Carol, If you use Netscape, I hope you haven't spent your money on Ancestry, yet! With Netscape, Ancestry only works with versions 4.6 or 7.0. I used Ancestry's link to update from Netscape 6.0 to 7.0. However, Ancestry's link actually took me to version 7.1, not 7.0, which I didn't notice until it was installed in my computer. Ancestry's census images can't be read or printed with 7.1, so I attempted to un-install 7.1. It didn't completely un-install. I had to send to Netscape and buy a CD of version 7.0. That still didn't work. To make a long story short, I was without my desktop computer for over five months, while it was in the shop . Eventually everything had to be wiped out of the drive and new programs reinstalled. Fortunately, my genealogy files were in my laptop. Also, If you are on a fixed income, the way Ancestry bundles their services gets very, very expensive! And, yes, I realize that the services they provide cost them a lot. But, the arrogance of their tech staff - if you can even ferret them out - leaves a lot to be desired. My recommendation is to use Ancestry, sparingly, if at all. More and more web sites are springing up. You might try "Googling" the thing for which you are searching. Good Luck. Mary Harris wrote: >Hello again, >I've been asked by quite a few which of the 2 won. Here are the results - thought it interesting, but also found it very interesting that the same company owns both! >Ancestry.com 13 votes >Genealogy.com 0 votes >Godfrey.org 3 votes >Neither 0 >I guess I know what to do! >Carol Harris >Granbury. Texas > > >==== PABRADFO Mailing List ==== >Please post all surname listings and surname or family queries on the Query section of Tri-Counties site at http://www.rootsweb.com/~srgp/jmtindex.htm > > > > >

I agree. I have been researching for only 5 years, but I have found everything I ever needed online. Census look-ups are available for free on rootsweb census email lists or if you need to see the actual census you can purchase them on CD's for less than $20 and use them at will, then sell them when you are through. I have never talked with anyone who got their money's worth out of one of these subscriptions. Just would hate to see anyone throw money away. Supporting FREE genealogy! Mike Wennin Check out The Little Museum http://www.thelittlemuseum.org Come Visit the Cameron County Genealogy Project! http://www.rootsweb.com/~pacamero ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mary Wozniak" <jwozniak@triton.net> To: <PABRADFO-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2004 10:38 PM Subject: Re: [Tri-Counties] Ancestry vs. Genealogy.com > Carol, > If you use Netscape, I hope you haven't spent your money on Ancestry, > yet! With Netscape, Ancestry only works with versions 4.6 or 7.0. I > used Ancestry's link to update from Netscape 6.0 to 7.0. However, > Ancestry's link actually took me to version 7.1, not 7.0, which I > didn't notice until it was installed in my computer. Ancestry's census > images can't be read or printed with 7.1, so I attempted to un-install > 7.1. It didn't completely un-install. I had to send to Netscape and > buy a CD of version 7.0. That still didn't work. To make a long story > short, I was without my desktop computer for over five months, while it > was in the shop . Eventually everything had to be wiped out of the > drive and new programs reinstalled. Fortunately, my genealogy files > were in my laptop. > > Also, If you are on a fixed income, the way Ancestry bundles their > services gets very, very expensive! And, yes, I realize that the > services they provide cost them a lot. But, the arrogance of their tech > staff - if you can even ferret them out - leaves a lot to be desired. > > My recommendation is to use Ancestry, sparingly, if at all. More and > more web sites are springing up. You might try "Googling" the thing for > which you are searching. Good Luck. > > Mary > > Harris wrote: > > >Hello again, > >I've been asked by quite a few which of the 2 won. Here are the results - thought it interesting, but also found it very interesting that the same company owns both! > >Ancestry.com 13 votes > >Genealogy.com 0 votes > >Godfrey.org 3 votes > >Neither 0 > >I guess I know what to do! > >Carol Harris > >Granbury. Texas > > > > > >==== PABRADFO Mailing List ==== > >Please post all surname listings and surname or family queries on the Query section of Tri-Counties site at http://www.rootsweb.com/~srgp/jmtindex.htm > > > > > > > > > > > > > ==== PABRADFO Mailing List ==== > To unsubscribe to the Tri-Counties mail list see directions from the front page of the Tri-Counties site at http://www.rootsweb.com/~srgp/jmtindex.htm >

I support free genealogy too, Mike, but I'm also strongly in favor of the online "for profit" companies. They serve a valid purpose and my experiences with them have been very good. I have online subscriptions with both Ancestry.com and Genealogy.com. I have been more pleased with Ancestry.com, especially the quality of the census images. The indexes for the 1900 and 1910 censuses at Genealogy.com have been a big help but the images are not as good. I'm guessing that many of those "free" lookups you are getting are coming from kind-hearted souls with paid subscriptions. You're benefiting without realizing it. Additionally, through experimentation I've learned techniques for saving full census pages that are readable giving me the permanent source material I need to support my database information. Regarding the software issues mentioned by some, I have an old 450 megahertz machine that started out with Windows 98 First Edition and is now running Windows XP. No reformats. No corrupted programs. The only hardware problem was a CPU fan going out while still under warranty. My Best Buy extended warranty was good insurance. The guy came to the house and replaced it, no charge. Only thirty minutes down time. I have heard the horror stories of weeks in the shop. If that had happened to me and they didn't have it back in a week, I'd go get it and find somebody else who knows what they are doing. If they can fix it the same day for a work computer, they can certainly do it in a week for a home computer. To put things in perspective, I've bee doing genealogy for thirty years this coming July. I have done it the old snail-mail and microfilm way and the new e-mail, online way. I much prefer the latter. Now, Mike, although you haven't talked with me directly, you have it straight from the horse's mouth that commercial online enterprises do provide a good value. Happy Hunting! Ray Justus Chandler, Arizona

I've been away and missed last month's discussion re Ancestry.com vs. Genealogy.com. I'm glad to find out that I'm not the only one who can't read Ancestry's census images with Netscape and now, reading this message from Mary, I'm very very glad I just gave up on the problem and only visit Ancestry.com in Internet Explorer. I use both Ancestry.com vs. Genealogy.com, and my chief complaint about Genealogy.com is that it's extremely tedious to wade through search results and getting worse as more databases are added. But in spite of that, the Family and Local Histories subscription at Genealogy.com has been very useful to me and probably worth every dollar I've spent on it. Not many of those old regional histories and genealogies are available online in any form. (Tri-Counties researchers are truly blessed having such a huge data collection transcribed and searchable for free!) Genealogy.com has saved me countless hours and $'s for travel to distant libraries where you are often not allowed to make photocopies of fragile old books. Much of the material they have online has been microfilmed, but ordering and reading microfilm also involves time and money and inconvenience. Long ago I found my ggg grandparents in the Tri-Counties transcription of Craft's history of Bradford Co., but until I looked at the images of the actual pages at Genealogy.com, I had no idea that Craft had included pictures of them and their residence. That discovery alone convinced me that I'd gotten my money's worth. Annie Sullivan At 10:38 PM 5/13/2004 -0400, Mary Wozniak wrote: >Carol, If you use Netscape, I hope you haven't spent your money on >Ancestry, yet! With Netscape, Ancestry only works with versions 4.6 or >7.0. I used Ancestry's link to update from Netscape 6.0 to 7.0. However, >Ancestry's link actually took me to version 7.1, not 7.0, which I didn't >notice until it was installed in my computer. Ancestry's census images >can't be read or printed with 7.1, so I attempted to un-install 7.1. It >didn't completely un-install. I had to send to Netscape and buy a CD of >version 7.0. That still didn't work. To make a long story short, I was >without my desktop computer for over five months, while it was in the shop >. Eventually everything had to be wiped out of the drive and new programs >reinstalled. Fortunately, my genealogy files were in my laptop. > >Also, If you are on a fixed income, the way Ancestry bundles their >services gets very, very expensive! And, yes, I realize that the services >they provide cost them a lot. But, the arrogance of their tech staff - if >you can even ferret them out - leaves a lot to be desired. > >My recommendation is to use Ancestry, sparingly, if at all. More and >more web sites are springing up. You might try "Googling" the thing for >which you are searching. Good Luck. > >Mary