Windows Vista is the next big operating system for PCs. Can you believe Windows XP was released clear back in 2001? Vista is supposed to be available towards the end of January, and will be available in several versions.

Vista will require a lot more "umpf" from your computer - 2 GB of memory, 20 GB of free hard disk space, and a DVD drive. If you decide to upgrade to Vista, you will first need to see if your computer has what it takes to run it.

For an overview of Vista's new features, click here.

To see if your computer is capable of running Vista, click here.

For an interesting discussion of Vista from a genealogy technologist's point of view, read Joe Edmon's article here.

If you have an ancestor who was cremated, you probably want your reports and data entry screens to reflect this event, instead of a burial event. With Legacy Family Tree this is simple to do.

In the Individual's Information screen, click on the plus sign just to the right of the burial location field. A pop-up menu will appear. Click on the word Cremated, and Legacy does the rest.

You will immediately notice that the burial label in this screen has been changed to a Cremated label. Click on Save and you will notice in the Family View that the burial label has also been changed.

Finally, in your various reports (Family Group Records, Books, etc.), if you made the change in the Individual's Information screen, the burial information will automatically be changed to Cremated.

This option only applies to the current individual, so do not worry that it would be changed for everyone.

Watch the Legacy QuickTip Video "How to Record a Cremation."

Does this sound familiar?

Genealogy begins as an interest,
Becomes a hobby;
Continues as an avocation,
Takes over as an obsession,
And in its last stages,
Is an incurable disease.

- Author unknown

If you have ancestors who emigrated from central and eastern Europe during 1850 and 1934, the Hamburg Passenger Lists may contain important genealogical information for you. Nearly one-third of the people who emigrated from this area during this time period are included on these lists.

For some time the indexes and lists have been available through the Family History Library on 486 rolls of microfilm.

Ancestry recently announced that subscribers can now access every list, as well as a partial index covering the years 1890-1913.

For more information, or to search this new online database, click here.

What day of the week was it on January 28, 1910? What day did "last Thursday" refer to in your grandfather's obituary? These types of questions are easily answered with Legacy Family Tree's Calendar tool.

Legacy comes with three built-in calendars - a month calendar, a year calendar, and a date calculator. To access these calendars, click on the calendar button in the main toolbar.

The month calendar includes the calendars from the year 1700 to the year 2100. Just use the scrollbar at the bottom to pick the right month and year. The same is true for the year calendar.

The date calculator is handy for many situations. If you have an obituary which lists the death date, and how old the person was (78 years, 8 months, 3 days), enter this information into the form and click on the Calculate button. Instantly, the exact birth date will be calculated for you.

It is also helpful when calculating birth years in census records. Suppose the 1881 UK census listed an ancestor's age as 68. Enter this age in the Years field, enter 1881 in the Second Date field, click calculate, and Legacy will display 1813 in the First Date field.

FREE is a good price

These calendar tools are available in the standard edition of Legacy Family Tree, which is free. To download Legacy, click here.

Other calendar tools

Legacy will also create birthday/anniversary calendars, and will remind you of upcoming birthdays and anniversaries. For more information, click here.