Bad Habits of Existing Genieware
Mar 10, 2021 23:42:25 GMT -8
Post by Uncle Buddy on Mar 10, 2021 23:42:25 GMT -8
I'll start with the biggest one, which is something that Mr. Tamura Jones calls "featuritis".
Genieware programs are so busy trying to be everything for everybody that they have not focused on doing genealogy. Sure they can be used (some of them) to do genealogy. But to do it well, without excessive tedium, and have the results come out clean, simple and accurate without a bunch of workarounds and compromises? That program doesn't exist yet. I'm working on it.
Getting the basics of genealogy done right has been bypassed in favor of having more features and fancier options than Brand X.
If a forum is needed for people to ask "How do I use Treebard?" to do something that all genealogists need to do, then I will have failed.
Personally I'm not interested in DNA. I don't mind if others are, but while there's a mad rush to get DNA features into every genieware, these programs are still barely functioning. They're difficult and tedious to use for doing basic data entry of details found in ordinary genealogy sources.
Genieware authors are making their programs connect to the internet, copy websites, "write" reports, connect to Google, store Grannie's home movies, work on teeny hand-held computers, and butter your toast, but using them to input good old-fashioned source citations and details from a document is still a pain.
I look forward to the day when Treebard can work with relationships, import/export, and other essential features. It will be a while because the basics of genealogy need to be simple to input and use before these advanced features can be allowed to draw me into their web.
Not that relationships between people (for example) aren't basic to genealogy. But events, places, names, people, citations--the units of genealogy--come before the geometrically compounded units of genealogy. Before I can manipulate the twisted tendrils of relationships, I have to get it right for individuals, no?
As for how to make a full-featured database entry program work on a "smart" phone... that job is for someone smarter than I.
Genieware programs are so busy trying to be everything for everybody that they have not focused on doing genealogy. Sure they can be used (some of them) to do genealogy. But to do it well, without excessive tedium, and have the results come out clean, simple and accurate without a bunch of workarounds and compromises? That program doesn't exist yet. I'm working on it.
Getting the basics of genealogy done right has been bypassed in favor of having more features and fancier options than Brand X.
If a forum is needed for people to ask "How do I use Treebard?" to do something that all genealogists need to do, then I will have failed.
Personally I'm not interested in DNA. I don't mind if others are, but while there's a mad rush to get DNA features into every genieware, these programs are still barely functioning. They're difficult and tedious to use for doing basic data entry of details found in ordinary genealogy sources.
Genieware authors are making their programs connect to the internet, copy websites, "write" reports, connect to Google, store Grannie's home movies, work on teeny hand-held computers, and butter your toast, but using them to input good old-fashioned source citations and details from a document is still a pain.
I look forward to the day when Treebard can work with relationships, import/export, and other essential features. It will be a while because the basics of genealogy need to be simple to input and use before these advanced features can be allowed to draw me into their web.
Not that relationships between people (for example) aren't basic to genealogy. But events, places, names, people, citations--the units of genealogy--come before the geometrically compounded units of genealogy. Before I can manipulate the twisted tendrils of relationships, I have to get it right for individuals, no?
As for how to make a full-featured database entry program work on a "smart" phone... that job is for someone smarter than I.