All your points about Microsoft dominating the desktop software market are valid. Bill Gates was a genius in what he did. In the very beginning Gates wanted to partner up with Jobs and Wazniac and rule the computer world. He made the offer because Apple had the rights to using Windows. Apple had the software but they were not interested in world domination and thus rejected the offer from Gates. A lengthy legal battle ensued where Bill Gates tried to get Apple's ownership of Windows into the public domain. Not until Apple was face to face with extinction and bankruptcy did they give up the rights. Gates floated them a loan to get out of debt on the condition that Apple dropped the law suit and gave up the rights to Windows. It's an amazing saga and I give Bill Gates a lot of credit for doing what he did. Not only did he bring the world of computing to the common man, but he also financed his competition. The ultimate irony came to pass last year when Apple took a position as the largest corporation on earth when measured in dollars. The irony is that Microsoft took that distinction from them a couple months ago.
When Gates cashed out, his successors figured Microsoft could glide to a victory based on it's dedicated user base. That would have happened if mobile devices never were invented. The advent of mobile computing created an entirely new user base in which Microsoft had no prior experience. It wasn't until Google also entered the contest that Microsoft saw the writing on the wall. The world was going mobile and Microsoft was going nowhere. To be clear, nobody at Microsoft throughout it's history ever claimed to be interested in dominating the server market. They got into it out of necessity and not because they wanted to compete. Office and Windows were the cash cows and servers only drained their reserves of cash. The reason Microsoft has won the cash valuation contest is due to their massive presence in Cloud Computing. That seems to be their cash cow of the day.
Microsoft Linux Distro
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
I used Microsoft for years.
That being said, I still preferred my Apples and MACs, mainly because I could do my work much simpler on them.
At the time I outfitted my company with MACs, some of the work we were doing was easy on a MAC and nearly impossible on a PC without going through several steps and using different programs.
It was later when I was doing work for clients who wanted my output in PC format, and MACs didn't do that back then.
So I switched to a Wang PC that ran Windows, and merely moved up in Windows with each new release.
But this was only up through XP. When Vista hit the market I knew I had to do something.
Ran my XP machines for as long as I could, still have two running right now with XP Pro and XP Pro MCE.
I had tried Linux a few times, then left it to the computer guru's for years.
But with the introduction of Vista, I jumped ship and went GNU/Linux for everything I did.
I feel it's the best move I've ever made too. I hate it when I have to do something on the slow, clunky, disorganized, Windows computers.
Even in my olde set in my ways age, I'm beginning to do a few things which use on-line programs. But at least I can store the output on my own machine, in a readable format too.
I've also seen a few new small computers that don't even have a hard drive, whatever you do on them, you must be on WiFi so your data is stored in the Cloud. Makes me wonder, what if the cloud dissipates in a thunderstorm?
That being said, I still preferred my Apples and MACs, mainly because I could do my work much simpler on them.
At the time I outfitted my company with MACs, some of the work we were doing was easy on a MAC and nearly impossible on a PC without going through several steps and using different programs.
It was later when I was doing work for clients who wanted my output in PC format, and MACs didn't do that back then.
So I switched to a Wang PC that ran Windows, and merely moved up in Windows with each new release.
But this was only up through XP. When Vista hit the market I knew I had to do something.
Ran my XP machines for as long as I could, still have two running right now with XP Pro and XP Pro MCE.
I had tried Linux a few times, then left it to the computer guru's for years.
But with the introduction of Vista, I jumped ship and went GNU/Linux for everything I did.
I feel it's the best move I've ever made too. I hate it when I have to do something on the slow, clunky, disorganized, Windows computers.
Even in my olde set in my ways age, I'm beginning to do a few things which use on-line programs. But at least I can store the output on my own machine, in a readable format too.
I've also seen a few new small computers that don't even have a hard drive, whatever you do on them, you must be on WiFi so your data is stored in the Cloud. Makes me wonder, what if the cloud dissipates in a thunderstorm?
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
Google's Chromebook computer is actually a browser based on Chrome. Knowing what browsers can and cannot do, it makes sense not to have a hard drive. That only adds to the cost. Chrome is taking over the web browsing world. As you pointed out recently even Microsoft is building their signature browser with the chromium engine. It just works better than Gecko or Webkit (Mozilla and Apple respectively).
Microsoft gained the market position that it did because most of the people who bought into it found it easy and convenient to use. Of course there is always a better way to do things, but as I pointed out elsewhere Bill Gates was a genius when it came to appealing to the masses. I think they still do but Microsoft is no longer the only place to go for personal computing. Us special needs folks don't fit into that picture, which is why, I suppose, we are having this discussion.
Microsoft gained the market position that it did because most of the people who bought into it found it easy and convenient to use. Of course there is always a better way to do things, but as I pointed out elsewhere Bill Gates was a genius when it came to appealing to the masses. I think they still do but Microsoft is no longer the only place to go for personal computing. Us special needs folks don't fit into that picture, which is why, I suppose, we are having this discussion.
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
Our newest Windows 10 computer, the one I bought for my wife, is sitting up here in my office unused, except for displaying a few text documents while I'm writing.
She is using a 10 year old Windows 7 hand-me-down from her son, which is ten times faster than the new computer, but still no where as near as fast as my third oldest Linux computer with only 4gigs of ram.
I did bring my second oldest LInux computer down to her office for playing one game on which she regularly plays, but don't have a KVM that works with both computers to tie them to the same monitor.
The old 2 port KVM uses the green and purple PS2 ports, and has VGA monitor plug.
My new 4 port KVM I use uses USB ports and DVI or HDMI output, but you can only use one or the other video out.
We had to buy her a new monitor and the new one does not have a VGA input, only DVI and HDMI.
I didn't know this when we bought it, so had to buy a VGA to HDMI adapter to hook up the old computer.
It's been quite a while since I got her hooked up so I may have forgotten what I did to get her up and running.
About a month ago, she had me take the Linux box and monitor out of her office. Although she liked the speed, she didn't like not having room for it, and having to sit at an angle when using that monitor.
Speaking of KVM switches. I saw one on-line while I was looking for something else that made me pause and read about it. It was a 16 port KVM, but could be cascaded (stacked), so one keyboard, mouse, an monitor could be used with 256 computers. It had a nice display on it to show which computer you were on too.
The article didn't say if it was just stacked KVMs, and if so, how would the first KVM know what the second to 16th are connected to?
When I was touring a hosting service, they had 32 port KVMs, at the end of each row of servers. But it looked to me like there were more than 32 computers. Maybe not, they didn't have the doors on the cabinets open.
If only I was rich instead of super poor, hi hi.
She is using a 10 year old Windows 7 hand-me-down from her son, which is ten times faster than the new computer, but still no where as near as fast as my third oldest Linux computer with only 4gigs of ram.
I did bring my second oldest LInux computer down to her office for playing one game on which she regularly plays, but don't have a KVM that works with both computers to tie them to the same monitor.
The old 2 port KVM uses the green and purple PS2 ports, and has VGA monitor plug.
My new 4 port KVM I use uses USB ports and DVI or HDMI output, but you can only use one or the other video out.
We had to buy her a new monitor and the new one does not have a VGA input, only DVI and HDMI.
I didn't know this when we bought it, so had to buy a VGA to HDMI adapter to hook up the old computer.
It's been quite a while since I got her hooked up so I may have forgotten what I did to get her up and running.
About a month ago, she had me take the Linux box and monitor out of her office. Although she liked the speed, she didn't like not having room for it, and having to sit at an angle when using that monitor.
Speaking of KVM switches. I saw one on-line while I was looking for something else that made me pause and read about it. It was a 16 port KVM, but could be cascaded (stacked), so one keyboard, mouse, an monitor could be used with 256 computers. It had a nice display on it to show which computer you were on too.
The article didn't say if it was just stacked KVMs, and if so, how would the first KVM know what the second to 16th are connected to?
When I was touring a hosting service, they had 32 port KVMs, at the end of each row of servers. But it looked to me like there were more than 32 computers. Maybe not, they didn't have the doors on the cabinets open.
If only I was rich instead of super poor, hi hi.
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
I used a KVM switch for a very short period of time at Motorola. If I recall correctly it was used to monitor a server and a separate client machine for some ungodly purpose. The switch was replaced by VM software. Even back then virtual machines saved a lot of hardware expense, although the license fee was atrocious. I had something like a dumb terminal and could run several machines simultaneously. Apple didn't play nice with VM at that time. I'm not sure it will even today. Thus we had separate Apple workstations and didn't need KVM's. I never had more than three monitors on my desk. Didn't have cinema sized screens either. I'm certain you can eliminate the need for your KVM's by using VM software and a single 56" monitor with a dozen or so windows. LOL I bet that's what NASA does.
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
I still like having separate computers with their own display. Mainly because I can set them about doing a task while I do something else on another computer. Things that simply don't work if you use a KVM.
That being said, I still like being able to have other computers I can use sitting at my desk, to keep things separate.
Like the computer I use for my accounting and a couple of other things, has no connectivity to the Internet, and is not connected to my own LAN, except when I want to run a monthly backup of the external drive. But then it is usually easier just to plug the external into a computer that is on the LAN.
I currently do almost everything on the Silver Yogi, hi hi. But if I want to play FreeCell I jump to another computer still running Windows XP. It also has a couple of programs I use for read only purposes of old files.
I have an old machine running Linux Mint, and another old machine running the same Debian as this machine. It was my backup machine so is almost identical to this Silver Yogi. Those are the ones I connect to using the KVM.
The two machines not on the KVM, are mainly used when I'm writing. One displays my Outline and Character Sketches. The other displays my Draft, the same one I'm working on, and often changing lines around, or moving paragraphs, etc. This way I still have the unchanged original to look at to see how I had it worded before I messed it up, hi hi.
Now if I was rich, I could have a set-up like my new neighbor down and across the street. He can put anything on any of his 6 monitors, and I think they are all touch screen also. Sorta like me, he has a small screen on his desk under the six big screens, only mine is inside my desk. I know when he's doing something like e-mail, he is looking at the small screen on his desk, not what's up on the larger screens over his head. Heck, my neck gets stiff if I have to look up at my upper screens for more than a few minutes. I can't really type comfortably looking up. Having a monitor inside my desk has spoiled me big time, hi hi.
That being said, I still like being able to have other computers I can use sitting at my desk, to keep things separate.
Like the computer I use for my accounting and a couple of other things, has no connectivity to the Internet, and is not connected to my own LAN, except when I want to run a monthly backup of the external drive. But then it is usually easier just to plug the external into a computer that is on the LAN.
I currently do almost everything on the Silver Yogi, hi hi. But if I want to play FreeCell I jump to another computer still running Windows XP. It also has a couple of programs I use for read only purposes of old files.
I have an old machine running Linux Mint, and another old machine running the same Debian as this machine. It was my backup machine so is almost identical to this Silver Yogi. Those are the ones I connect to using the KVM.
The two machines not on the KVM, are mainly used when I'm writing. One displays my Outline and Character Sketches. The other displays my Draft, the same one I'm working on, and often changing lines around, or moving paragraphs, etc. This way I still have the unchanged original to look at to see how I had it worded before I messed it up, hi hi.
Now if I was rich, I could have a set-up like my new neighbor down and across the street. He can put anything on any of his 6 monitors, and I think they are all touch screen also. Sorta like me, he has a small screen on his desk under the six big screens, only mine is inside my desk. I know when he's doing something like e-mail, he is looking at the small screen on his desk, not what's up on the larger screens over his head. Heck, my neck gets stiff if I have to look up at my upper screens for more than a few minutes. I can't really type comfortably looking up. Having a monitor inside my desk has spoiled me big time, hi hi.
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
It would take some planning and probably a little bit of learning, but I am reasonably sure you can accomplish all the separation you describe (including no connection to a LAN/network) with VM software. You would need the original install disks for the OS's if they are not Linux. Alienware (Dell) makes a wrap-around desktop monitor that looks pretty good in the pictures I've seen. I see no problem showing at least 4 separate screens on that baby, and if you are willing to sacrifice size you can squeeze as many as your eyes would allow on that single screen. The only drawback I can imagine is in loading up the computer which runs all these virtual boxes. It might require a motherboard with more than one processor if you wanted a dozen machines running simultaneously.
My Windows 98 computer was installed in a console similar to yours. The desktop had a glass cut out to view the CRT monitor mounted below at an angle. It certainly was cute and very handy to have a clean desktop. When I got into programming and the fonts got smaller and more compact, it became a strain on my old eyes. It was great for playing games, however. Now and days you can connect a large screen smart television to your computer and replace the traditional monitor altogether. Doing that would be overwhelming my senses, but it's a great way to multitask. LOL
My Windows 98 computer was installed in a console similar to yours. The desktop had a glass cut out to view the CRT monitor mounted below at an angle. It certainly was cute and very handy to have a clean desktop. When I got into programming and the fonts got smaller and more compact, it became a strain on my old eyes. It was great for playing games, however. Now and days you can connect a large screen smart television to your computer and replace the traditional monitor altogether. Doing that would be overwhelming my senses, but it's a great way to multitask. LOL
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
I wear tri-focal glasses. The bi-focal is set to the top of my desk, the tri-focal to the monitor under the desktop, and the normally infinity used to be set a 5 feet for my upper monitors.
The eye doc did some different calculations, which drove the eyeglass maker nuts. He said I would get the same thing by grinding the glass this way instead of the docs way. He got permission from the doc to do so, and I couldn't see diddly squat out of them at any focal range. So they remade my glasses to the docs original specs and they are perfect. Actually better than perfect because I have infinity on the top lens now too, so don't need a special pair for computer, which saves me some big bucks.
Although I have a wide screen monitor inside my desk now, I still need to keep the display square. I don't want to cut the desktop opening any wider than it currently is. Too much other stuff on my desk in the way, hi hi.
My bro-in-law gave me two strong file cabinets to put my printer on so I could make the window in my desk larger.
Unfortunately, it has already been piled up with an old printer and file boxes, hi hi. Besides, then I would have to reach beyond my comfort space to retrieve a printed page, hi hi.
You would laugh at my office. Everything I use is within reach without my moving my chair on iota, hi hi.
The eye doc did some different calculations, which drove the eyeglass maker nuts. He said I would get the same thing by grinding the glass this way instead of the docs way. He got permission from the doc to do so, and I couldn't see diddly squat out of them at any focal range. So they remade my glasses to the docs original specs and they are perfect. Actually better than perfect because I have infinity on the top lens now too, so don't need a special pair for computer, which saves me some big bucks.
Although I have a wide screen monitor inside my desk now, I still need to keep the display square. I don't want to cut the desktop opening any wider than it currently is. Too much other stuff on my desk in the way, hi hi.
My bro-in-law gave me two strong file cabinets to put my printer on so I could make the window in my desk larger.
Unfortunately, it has already been piled up with an old printer and file boxes, hi hi. Besides, then I would have to reach beyond my comfort space to retrieve a printed page, hi hi.
You would laugh at my office. Everything I use is within reach without my moving my chair on iota, hi hi.
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
At one time in the past my wife had a pair of glasses that were ground to a gradient of some sort. There was no visible line on the lens where the focal length changed. If I recall correctly the upper part was for long distance and the lower part for reading. Everyday vision was in the middle. At first it sounded like a great idea, but after trying to use them for a week she gave up. She prefers the familiar segmented bifocal. For my own purposes I have two pairs of glasses: one for reading and one for driving. Most of the time I don't wear glasses and can see well enough so that having two pairs isn't an inconvenience for me.
I'd not laugh at your office layout because I know you come from an engineering background and are well organized and efficient. We share those qualities, but my office is spread out deliberately. Too much sitting at a desk for 40 years has given me circulation problems. So now I force myself to move around because I don't get much exercise otherwise.
I'm giving some serious thought to a stand up desk. At the moment both my desktop and laptop are within arms reach. I'd put one of them on the stand up desk just to get the blood flowing properly.
Another advantage of VM is that you can size the monitor display to fit your screen. You can fit three displays into one square, for example; two on top and one across the bottom. I guess the concept of virtual work spaces that is common in Linux amounts to the same thing, but you can only view one at a time on most Linux desktops. As many as your system can handle would be viewable in a virtual box setup.
I'd not laugh at your office layout because I know you come from an engineering background and are well organized and efficient. We share those qualities, but my office is spread out deliberately. Too much sitting at a desk for 40 years has given me circulation problems. So now I force myself to move around because I don't get much exercise otherwise.
I'm giving some serious thought to a stand up desk. At the moment both my desktop and laptop are within arms reach. I'd put one of them on the stand up desk just to get the blood flowing properly.
Another advantage of VM is that you can size the monitor display to fit your screen. You can fit three displays into one square, for example; two on top and one across the bottom. I guess the concept of virtual work spaces that is common in Linux amounts to the same thing, but you can only view one at a time on most Linux desktops. As many as your system can handle would be viewable in a virtual box setup.
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
I was a draftsman for many years, and worked at both sit-down and stand-up drafting tables.
Plus, being raised in the florist business, where we were on our feet all day, no way to sit down to work.
As far as drafting goes, we did better work faster when seated. Even if we had stools at the higher tables, the low desk height drafting tables were the best and most productive.
This does not mean we sat all day though. We had to go to the vault to get each drawing we needed to work on, then when finished go to the blu-ray room to print out a blueprint, go to the charts room and replace the existing drawing with the new drawing, then file the drawing we replaced also in the charts room, and finally put the original drawing back in the vault and get another out to work on. So there was a lot of walking around in that job too.
Now I spend most of my day seated at my desk at the computer. But I do cardiac rehab exercises every other day. Walk around the building every day at least three laps, unless it is raining. Plus I'm up and down a few times also getting something or doing something.
I'm actually trying to dumb down my system and make important files accessible to Windows computer users.
I figure if I don't, they won't have access to my data they will need after I croak.
Someone cannot just sit down at my desk and figure out where to go from there.
At night I park my computer on an old Windows XP machine which has no LAN or Internet connection. This is done via the KVM switch of course. But unless they know how to access the KVM from my keyboard, and which computer to switch to, they would be lost. Even my frau can't figure it out unless I'm there with her and say, do this first, then this, and you'll be into the main computer. Even so, there is no data stored on the computer itself, other than what I use daily, hi hi.
Plus, being raised in the florist business, where we were on our feet all day, no way to sit down to work.
As far as drafting goes, we did better work faster when seated. Even if we had stools at the higher tables, the low desk height drafting tables were the best and most productive.
This does not mean we sat all day though. We had to go to the vault to get each drawing we needed to work on, then when finished go to the blu-ray room to print out a blueprint, go to the charts room and replace the existing drawing with the new drawing, then file the drawing we replaced also in the charts room, and finally put the original drawing back in the vault and get another out to work on. So there was a lot of walking around in that job too.
Now I spend most of my day seated at my desk at the computer. But I do cardiac rehab exercises every other day. Walk around the building every day at least three laps, unless it is raining. Plus I'm up and down a few times also getting something or doing something.
I'm actually trying to dumb down my system and make important files accessible to Windows computer users.
I figure if I don't, they won't have access to my data they will need after I croak.
Someone cannot just sit down at my desk and figure out where to go from there.
At night I park my computer on an old Windows XP machine which has no LAN or Internet connection. This is done via the KVM switch of course. But unless they know how to access the KVM from my keyboard, and which computer to switch to, they would be lost. Even my frau can't figure it out unless I'm there with her and say, do this first, then this, and you'll be into the main computer. Even so, there is no data stored on the computer itself, other than what I use daily, hi hi.
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
I worked many years in a lab where I constructed racks of test equipment used to test the products built in the factory. The typical laborer was clueless regarding what they were actually doing so that they needed explicit instructions to operate the equipment correctly. Talk about trying to dumb things down. I had to deal with Koreans who spoke broken English as well as air head kids doing summer work, not to mention the soccer moms who needed a job to buy the kids video games. While that was challenging enough, I also had to compose explicit manuals regarding maintenance and operation of the test rack. This was intended for engineers and technicians to peruse should the need arise. I got to be pretty good at dumbing down technical information after a few years. I can't imagine your office being any more complicated than what I worked on for many years, but I can imagine Debbie trying to figure it all out should you predecease her. What you need to do is document it all so that Deb can read and understand it - or simplify the setup which would be more expensive. What would it take to create such a manual? A week? A month? A year? Several years? LOL
Me thinks you need to adjust your thinking a bit. Once you are gone it's not your problem anymore. Let your survivors figure it out on their own.
Me thinks you need to adjust your thinking a bit. Once you are gone it's not your problem anymore. Let your survivors figure it out on their own.
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
What I've been doing with important data is saving it to NTFS formatted external drives so they can be plugged into a Windows computer and read without a problem. I keep the folders simple and to the point.
Most recently I bought a box of USB sticks. I'm told they don't lose data in storage the way CDs did.
So, I've saved certain really important things on those and put them in our lock box.
Before they were locked away, I had Debi try each one on her computer to see if everything was accessible to her, and the file system made sense to her. It did, so they got stored in the lock box.
I don't think writing a manual would do any good, because things change up here quite often. Every time something breaks or wears out, everything gets shuffled around and repurposed.
I am putting some things in a permanent cloud, such as our genealogy is on Ancestry now and recently made public.
However, the passwords to get in under my name are also written down and in the lock box. Actually, almost all of my log-in data is typed out and stored in the lock box. Just in case.
Most recently I bought a box of USB sticks. I'm told they don't lose data in storage the way CDs did.
So, I've saved certain really important things on those and put them in our lock box.
Before they were locked away, I had Debi try each one on her computer to see if everything was accessible to her, and the file system made sense to her. It did, so they got stored in the lock box.
I don't think writing a manual would do any good, because things change up here quite often. Every time something breaks or wears out, everything gets shuffled around and repurposed.
I am putting some things in a permanent cloud, such as our genealogy is on Ancestry now and recently made public.
However, the passwords to get in under my name are also written down and in the lock box. Actually, almost all of my log-in data is typed out and stored in the lock box. Just in case.
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
Only you would know what needs to be preserved and documented. I'm sure you are doing your best to accomplish your long term goals. Much of what you are preserving is associated with your legacy. Some people are more concerned about that than others. I raised a family and they know who I am, and that is my legacy. I don't expect to be long remembered after I'm gone regardless of how much documentation I leave behind. In my own head I lead an interesting life. After living this long I've come to realize that nobody really cares other than the people I've touched personally. They will morn my passing, as they should, but that's the end of the line for my contribution to human affairs. That's pretty much what leads me to believe it's not worth any effort building/preserving a legacy. You, on the other hand, have actually done some things of significance. It would be a shame to lose it all at your departure.
Memory sticks don't change physically as do CD's or magnetic storage media. I think a USB stick will outlast any commonly accessible storage device, but I doubt that USB will. LOL The world is going mobile and there is no room for USB there. Cloud storage is about the best bet to preserve things long term, assuming the people who's cloud you are leasing stay in business. Then there is the security thing which only gets more and more complicated as hacking becomes progressively easier.
I don't have a manual for my affairs, by the way. I do have some important papers in that fireproof safe which includes a hard copy of all my online passwords. Anyone looking at that list will have a good idea of what I've been doing here in my office for the past two decades or so. It shouldn't be that hard to figure out ... if anyone would care to do it.
Memory sticks don't change physically as do CD's or magnetic storage media. I think a USB stick will outlast any commonly accessible storage device, but I doubt that USB will. LOL The world is going mobile and there is no room for USB there. Cloud storage is about the best bet to preserve things long term, assuming the people who's cloud you are leasing stay in business. Then there is the security thing which only gets more and more complicated as hacking becomes progressively easier.
I don't have a manual for my affairs, by the way. I do have some important papers in that fireproof safe which includes a hard copy of all my online passwords. Anyone looking at that list will have a good idea of what I've been doing here in my office for the past two decades or so. It shouldn't be that hard to figure out ... if anyone would care to do it.
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
My great-great aunt passed the family records to my great aunt who maintained them better than anyone else. Her records were immaculate, and as complete as she could physically make them. She had listed every family member, spouses, and their children, and their children's children.
This is when it got passed down to my aunt. My aunt worked diligently to make sure the next generation of family members were all added, but could not contact about half of them, and then others would not respond to her questions.
My aunt spent years trying to find someone to take over for her, and entrusted her documents to a few others who didn't do anything with them, lost some, threw some away, but never added anything new.
One of my uncles told her she should come to me, because I would follow through with her work and keep it intact.
When we finally did get together, I took several binders with vinyl inserts and placed all of her records in order.
Then, when a decent genealogy program came along, other than the one I used at the Family History Center, I began entering the data into the new Broaderbund DOS Family Tree.
We had too much data for the program, so I used several separate trees.
Later on, after Windows, I was able to add more from the printed forms I had in binders.
Plus I published a book, with addresses and telephone numbers of all those living I knew about. There was a lot in the book besides just that. Update forms, correction forms, and a plea for folks to add those not listed.
I spent a great deal of money buying research on our family, obtaining documents like birth, marriage, and death certificates. Collecting photographs whenever and wherever possible of older family members, most no longer with us.
After I met Debi, her sister was big into genealogy, but going blind, already legally blind, she asked me to take care of hers too, which I did. I also published a similar book for her side of the family. Her family was better than my family about getting new data to me.
Over the years, the number of relatives, and or linked families on my Family Tree has grown. It now sits at over 160,000 individuals, all related through marriage or as direct blood descendants and relatives.
It is almost impossible for one person to handle a Tree that large, especially when I took the time to add into the Tree spousal genealogies. This was one aspect that made my tree jump in size from around 45,000 to over 160,000.
But as my wife says, just knowing who her ancestors are is not enough without the stories that go with them.
So, much of my work had to do with obtaining as much information as I could about her ancestors. I already knew most about mine and had entered all of their data already. You wouldn't believe some of the stories, hi hi.
The daughter of one of my older cousins is the only person interested in carrying on our family history. We talked, and she only wants to take over direct family members, with a spouse, but no spousal genealogies. So, little by little, I have been giving her what I have only on direct bloodline ancestors. It will take a long time before we hit the aunts and uncles. This is one reason I decided to put everything on Ancestry, and then open it up to public. A few folks now have access to the Private info, and a few also were given a editing permission.
Although my son is interested, he doesn't want to put in the work to keep things updated, especially of families he don't know. I don't blame him really. There are a lot of families in my Tree I no longer try to find updates for. Just way too many to do so.
This is when it got passed down to my aunt. My aunt worked diligently to make sure the next generation of family members were all added, but could not contact about half of them, and then others would not respond to her questions.
My aunt spent years trying to find someone to take over for her, and entrusted her documents to a few others who didn't do anything with them, lost some, threw some away, but never added anything new.
One of my uncles told her she should come to me, because I would follow through with her work and keep it intact.
When we finally did get together, I took several binders with vinyl inserts and placed all of her records in order.
Then, when a decent genealogy program came along, other than the one I used at the Family History Center, I began entering the data into the new Broaderbund DOS Family Tree.
We had too much data for the program, so I used several separate trees.
Later on, after Windows, I was able to add more from the printed forms I had in binders.
Plus I published a book, with addresses and telephone numbers of all those living I knew about. There was a lot in the book besides just that. Update forms, correction forms, and a plea for folks to add those not listed.
I spent a great deal of money buying research on our family, obtaining documents like birth, marriage, and death certificates. Collecting photographs whenever and wherever possible of older family members, most no longer with us.
After I met Debi, her sister was big into genealogy, but going blind, already legally blind, she asked me to take care of hers too, which I did. I also published a similar book for her side of the family. Her family was better than my family about getting new data to me.
Over the years, the number of relatives, and or linked families on my Family Tree has grown. It now sits at over 160,000 individuals, all related through marriage or as direct blood descendants and relatives.
It is almost impossible for one person to handle a Tree that large, especially when I took the time to add into the Tree spousal genealogies. This was one aspect that made my tree jump in size from around 45,000 to over 160,000.
But as my wife says, just knowing who her ancestors are is not enough without the stories that go with them.
So, much of my work had to do with obtaining as much information as I could about her ancestors. I already knew most about mine and had entered all of their data already. You wouldn't believe some of the stories, hi hi.
The daughter of one of my older cousins is the only person interested in carrying on our family history. We talked, and she only wants to take over direct family members, with a spouse, but no spousal genealogies. So, little by little, I have been giving her what I have only on direct bloodline ancestors. It will take a long time before we hit the aunts and uncles. This is one reason I decided to put everything on Ancestry, and then open it up to public. A few folks now have access to the Private info, and a few also were given a editing permission.
Although my son is interested, he doesn't want to put in the work to keep things updated, especially of families he don't know. I don't blame him really. There are a lot of families in my Tree I no longer try to find updates for. Just way too many to do so.
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
The only people I know who do as much ancestry work as you are the Mormons and their Church of Latter-day Saints. To them it's a matter of bringing as many souls into the church as possible, which is why they got involved with Ancestry dot com. They have a huge staff to do research and keep records. Doing it all on your own is an amazing feat to say the least. Fortunately there were people ahead of you and all you need do now is curate. But 160,000 family members is a lot to keep track of. You have my admiration there.
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
I volunteered in the St. Louis LDS Family History Center for around twelve years. Mainly so I could do research for myself.
Ancestry just added some new flags to my account of information about folks in my family tree. I checked to see just how many they've added and it was over 90,000 new flags. As I check them, most of them are bogus and so far off the mark they have become a waste of time to even check anymore. Out of every 15 or 20 I do check, while on a persons page I'm doing my own work for, only 1 or 2 are valid for that person, and at least a dozen are not even close. Some not even in the same century, hi hi.
Ancestry just added some new flags to my account of information about folks in my family tree. I checked to see just how many they've added and it was over 90,000 new flags. As I check them, most of them are bogus and so far off the mark they have become a waste of time to even check anymore. Out of every 15 or 20 I do check, while on a persons page I'm doing my own work for, only 1 or 2 are valid for that person, and at least a dozen are not even close. Some not even in the same century, hi hi.
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
The concept of search "relevance" has been a challenge since day one. I liked when Google search was totally random and only keyed off the phrases you entered. Now they take into account your entire experience on the web and don't show you any of the random stuff. The inability to come up with relevant search results is probably why Ancestry isn't giving you what you need. It would be interesting to discover why you are getting so many junk records but I doubt that you can do anything to change their search engine.
My Pixel 3 is pretty clever but I hesitate to call it a smartphone. I love the Personal Assistant (PA) because they are trying to make it as real as they can. For example, sometimes I want to change a setting on the phone but don't know how. That's when I ask the PA for help, "How do I change sound volume?" More often than not the PA gets confused and will bring up a few dozen web pages explaining how to adjust the volume on an iPhone. You would think a smart phone would know I need information about the phone I am using, and sometimes it does.
Likewise, there is a fascinating feature associated with the camera on the phone. It's called Google Lens. This is the descendant of those goofy eyeglasses Google invented wherein the lens would have a square embedded on it. Whatever was inside that square would get searched and you would get the results therefrom. I pointed my Lens at one of the potted plants we have and it came back with a dozen pictures/descriptions of plants that had some similarities. None of them were the Schlumbergera I had growing in the pot. A few Were not even close. To be fair, I put a Philodendron (I think that's what it is) into the lens and it got it right. It also gave six options that were not right. So, the PA and the Lens know how to categorize things, but they are yet unable to get down to the specifics. When I put a UPC barcode in the Lens, it did in fact come up with the complete (and accurate) details of the product.
Like the PA, Google Lens is just software that can be loaded into any device. Also, like their highly successful search engine, neither of them get it right all the time. My understanding is that there are better algorithms available for police and military work. Us peons get the dregs.
My Pixel 3 is pretty clever but I hesitate to call it a smartphone. I love the Personal Assistant (PA) because they are trying to make it as real as they can. For example, sometimes I want to change a setting on the phone but don't know how. That's when I ask the PA for help, "How do I change sound volume?" More often than not the PA gets confused and will bring up a few dozen web pages explaining how to adjust the volume on an iPhone. You would think a smart phone would know I need information about the phone I am using, and sometimes it does.
Likewise, there is a fascinating feature associated with the camera on the phone. It's called Google Lens. This is the descendant of those goofy eyeglasses Google invented wherein the lens would have a square embedded on it. Whatever was inside that square would get searched and you would get the results therefrom. I pointed my Lens at one of the potted plants we have and it came back with a dozen pictures/descriptions of plants that had some similarities. None of them were the Schlumbergera I had growing in the pot. A few Were not even close. To be fair, I put a Philodendron (I think that's what it is) into the lens and it got it right. It also gave six options that were not right. So, the PA and the Lens know how to categorize things, but they are yet unable to get down to the specifics. When I put a UPC barcode in the Lens, it did in fact come up with the complete (and accurate) details of the product.
Like the PA, Google Lens is just software that can be loaded into any device. Also, like their highly successful search engine, neither of them get it right all the time. My understanding is that there are better algorithms available for police and military work. Us peons get the dregs.
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
I do understand that Ancestry is NOT a genealogy program! It is merely a way to DISPLAY your Family Tree.
They do add features to help you find more information, but in the process, they offer a lot of useless information.
On the other hand, they have managed to gain access to numerous databases, so you can find things like birth, death, and marriage certificates, without having to go to the source like in the old days.
Before I started using Ancestry, I belonged to about eight different research groups, each with either an annual or monthly fee. Now Ancestry has access to all those same databases, IF you are paying Ancestry their semi-annual fee of course.
What irked me about them, is after finding data and placing it in my Gallery where I could see and view it. When I let my subscription run out, I discovered that even though I saved all that data to my Gallery, I couldn't review any of it without renewing my subscription. So now, as I find stuff, I make a copy of it and keep it on my computer. A pain to download it, then convert it to a usable image or document, then save it where I can find it again later if needed.
I had a wonderful face recognition program a few years ago. It worked much better than I expected it to. Trouble is, after changing computers a few times, I've never found that program again, and don't remember the name of it to search for it either. Surely a sign of old age, hi hi.
The frau does things on her Schmartz-fone like you mentioned. She took a picture of some leaves and a tree, and did a search using the picture and found the name of the tree, which led to a picture of a whole tree that matched.
Her son gave her an Alexis for Christmas. About the only thing I got it to do a couple of times was tell me the temperature. Other than that, it just ignores me completely. Must be some trick to using them, hi hi.
They do add features to help you find more information, but in the process, they offer a lot of useless information.
On the other hand, they have managed to gain access to numerous databases, so you can find things like birth, death, and marriage certificates, without having to go to the source like in the old days.
Before I started using Ancestry, I belonged to about eight different research groups, each with either an annual or monthly fee. Now Ancestry has access to all those same databases, IF you are paying Ancestry their semi-annual fee of course.
What irked me about them, is after finding data and placing it in my Gallery where I could see and view it. When I let my subscription run out, I discovered that even though I saved all that data to my Gallery, I couldn't review any of it without renewing my subscription. So now, as I find stuff, I make a copy of it and keep it on my computer. A pain to download it, then convert it to a usable image or document, then save it where I can find it again later if needed.
I had a wonderful face recognition program a few years ago. It worked much better than I expected it to. Trouble is, after changing computers a few times, I've never found that program again, and don't remember the name of it to search for it either. Surely a sign of old age, hi hi.
The frau does things on her Schmartz-fone like you mentioned. She took a picture of some leaves and a tree, and did a search using the picture and found the name of the tree, which led to a picture of a whole tree that matched.
Her son gave her an Alexis for Christmas. About the only thing I got it to do a couple of times was tell me the temperature. Other than that, it just ignores me completely. Must be some trick to using them, hi hi.
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
Ahhhm yes ... Alexa. The device that puts Microsoft, Google, and Facebook all to shame with it's ability to spy on people. LOL
My wife thought it would be a cool birthday present to get me an Alexa the year they were introduced. The idea is cool and picking up momentum. Some day not only will our phones be smart, but also our entire house. Anyway, the first thing I didn't like about it was the fact you needed an app to make it work. You need a smartphone in order to use the app, of course. Right away I knew that would give Amazon an open portal into my life, but it was a present and I was curious to see how it works. Along with the sensor we got two light bulbs. The idea was to command the sensor to turn on the lights, and it would. There are many other devices that will respond to Alexa's broadcasts, but we never got past the light bulb stage. One reason for that, other than my not wanting Amazon to listen in on my life, was that Alexa needs a dedicated port on my router. It needs to be a wired port at that. I don't have any to spare but I swapped out something useful for the Alexa test session. I don't recall what kind of training I had to do, but it seems like Alexa needed to learn my voice in order to work properly. It's possible that it could learn more than one voice, but we didn't go that route.
The first thing I did was ask Alexa "what is the weather going to be tomorrow." That actually was a trick question because my motive was to see if it knew where I was located. It did. That made me even more nervous. Then I told Alexa to "play music" which it obediently did without hesitation. "No Alexa, I want light classical" at which point it hesitated but ultimately came up with some elevator music. Now that's pretty impressive. All this took about an hour to do at which point I unplugged it from the router and stored it back in its box in my closet where it sits today. Bad enough I'm giving Microsoft and Google my life story, I don't need Amazon in on the gig too.
I'm making a guess here but apparently Ancestry.com not only owns the web site, but it also owns the data. They won't let you use either without a subscription. It makes sense, nasty as it is.
My wife thought it would be a cool birthday present to get me an Alexa the year they were introduced. The idea is cool and picking up momentum. Some day not only will our phones be smart, but also our entire house. Anyway, the first thing I didn't like about it was the fact you needed an app to make it work. You need a smartphone in order to use the app, of course. Right away I knew that would give Amazon an open portal into my life, but it was a present and I was curious to see how it works. Along with the sensor we got two light bulbs. The idea was to command the sensor to turn on the lights, and it would. There are many other devices that will respond to Alexa's broadcasts, but we never got past the light bulb stage. One reason for that, other than my not wanting Amazon to listen in on my life, was that Alexa needs a dedicated port on my router. It needs to be a wired port at that. I don't have any to spare but I swapped out something useful for the Alexa test session. I don't recall what kind of training I had to do, but it seems like Alexa needed to learn my voice in order to work properly. It's possible that it could learn more than one voice, but we didn't go that route.
The first thing I did was ask Alexa "what is the weather going to be tomorrow." That actually was a trick question because my motive was to see if it knew where I was located. It did. That made me even more nervous. Then I told Alexa to "play music" which it obediently did without hesitation. "No Alexa, I want light classical" at which point it hesitated but ultimately came up with some elevator music. Now that's pretty impressive. All this took about an hour to do at which point I unplugged it from the router and stored it back in its box in my closet where it sits today. Bad enough I'm giving Microsoft and Google my life story, I don't need Amazon in on the gig too.
I'm making a guess here but apparently Ancestry.com not only owns the web site, but it also owns the data. They won't let you use either without a subscription. It makes sense, nasty as it is.
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
Debi's son gave it to her and set it up. It must use WiFi because there are no connections to it, other than the charger/power supply.
Funny how they got folks to PAY for a device to Spy On Themselves, hi hi.
The thing about Ancestry is: If you paid for a subscription term, and added things to your Gallery while the subscription was active, it should still be there, and available, between subscriptions.
Since we all learned it is not. We just download the info to our own computer, then upload it back to our Gallery. This will keep it active between subscriptions.
This works because when you put something in your Gallery directly from Ancestry, it's not really there, only a Link to the source. All Links are turned off when you are between subscriptions. But if you upload something yourself to your Gallery, it has no Links because the upload placed in the Gallery IS the Source now.
Just make sure the file you download is unencrypted into a nonencrypted file before you upload it again, hi hi.
Funny how they got folks to PAY for a device to Spy On Themselves, hi hi.
The thing about Ancestry is: If you paid for a subscription term, and added things to your Gallery while the subscription was active, it should still be there, and available, between subscriptions.
Since we all learned it is not. We just download the info to our own computer, then upload it back to our Gallery. This will keep it active between subscriptions.
This works because when you put something in your Gallery directly from Ancestry, it's not really there, only a Link to the source. All Links are turned off when you are between subscriptions. But if you upload something yourself to your Gallery, it has no Links because the upload placed in the Gallery IS the Source now.
Just make sure the file you download is unencrypted into a nonencrypted file before you upload it again, hi hi.