Once people get used to the idea of invasive appliances and the extinction of privacy, these cloud synced devices and social networks might prove useful.
Microsoft Linux Distro
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
I've not done a cost comparison but I'd guess you can rent cloud storage cheaper than subscribing to Ancestry. com. Of course you won't have any of the amenities Ancestry might offer, but you will have access to all your data all the time - assuming you pay the lease on time.
Once people get used to the idea of invasive appliances and the extinction of privacy, these cloud synced devices and social networks might prove useful.
Once people get used to the idea of invasive appliances and the extinction of privacy, these cloud synced devices and social networks might prove useful.
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
I pay Ancestry for access to their research database, and only take a 6 month subscription when they offer one on sale, then skip a whole year before getting another subscription.
Keeping your genealogy on Ancestry is free, except for the fact they can share it with others who are paying for a subscription, hi hi.
When I have an active subscription, I too get to see who else has a name common to who is in my family tree, and most of them are not well researched or contain erroneous data. What irks me is you can see that some folks are not into genealogy at all, they just go through and copy everything they can to build up their headcount, and several all have exactly the same data, with the same mistakes and same misspelling of names and locations. So for the most part, I totally ignore what other people have, unless I have the time to research a name they may have I didn't know about in a particular family.
Thankfully Debi's son is very leery of what goes public. He won't even run Flash Player on his computer at all.
As far as the Alexa he set up for Debi, the only data he put in was our time zone as New York, and our weather report from the local airport. He said it does not give out our coordinates. I don't think it has our zip code entered in it either.
I've not looked through the paperwork for it yet, since he set it up for her. But as picky as he is about private data, I'm sure he locked out everything necessary. Which is probably why it don't work for me, hi hi.
Keeping your genealogy on Ancestry is free, except for the fact they can share it with others who are paying for a subscription, hi hi.
When I have an active subscription, I too get to see who else has a name common to who is in my family tree, and most of them are not well researched or contain erroneous data. What irks me is you can see that some folks are not into genealogy at all, they just go through and copy everything they can to build up their headcount, and several all have exactly the same data, with the same mistakes and same misspelling of names and locations. So for the most part, I totally ignore what other people have, unless I have the time to research a name they may have I didn't know about in a particular family.
Thankfully Debi's son is very leery of what goes public. He won't even run Flash Player on his computer at all.
As far as the Alexa he set up for Debi, the only data he put in was our time zone as New York, and our weather report from the local airport. He said it does not give out our coordinates. I don't think it has our zip code entered in it either.
I've not looked through the paperwork for it yet, since he set it up for her. But as picky as he is about private data, I'm sure he locked out everything necessary. Which is probably why it don't work for me, hi hi.
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
Alexa is on all the time, listening to the ambient noise or conversation. That's the only way it knows what you want from it. I view Alexa as I do Microsoft, Google, and Apple devices. You grant them access to everything with the promise that they won't share the information or do anything nefarious with it. They all make it abundantly clear in their TOS that they own whatever information they collect from you and can do whatever they please with it. It requires a lot of trust in their motives in order for me to feel comfortable about all that. I never told Alexa where I live, but it apparently knew right out of the box. It's likely that they will honor their TOS and not share that with anybody unless I give explicit permission, but they have that information and can do anything they please with it. It belongs to them.
Ancestry.com has a stake in the data they collect. It's how they make their profit after all. I doubt that they can assume any responsibility for the accuracy of their data, and that's not what people are paying for. I don't see the elephant in the room and can't even guess why robot accounts would populate a place like Ancestry.com. The copied databases you cite suggest that the bots are there for whatever purpose. I can work with bots, such as those on Facebook and Twitter, but I don't have any confidence or trust in them. The trick is to identify them.
Ancestry.com has a stake in the data they collect. It's how they make their profit after all. I doubt that they can assume any responsibility for the accuracy of their data, and that's not what people are paying for. I don't see the elephant in the room and can't even guess why robot accounts would populate a place like Ancestry.com. The copied databases you cite suggest that the bots are there for whatever purpose. I can work with bots, such as those on Facebook and Twitter, but I don't have any confidence or trust in them. The trick is to identify them.
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
True, but it is only listening for the set name such as Alexa, it can be changed to Echo or Computer, but nothing else.
Also, it doesn't send anything over WiFi that I can see, until you give it a command other than its name.
So like any voice operated device, it is only listening for its name, until activated.
If the frau tells it to play music, then the WiFi signal remains active the whole time it is playing music.
If she asks it for a piece of information, like the temperature, the WiFi is only active for a second or two after she asks the question, and as soon as it responds, it shuts off again.
I did learn she has to access all the settings using her Schmartz-Fone Alexa App. And since her Schmartz-fone has GPS, I assume this is how Alexa knows where it is located.
I don't think the users file it shows when I search for a name, or even if they supply a possible match in the list, that they are bots, because I've contacted a couple about errors I knew were wrong. When I gave them the correct data, they updated their files. Sometimes they asked me why I thought mine was right and their wrong, so I sent them a copy of the supporting documentation in their message box. I have a lot of data in my personal files that Ancestry has never came up with the sources for on their own yet, even though they are public documents. Often the kind you had to pay a few bucks to get a copy of, so perhaps those sources are not giving it away for free yet, hi hi.
Also, it doesn't send anything over WiFi that I can see, until you give it a command other than its name.
So like any voice operated device, it is only listening for its name, until activated.
If the frau tells it to play music, then the WiFi signal remains active the whole time it is playing music.
If she asks it for a piece of information, like the temperature, the WiFi is only active for a second or two after she asks the question, and as soon as it responds, it shuts off again.
I did learn she has to access all the settings using her Schmartz-Fone Alexa App. And since her Schmartz-fone has GPS, I assume this is how Alexa knows where it is located.
I don't think the users file it shows when I search for a name, or even if they supply a possible match in the list, that they are bots, because I've contacted a couple about errors I knew were wrong. When I gave them the correct data, they updated their files. Sometimes they asked me why I thought mine was right and their wrong, so I sent them a copy of the supporting documentation in their message box. I have a lot of data in my personal files that Ancestry has never came up with the sources for on their own yet, even though they are public documents. Often the kind you had to pay a few bucks to get a copy of, so perhaps those sources are not giving it away for free yet, hi hi.
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
I think you have Alexa figured out correctly. The purpose of the wired connection form Alexa to my router is security. All that ambient conversation should not be broadcast even for a short distance. When Alexa does its thing, it's doing it over the Internet. Those light bulbs Alexa turns on have a WiFi connection just like your printer does. I'd think it's all pretty harmless if the TOS was not written the way it is, or if the permissions you must explicitly grant the app were not so invasive looking. Yeah, I know it's all legal mumbo jumbo, but still. Amazon has the goods on me and I have to trust them if I want their service.
Of course I don't know what goes on at the Ancestry website. I've been there to see what it looks like, and frankly was not impressed. LOL Then again, my intention was only to drive by and take a look. There may not be any fake accounts or bots on that website, but the identical information appearing in many places is a typical tip-off that something unhuman is behind it. It turns out that a lot of the bot accounts on social networks are curated by real live humans. The purpose of the bots under that human's control is to peddle influence or misinformation. Ancestry apparently has misinformation, but I would be hard pressed to come up with a reason why somebody would propagate it deliberately. It's done elsewhere, but I don't see why it would be at Ancestry.com
Of course I don't know what goes on at the Ancestry website. I've been there to see what it looks like, and frankly was not impressed. LOL Then again, my intention was only to drive by and take a look. There may not be any fake accounts or bots on that website, but the identical information appearing in many places is a typical tip-off that something unhuman is behind it. It turns out that a lot of the bot accounts on social networks are curated by real live humans. The purpose of the bots under that human's control is to peddle influence or misinformation. Ancestry apparently has misinformation, but I would be hard pressed to come up with a reason why somebody would propagate it deliberately. It's done elsewhere, but I don't see why it would be at Ancestry.com
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
I think some consider it like a game, just to see how many people they can add to their file.
You find something similar on Twitter. Folks with over a million friends, most of them fake.
I started using a service to watch for fake accounts, and weeded out thousands.
But then I started getting followers using languages foreign to me, but the translation system let me know they appeared to be on the up and up. Then suddenly it snowballed and I have numerous followers.
The problem with not following them back, is the list of those following me who I did not follow back grew to unmanageable proportions.
Since I don't look at the main feed at all, only those folks I have on my lists, I never see what they are doing anyhow, so just follow back anyone who follows me. Check a couple of their posts, and possibly add them to a temporary list to see what they do. Very few make it to my daily read lists.
Twitter does suspend thousands of account per day. So they are trying to keep the bots and fake folks out of there.
I honestly wish my own file has not grown so large. Makes it almost impossible to keep up with all the new data and new family members in each branch of the tree. Also, time is scarce for me to keep up with much of anything anymore.
You find something similar on Twitter. Folks with over a million friends, most of them fake.
I started using a service to watch for fake accounts, and weeded out thousands.
But then I started getting followers using languages foreign to me, but the translation system let me know they appeared to be on the up and up. Then suddenly it snowballed and I have numerous followers.
The problem with not following them back, is the list of those following me who I did not follow back grew to unmanageable proportions.
Since I don't look at the main feed at all, only those folks I have on my lists, I never see what they are doing anyhow, so just follow back anyone who follows me. Check a couple of their posts, and possibly add them to a temporary list to see what they do. Very few make it to my daily read lists.
Twitter does suspend thousands of account per day. So they are trying to keep the bots and fake folks out of there.
I honestly wish my own file has not grown so large. Makes it almost impossible to keep up with all the new data and new family members in each branch of the tree. Also, time is scarce for me to keep up with much of anything anymore.
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
Twitter is not what it started out to be. It's now a marketing tool more than anything else. They have a kind of rank/order on Twitter which ends up as an influence factor. That influence is enhanced when you follow back people. In fact I'm sure you can get software to automate the process. I don't know what it takes to have your follower count explode the way yours did. There are companies sending literature saying they can do that for me. I might take them seriously if it were my personal account, but I get these hawkers and promises of great return rates in my admin account here at Brainformation. I am certain they want money from me to make this site popular, and it would be interesting to know what affected your follower numbers without paying for it. You certainly must have Twitter influence.
That's the problem when you get involved knee deep into a hobby. It grows to unmanageable proportions. I don't think your genealogy work will go to waste. You my never be able to keep it current, but the legacy will live on.
That's the problem when you get involved knee deep into a hobby. It grows to unmanageable proportions. I don't think your genealogy work will go to waste. You my never be able to keep it current, but the legacy will live on.
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
There are a lot of folks selling Twitter followers, but they are totally meaningless.
The number of followers I have built up slowly since I joined Twitter. It only jumped up more than I expected this past year, but I do weed out nearly 25 to 30 per day, which is why my follower count stays fairly stable now.
Over 50 new tweets appear on my main feed every minute, so there is no way to keep up with reading them.
This is why we use lists and put only those people we want to see their tweets in the lists we read daily.
My combined lists only have about 100 people in them who post valuable content.
As long as I keep up with immediate relatives my genealogy is fairly easy to manage.
Heck, just keeping up with my Uncles married children, who now have children who are married and have children is almost a full time job.
How my files got so big was not just from doing my bloodline and then spreading out to ancestors brothers and sisters.
It exploded when I began doing the spousal genealogies of those ancestors and my parents brothers and sisters too.
Each generation you step back, can add hundreds if not thousands of new names when you work width-wise too.
At least digging up relatives and the records needed to verify the data is a whole lot easier now than when you had to search through miles of microfilm and trays of microfiche, and/or pay to get a copy from a courthouse.
It is amazing the amount of discrepancies in public records. You find the original birth certificate, and the birth date does not agree with the one claimed on the marriage license, and then the death certificate does not agree with either, and the tombstone has both dates different than the official documents.
Some of these mistakes are typo's when they converted the paper documents to text, and not caught until images of the original documents could be compared to the text. Even though the error is caught, the official text documents cannot be changed, however, you can add commentary documents to be attached to the text document.
Oh well, it is an interesting hobby to say the least. I'm sure boring to some, but then again, some of the stories you learn about make it all worthwhile, hi hi.
The number of followers I have built up slowly since I joined Twitter. It only jumped up more than I expected this past year, but I do weed out nearly 25 to 30 per day, which is why my follower count stays fairly stable now.
Over 50 new tweets appear on my main feed every minute, so there is no way to keep up with reading them.
This is why we use lists and put only those people we want to see their tweets in the lists we read daily.
My combined lists only have about 100 people in them who post valuable content.
As long as I keep up with immediate relatives my genealogy is fairly easy to manage.
Heck, just keeping up with my Uncles married children, who now have children who are married and have children is almost a full time job.
How my files got so big was not just from doing my bloodline and then spreading out to ancestors brothers and sisters.
It exploded when I began doing the spousal genealogies of those ancestors and my parents brothers and sisters too.
Each generation you step back, can add hundreds if not thousands of new names when you work width-wise too.
At least digging up relatives and the records needed to verify the data is a whole lot easier now than when you had to search through miles of microfilm and trays of microfiche, and/or pay to get a copy from a courthouse.
It is amazing the amount of discrepancies in public records. You find the original birth certificate, and the birth date does not agree with the one claimed on the marriage license, and then the death certificate does not agree with either, and the tombstone has both dates different than the official documents.
Some of these mistakes are typo's when they converted the paper documents to text, and not caught until images of the original documents could be compared to the text. Even though the error is caught, the official text documents cannot be changed, however, you can add commentary documents to be attached to the text document.
Oh well, it is an interesting hobby to say the least. I'm sure boring to some, but then again, some of the stories you learn about make it all worthwhile, hi hi.
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
At one point in the past I read some interesting articles about how the entire planet full of people is no more than six degrees of separation from each other. Finding somebody that knows a celebrity such as the president is only three steps away on average. The implication is that I can get a line to anybody in the world with only a few inquiries. While that might be true in theory, I think your work in genealogy shows how simple it is NOT. Personally, I'll take the word of the experts and be happy knowing about the six degrees of separation. Unlike you, I don't have an urge to document it.
Re: Microsoft Linux Distro
Interesting thought there Yogi. There are several celebrities in my family tree, but none close enough that it would matter to me. Will Rogers is in my mom's side of the tree, and a few others I don't recall off hand.
Heck, if we go back far enough, we are all related, sorta, we would all be in the same tree anyhow.
I have a generational chart on my wall that spreads out as far as 5th cousin. Used to have one that went out to 14th cousin and it was huge, took up a good portion of my hallway wall.
It was replaced with an all-in-one family tree printout back when I only had about eight thousand folks, now it would be impossible to print out such a tree, hi hi.
On thing most interesting I've run across twice now in the past year.
Someone sends me a message to ask for my link to their ancestor.
In the process of running the link and getting the list from me to them, I found on two occasions where both my wife and I are linked through our separate families to the same distant ancestors, which caused us to be related to cousins usually through marriages.
It was interesting when I was running the requested link list to find how it comes down from the persons name a few generations, then goes back up the list through a cousin, then back down again, back up through a spouse, then back down again until it eventually shows both my and my wife's bloodline ancestors in the same tree, but not related to each other.
I'm not related to my wife of course, nor do our family trees cross each other, until we reach out to a distant cousin and their spouse. This is how non-relations end up in the same family tree.
In any case, a particular person may be a 4th cousin to my wife 5 times removed, and also be a 14th cousin to me 8 times removed. AKA, we are not related, hi hi.
Heck, if we go back far enough, we are all related, sorta, we would all be in the same tree anyhow.
I have a generational chart on my wall that spreads out as far as 5th cousin. Used to have one that went out to 14th cousin and it was huge, took up a good portion of my hallway wall.
It was replaced with an all-in-one family tree printout back when I only had about eight thousand folks, now it would be impossible to print out such a tree, hi hi.
On thing most interesting I've run across twice now in the past year.
Someone sends me a message to ask for my link to their ancestor.
In the process of running the link and getting the list from me to them, I found on two occasions where both my wife and I are linked through our separate families to the same distant ancestors, which caused us to be related to cousins usually through marriages.
It was interesting when I was running the requested link list to find how it comes down from the persons name a few generations, then goes back up the list through a cousin, then back down again, back up through a spouse, then back down again until it eventually shows both my and my wife's bloodline ancestors in the same tree, but not related to each other.
I'm not related to my wife of course, nor do our family trees cross each other, until we reach out to a distant cousin and their spouse. This is how non-relations end up in the same family tree.
In any case, a particular person may be a 4th cousin to my wife 5 times removed, and also be a 14th cousin to me 8 times removed. AKA, we are not related, hi hi.