Review: Who Do You Think You Are Deluxe genealogy software
Date : 02 14 2008 Category : Technology
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Anthony Dhanendran, Computeract!ve, Friday 15 February 2008 at 00:00:00
The Beeb gets into the ancestry game
This software package, released to tie in with the recent third series of the BBC family tree show, is essentially a version of the popular Family Tree Maker with a couple of extras. Disappointingly, what's in the box is an old version of Family Tree Maker, the 2006 edition. That means it misses out on some of the smart new features in the 2008 version of the software (look out for a review of Family Tree Maker 2008 in Computeractive soon). All the basics are there, though, and it includes some powerful tree-making tools. For instance, it's no trouble to add all sorts of branches for outlying family members, and the software makes it easy to input information, including notes on each person. Adding new people is simple, and the output options - which include several kinds of tree plus special per-person diagrams - are impressive. It can be tricky to get to grips with the navigation at first, but it comes with practice. The package includes two printed manuals - one that goes through hints and tips for your own searching, and another thicker book that covers usage of the program in detail. This is duplicated in the supplied video DVD, which has a full tutorial for the software. It's conducted by an American lady with a mildly irritating manner, but otherwise it's useful. The only reason for the Who Do You Think You Are branding is on the third disc, which contains a few clips from the series (the longest is under four minutes) along with the corresponding family trees. It's nice, but not worth the extra cash in itself. At £20 cheaper than the full version of Family Tree Maker, though, the package (with extras and books) is a reasonable deal, and it's certainly a capable tool for creating trees.
