I have been reading the messages posted about Family Tree Maker CD's. I agree wholeheartedly about thoroughly documenting the CD's information. I do this even with material that is considered extremely "reliable." However, I do not agree that the CD's are worthless or costly. I have made many good contacts by searching through the databases on these CD's. Also, Family Tree Maker has a guarantee on all of their CD's----if you don't find them useful to your research or if you can't find any of your relatives on them, you can return them for a refund (within a reasonable period of time). I've never had a hassle with them on this point. Their staff is courteous and helpful (my experience). I've looked at many different family data base programs. FTM has the most versatile format and the best features of any I've tried. The price of the program and the CD's has been worth every penny to me.