some decent system for census, templates for census arent hard wired in. I suspect it's because few users of TMG can agree on the "right" way to record census data. Some what a census tag to record all the data on the census record. Others want to use the census mainly for sources on various tags (name, birth, parent/child, marriage, occupation, immigration, for example) and only want data that is not used elsewhere in the census tag. Some want each person to have his or her own tag to facilitate export to GEDCOM. Others want everyone in the household recorded in a single tag. Of the latter, some want the tag to only show relationships recorded in the census, while others want to record relationships established from other sources. Some want to use "census people" to facilitate special reporting, as you do. Others don't see the value in that. Which system for census data do you use? My system is described in this article on my website - other articles linked there describe the custom Tag Types and Source Types I use. In essence, I use the census tag to create a "snapshot" of the family, showing where they lived, who was in the household and how they were related, and any information offered about their life-style. It focuses on narrative output. All other information is used as sources for other Tags, and not included in the census tag. Wouldnt you like the reference and the jpg to auto import (or have you found a way)? No, I don't want the jpg imported as an exhibit - I prefer to keep them outside of TMG. I'm not quite sure what you mean by "reference," but if you mean the citation, I don't agree with the way Ancestry does them. If you mean extracting the data, I don't see how that could work. I don't want TMG to decide which tags to cite, nor to change things like names and birth date and place in existing tags based on the census record. I don't see how it could figure out which people in my database are the ones in the census record in order to enter them into a census tag. If one's idea of a "proper" census tag is just to record exactly what is in the census records, an auto-entry system might work, provided you trust Ancestry's transcription (I often find them wrong) and you don't want people other than the subject entered in the tag. But that doesn't seem to me like the way most users use census tags in TMG. Maybe I'm wrong there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Neil Grantham 0 Report post Posted December 23, 2011 BTW i also still wish that external drives/usb drives worked for taking your project with you...jrw Take with you in what way? To use on someone elses system? Your Work PC? TMG is flexible enough to be able to save a project to any attached device such as an external USB Hard drive etc For me, I have installed Dropbox - a free online repository - that syncs my data from my PC and then to my Work PC or laptop as needed. The beauty of that way is that wherever I open TMG, it picks up where I left off, so if I was last looking at Fred SMITH on my PC, when I open TMG at work, it brings back up Fred SMITH (once I've allowed the short time dropbox takes to synch the project) Alternately, before I discovered Dropbox, I used to Backup my dataset and then copy it to a USB drive and Restore it elsewhere. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
