Bill, I have - The Master Genealogist (TMG), Ultimate Family Tree (UFT) and Family Tree Maker (FTM). I use Ultimate Family Tree (UFT) for entering my data. But, use the other packages for different reasons. All packages have their plus and minus. It comes down to what a person has become use to. Ultimate Family Tree and Family Tree Maker are now owned by the same company. 1. Both The Master Genealogist and Ultimate Family Tree assume you have strong computer skills. They have a high learning curve. 2. Family Tree Maker (FTM) is the one I usually recommend for the person who wants an excellent product for entering and printing out reports and forms. Watch the boxes - they all seem to use Tree Maker in their title and it is easy to buy the wrong product. I have FTM because I like to use their CD's. 3. What I like about The Master Genealogist (TMG) is it will read in most files, they do not have to be in GEDCOM format, from other software products and convert it to TMG format. You can than create a GEDCOM file which can be used by another product. UFT until the last release would not create a GEDCOM file that I could share with others. I was afraid UFT would go out of business. If this happened I would not be able to transfer my data. 4. No matter which product you pick - It will take hours to enter your data. But, the time spent will be worth it. I recommend you enter a few generations and print out reports to test format. You may want to change how you enter the data. 5. BACKUP your data everyday - this is the first thing you will want to learn. Keep 2 sets of backups - one at home and the other at work or a friends house. Happy Hunting, Kathie Mirabella In a message dated 11/27/99 3:36:20 PM Eastern Standard Time, wmccallum@skantech.com writes: > > Would like some opinions quickly and then I will make a choice. > > I am using Windows 95 now and probably Windows 98 later. > > What I want to know is this: > > I plan for Santa to bring a new genealogy software package. Anybody got > ideas or opinions on which is the best? Possibly some reasons for their > recommendations or opinions. > > It will be greatly appreciated. My current software is old and not that > friendly or useful. Want to get something that will be around for a while and > is universally accepted. > > Please help....thank you. Maybe with your help and my hints, Santa will > bring me the right package. Ha! > > Bill McCallum > wmccallum@skantech.com