Internet Genealogy Magazine 4.1.2 for iOS

If you own an iPad 2 with iOS 5, it is highly recommended you upgrade to version 4.1.2. It also addresses some Newsstand compatibility issues.

Internet Genealogy Magazine for iOS is similar to Your Family Tree for iOS (aka Your Family History) – It’s a magazine focused around using the internet for your genealogy resesarch. Keep in mind that it is $1.99, which allows you to download one issue of IGM of your choice, other issues will cost more and will need to be purchased within the application.

A 12 month subscription (6 issues) is: £17.49/ US$24.99

What’s New/Updates in 4.1.2
* Newsstand compatibility
* General stability and performance improvements
* In-app help page
* iOS5 rendering fix for iPad 2
* Character fix on contents
* Minor contents and subscription fulfilment fix

Requirements:
* iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad
* iOS 4.0 or later

* iPhone / iPod touch Link: Internet Genealogy Magazine – Magazinecloner.com US LLC
* iPad Link: Internet Genealogy Magazine – Magazinecloner.com US LLC

Your Family Tree 1.2 for iOS

Your Family Tree has been updated to version 1.2, to fix some Newsstand issues with Apple’s Newsstand software/folder. Newsstand is a feature of newer versions of iOS that allow you to easily manage your magazine and newspaper subscriptions.

Your Family Tree is a genealogy magazine (one that I frequently purchase) that covers a wide range of articles and information. Your Family Tree is also known as Your Family History outside of the United Kingdom.

Please keep in mind that while the app itself is free, you will need to purchase the magazines, either individually or through subscriptions, from within the app:
Single issue: £4.99 / $6.99 / €5.49
3 months subscription: £14.99 / $20.99 / €16.99
6 months subscription: £24.49 / $34.99 / €27.99
1 year subscription: £44.99 / $64.99 / €49.99

The digital edition of Your Family Tree available through iOS/Newsstand is not printable.

Requirements:
* iPhone, iPod touch, iPad
* iOS 4.3 or later

You can download it/access it here:
* iPhone/iPod touch Link: Your Family Tree – Future plc
* iPad Link: Your Family Tree – Future plc

Genealogy Gems – Your Family History Show 1.9.9

The Genealogy Gems “Your Family History Show” iOS App was upgraded with several features, as it appears they are headed towards version 2.0.

Genealogy Gems is not just a podcast, although it grew out of a podcast. Thanks to iOS features and the work of the Genealogy Gems folks, you can access the following through the app for some of the shows:
* PDF documents that contain tips, ideas, and information from the shows
* Bonus audio and video content that may not have made it into the Genealogy Gems show
* Follow the show on Twitter

And if you have an iPhone, it has the ability to call in to the show for audio comments.

Updates in Version 1.9.9
* New tab bar interface
* UI Enhancements
* Faster show loading
* Stability improvements
* Minor bug fixes
* Swiping to the left and right from the episode detail page will change to the next or the previous episode

Requirements:
* iPhone, iPod touch, iPad
* iOS 3.2 or later

If you don’t already own the Genealogy Gems app, it’s available for $2.99 through Apple’s App Store:
* iPhone Link: Genealogy Gems – Your Family History Show – App Store
* iPad Link: Genealogy Gems – Your Family History Show – App Store

Article: Sharing Roots With an iPhone App

Maurine Pool of the Orange County Register has written a nice article about genealogy and iPhones titled “Sharing Roots With an iPhone App.” She happened to Google “iPad genealogy app” and came across GedView, which she purchased. In fact, GedView is what got her to purchase an iPhone 4. She was not going to purchase an iPhone until she had a genealogy application.

She spoke with David Knight who develops GedView, and he mentioned that there is interest in other platforms such as Google’s Android and HP Palm webOS:

The iPhone 4′s features were tempting enough, but the GedView app got me into the Apple store.

The guy who developed GedView, David Knight, says more than 7,000 have been sold through Apple’s iTunes.

This app’s a reader really, not a full-blown program and is only available for iOS devices. Knight says he has received inquiries and is considering making GedView avalilable for other platforms such as Android or WebOS-based (Palm Pre) phones.

She mentions the major reason why so many of us like having genealogy apps on mobile devices such as iPhones:

I knew I wanted to share information with these cousins. I didn’t want to print out a lot of charts and sift through them when I could be socializing. I wanted to have ALL that information magically appear as I stood around sipping tea and listening to family tales.

She also discussed how important the higher-resolution camera on the iPhone 4 is, as well as loading 200+ photos into the iPhone’s photo app.

Maurine’s article is a good read if you’re curious about what typical genealogists are doing with their iPhones.

Full article: Orange County Register

The Appeal of the Apple TV to Me

Earlier today, I wrote a bit about the Apple September Event and it’s affect or appeal to genealogists on the go. With the iPod touches once again mirroring the current iPhones for the most part, and becoming incredibly powerful and rounding things out with the iPad, I mentioned that I think genealogy apps on the iOS platform will continue to increase.

I also mentioned the use of the new Apple TV for doing presentations or acting as a backdrop of sorts at family reunions, for streaming video or slideshows to an HDTV.

A few hours ago, a friend asked why I didn’t just hook up my laptop to an HDTV and do the same thing and save $99. There are two answers to that.

One reason: At a large gathering with a lot of people, especially where there will probably be a lot of kids, I really don’t feel like leaving my laptop out in the open and hooked up to a TV. Too much potential for something to happen to it, whether it’s getting knocked to the floor, or somebody deciding they want to try and play games on it or do who knows what else. I don’t want to spend my time babysitting my laptop. Having it off elsewhere, where it can be secured, frees me up from wasting my time. It can also be used with a desktop PC, which means not having a tower sitting there hooked up to the TV.

The second reason: At a presentation, if I’m presenting photos or video, I really don’t want to have my laptop tethered directly to the TV, because it will be a distraction as people will be paying attention to me and not the TV. There would be times where I’d want to be out front of course, but a lot of times, if I’m going through something, I want the focus to be on what’s being displayed, and not me. I might lose the advantage of not being able to do a live demonstration of software, but I can still easily hook up my laptop for that if needed. I can also do screenshots of software or content and have those displayed through the Apple TV device as well. It would be really nice if I could tell the Apple TV device to switch from displaying photos or streaming a video to streaming my desktop, and maybe that’s a future update, but I’m not counting on it.

Of course, a genealogist using an Apple TV device is still reliant upon having a decent-sized HDTV available. If that’s not the case, you’ll still have to pull out the trusty old projector.

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