Have you ever experienced a data loss when it comes to your genealogy research? Not yet? Well if not, have you prepared for what might happen if your hard drive fails? What if your laptop is lost or stolen?

Join webinar host Geoff Rasmussen and dynamic presenter, Thomas MacEntee (author of Google for Genealogists webinar-on-CD) for this 90-minute free webinar, Backing Up Your Genealogy Data. You will learn the basics of backing up all your genealogy data including identifying data, common backup methods and how to use free online programs to help you make sure your data will always be available! Participants will learn various methods for backing up their genealogy data including many free online programs such as DropBox, Google Docs, Picasa and more!

The live webinar is scheduled for Wednesday, March 23, 2011, so register today to reserve your virtual seat. Registration is free.

About the presenter

Thomas MacEntee is a professional genealogist specializing in the use of technology and social media to improve genealogical research and as a means of interacting with others in the family history community. Utilizing over 25 years of experience in the information technology field, Thomas writes and lectures on the many ways in which blogs, Facebook and Twitter can be leveraged to add new dimensions to the genealogy experience. As the creator of GeneaBloggers.com he has organized and engaged a community of over 1,300 bloggers to document their own journeys in the search for ancestors.

Webinar time

The webinar will be live on Wednesday, March 23, 2011 at:

• 2pm Eastern (U.S.)
• 1pm Central
• 12pm Mountain/Arizona
• 11am Pacific
• 6pm GMT

Or use this Time Zone Converter.

Here's how to attend:

1. Register at www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/webinars.asp today. It's free!
2. You will receive a confirmation email containing a link to the webinar.
3. You will receive a reminder email during the week prior to the webinar.
4. Calculate your time zone by clicking here.
5. Click on the webinar link (found in confirmation and reminder emails) prior to the start of the webinar. Arrive early as the room size is limited to the first 1,000 arrivals that day.
6. Listen via headset (USB headsets work best), your computer speakers, or by phone.

We look forward to seeing you all there!

Other upcoming webinars

Wednesday, March 2, 2011. More Blogging for Beginners with DearMYRTLE. Register here.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011. Building a Research Toolbox with Thomas MacEntee. Register here.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011. Preserving Family Photographs: 1839 to the Present with Maureen Taylor. Register here.

View past webinars

Our webinars are available in the archives at www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/webinars.asp for at least 30 days. Select webinars are now available to purchase on CD:

• Google for Genealogists by Thomas MacEntee, 1 hour 28 minutes.
• Sharing Genealogy Electronically by Geoff Rasmussen, 1 hour 49 minutes.
• Chasing Women: Finding Your Female Ancestors, by Leland Meitzler, 1 hour 21 minutes.

Registration is now open for a fantastic upcoming webinar: Preserving Family Photographs: 1839 to the Present. It will be hosted by Legacy Family Tree's Geoff Rasmussen and presented by internationally-recognized expert, Maureen Taylor. The Wall Street Journal called Maureen the "nation's foremost historical photo detective".

While the live webinar is not until Wednesday, May 4, 2011, space is limited to the first 1,000 to join that day, so register today to reserve your virtual seat. Registration is free.

Webinar Description

From daguerreotypes to digital imaging dilemmas, this webinar covers everything a family photographer needs to know about caring for photographs. Topics include printing and sharing digital images, and how to safely label grandparents’ pictures.

About the presenter

In 1978, Maureen Taylor fell in love at first sight–with a shiny metal photograph known as a daguerreotype.

The people looked real and touchable as if they could step out of the frame into the present. In a moment, all the history she’d studied and the families she researched came together. She knew this was not infatuation, but the real thing.

She’s never looked back. As a photo curator, genealogist, and now as a writer and photo identification/preservation expert, the focus of Maureen’s work remains family photography, history and genealogy. Through PhotoDetective.com, she’s dedicated to helping those who share her infatuation with discovering the stories behind images of the past.

Maureen Taylor is an internationally recognized expert on the intersection of history, genealogy, and photography. She has been featured in top media outlets, including The View, Better Homes & Gardens, the Boston Globe, Martha Stewart Living, MSNBC, New Morning (Hallmark Channel), Life Magazine, DIY: Scrapbooking, PBS Ancestors, Claritin’s Moment of Clarity, Creative Memories’ Lasting Moments, Dear Myrtle, and Satisfaction Magazine. Maureen is the author of a number of books and magazine articles, as well as a contributing editor at Family Tree Magazine.

Webinar time

The webinar will be live on Wednesday, May 4, 2011 at:

• 2pm Eastern (U.S.)
• 1pm Central
• 12pm Mountain
• 11am Pacific
• 6pm GMT

Or use this Time Zone Converter.

Here's how to attend:

1. Register at www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/webinars.asp today. It's free!
2. You will receive a confirmation email containing a link to the webinar.
3. You will receive a reminder email during the week prior to the webinar.
4. Calculate your time zone by clicking here.
5. Click on the webinar link (found in confirmation and reminder emails) prior to the start of the webinar. Arrive early as the room size is limited to the first 1,000 arrivals that day.
6. Listen via headset (USB headsets work best), your computer speakers, or by phone.

We look forward to seeing you all there!

Other upcoming webinars

Wednesday, March 2, 2011. More Blogging for Beginners with DearMYRTLE. Register here.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011. Backing up your Genealogy Data with Thomas MacEntee. Register here.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011. Building a Research Toolbox with Thomas MacEntee. Register here.

View past webinars

Our webinars are available in the archives at www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/webinars.asp for at least 30 days. Select webinars are now available to purchase on CD:

• Google for Genealogists by Thomas MacEntee, 1 hour 28 minutes.
• Sharing Genealogy Electronically by Geoff Rasmussen, 1 hour 49 minutes.
• Chasing Women: Finding Your Female Ancestors, by Leland Meitzler, 1 hour 21 minutes.

In preparation for next week's More Blogging for Beginners webinar with DearMYRTLE, we've re-opened her first webinar with us, Blogging for Beginners.

So before you tune in next Wednesday, March 2, 2011 for More Blogging for Beginners, refresh yourself by either re-watching Blogging for Beginners or watching it for the first time. Either way, until March 2, it will be available here at no cost to you. Afterwards we plan to have both webinars available in our webinar-on-CD collection.

Register for our upcoming webinars for free

More Blogging for Beginners with DearMYRTLE, Wednesday, March 2, 2011. Register here.

Building a Research Toolbox with Thomas MacEntee (author of Google for Genealogists webinar-on-CD), Wednesday, April 6, 2011. Register here.

View our archived webinars for free

Chasing Women: Finding Your Female Ancestors with Leland Meitzler, available until March 16, 2011.

Newspapers: Critical Resource to Complete Your Family Tree with Thomas Kemp, available until March 10, 2011.

New FamilySearch Made Easy with Legacy Family Tree with Geoff Rasmussen, available indefintely.

Improving Your Use of New FamilySearch: Data Cleanup Strategies with Geoff Rasmussen, available indefintely.

Helping Unlock the World's Records - FamilySearch Indexing for Power Users with Katie Gale, available indefinitely.

Blogging for Beginners with DearMYRTLE, available until March 2, 2011.

Helping Unlock the World's Records - an Insider's Perspective on FamilySearch Indexing with Jim Ericson, available indefinitely.

Mapping Software for Genealogists with Geoff Rasmussen, still available....

Click here to view the archives.

Purchase our webinar-on-CDs for $9.95 each

Google for Genealogists with Thomas MacEntee, 1 hour 28 minutes plus 4 pages of handouts.

Sharing Genealogy Electronically with Geoff Rasmussen, 1 hour 49 minutes, plus 4 pages of handouts.

Chasing Women: Finding Your Female Ancestors with Leland Meitzler, 1 hour 21 minutes, plus 4 pages of handouts.

Click here to purchase webinar-on-CDs.

Tom Kemp's fantastic webinar on newspapers and GenealogyBank.com is now available in our webinar archives. It is available to view at no charge until March 10, 2011.

Genealogy Bank has also extended their special offer for Legacy customers. Until February 23, 2011, Legacy Family Tree users can have an annual membership to GenealogyBank.com for only $55.95, a savings of over $180 a year. Click here for the details.

I was once again reminded and inspired to make newspapers a key resource in my genealogy research. Here's what some of our live viewers thought about the webinar:

Before the webinar I did not see as much value to using newspapers as I do now.  I would be eager to try searches now.

Good information. I was unaware that many newspapers had been digitized.

I didn't realize that newspapers were that important in reseaching. It has given me another avenue to go to.

I didn't realize you could get so much information from the Newspaper sites.

I loved learning about the variety of ways to search this site and the various newspapers, books and documents that are available. Thanks!

Most webinars are only an hour in length which is just about right for the subjects covered, but I think it is great that additional time was allotted for the questions and answers. I also thought that the door prizes were a nice feature. I am looking forward to my next session.

Thanks again Tom! We'd be happy to have you back anytime.

Two popular webinars are now available to purchase on CD for just $9.95 each. Both come with a four page syllabus.

Viewing a webinar-on-CD is like having your own private genealogy instructor in your home - anytime! Just insert the CD into your computer's CD or DVD drive and enjoy personal training from the industry's finest teachers. The video topics are bookmarked so you can quickly jump from topic to topic or just watch it straight through. You can pause, rewind, or fast-forward at your leisure.

Google for Genealogists webinar-on-CD, 1 hour 28 minutes

Most genealogists are only using 10% or less of the resources behind Google when it comes to genealogy research. Learn from professional genealogist, Thomas MacEntee, about the other 90% and how these Google components can be leveraged for better search results. Google is more than just a search engine – it is a wealth of information much of which goes unnoticed by the average genealogist. Besides search, Google allows you to access maps, books, journals, abstracts, patents and much more. These components may be what is needed to make advances in your genealogy research.

Topics include:

• Google Search
• Google Books
• Google Scholar
• Photographs
• Picasa
• Office Productivity
• Google Calendar
• Mail
• Sites
• Groups
• Translate
• Transcription
• News
• Reader
• Alerts
• Maps
• Google Earth
• Patents
• Question/answer session

About the author:
 
Thomas MacEntee is a professional genealogist specializing in the use of technology and social media to improve genealogical research and as a means of interacting with others in the family history community. Utilizing over 25 years of experience in the information technology field, Thomas writes and lectures on the many ways in which blogs, Facebook and Twitter can be leveraged to add new dimensions to the genealogy experience. As the creator of GeneaBloggers.com he has organized and engaged a community of over 1,300 bloggers to document their own journeys in the search for ancestors.

Click here to order this webinar-on-CD for just $9.95.

Sharing Genealogy Electronically webinar-on-CD, 1 hour 49 minutes

Learn about various methods of sharing your genealogy - printed books, print-on-demand publishing, websites, shareable CDs, and more. Join Legacy Family Tree's Geoff Rasmussen as he teaches how to better use Legacy Family Tree for sharing your genealogy with others.

Topics include:

• Pros and cons of printing your genealogy book using traditional methods vs. print-on-demand services
• Preparing and printing your genealogy book: creating the skeleton (rich text file), adding the meat (stories, pictures, etc.), creating the index and the Table of Contents.
• Multiple lines of descent book
• Publishing to the Internet: GEDCOM-based submission sites vs. creating your own web site
• Using and getting your own domain name (like www.JohnsonFamily.com)
• Creating web pages in Legacy
• Publishing to a CD or DVD
• Adding pictures in Legacy
• Publish to a flash drive
• Using Passage Express software
• Questions and answers from live callers around the world
• and other tips and tricks along the way

About the presenter:
 
Geoff Rasmussen is the father of four budding genealogists. He graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Family History and Genealogy. He served as director and vice-president of the Utah Genealogical Association and has taught hundreds (maybe thousands?) of classes around the world. He is the host of the Legacy Family Tree webinars, author of the Legacy training CDs, and helps develop the Legacy Family Tree software. He met and proposed to his wife in a Family History Center.

Click here to order this webinar-on-CD for just $9.95. Expected ship date: February 5, 2011

Other webinars

Click here to view our complete list of webinars or to register for future webinars. Registration is free!

If you have any hard-to-find female ancestors, you'll want to watch Leland Meitzler's webinar, Chasing Women: Finding Your Female Ancestors. In yesterday's webinar, Leland taught about 28 different records that help genealogists find their elusive ancestors. One of the viewers commented, "Great ideas, I think I can now break a brickwall that is twenty years old!"

View the recording, download the handouts

If you could not make it to the live event, the 1 hour 21 minute recording, and the handouts, are now available in our webinar archives. Visit www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/webinars.asp to watch. The free recording will be available until March 16, 2011.

Special 10% off coupon ends this Saturday

Congrats to the 2 door prize winners (I love giving away free stuff...). Remember that the special 10% off coupon (available to everyone) of women expires Monday, February 21, 2011. It is valid for anything in our online store.

Pre-order the webinar-on-CD

Own your own copy of the Chasing Women: Finding Your Female Ancestors webinar by purchasing the webinar-on-CD for just $9.95. It includes the recording of the class (1 hour 21 minutes), the complete Q/A session, and the four pages of handouts. Pre-order your CD for just $9.95 (special pre-order pricing). We expect to begin shipping the CD on March 16, 2011.

All webinar-on-CD titles include:

• Google for Genealogists by Thomas MacEntee (1 hour 28 minutes, plus handouts)
• Sharing Genealogy Electronically by Geoff Rasmussen (1 hour 49 minutes, plus handouts)
• Chasing Women: Finding Your Female Ancestors by Leland Meitzler (1 hour 21 minutes, plus handouts)

Register for our upcoming webinars (free)

Wednesday, March 2, 2011. More Blogging for Beginners with DearMYRTLE. Click here for more information.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011. Building a Research Toolbox. Click here for more information.

Back by popular demand, Myrt, of DearMYRTLE, will present the MORE Blogging for Beginners webinar on Wednesday, March 2, 2011.

Registration is now open and is free.

Webinar Description

This session's topics include adding gadgets such as links to other websites, inserting book suggestions from Amazon.com, removing the Blogger search bar and inserting a Google Search box to make it easier for your readers to find previous postings. We will also experiment with tweaking the look of your blog using the Template Designer and providing a "Print Friendly" option for your followers.

About the presenter

DearMYRTLE is the nom de plume of Pat Richley, a retired post-secondary computer software instructor. Since 1995, Myrt has provided practical, down-to-earth advice for family historians. She is the author of DearMYRTLE's Joy of Genealogy and numerous magazine and online articles focusing on beginning concepts. Find Myrt online at http://blog.DearMYRTLE.com, and as Clarise Beaumont in Second Life. Myrt is currently working on a blog and a book about her friend Elsie's experiences in the American Red Cross in England, France, and Korea during WWII and in Japan during the Korean conflict.

Webinar time

The webinar will be live on Wednesday, March 2, 2011 at:

• 2pm Eastern (U.S.)
• 1pm Central
• 12pm Mountain
• 11am Pacific
• 7pm GMT

Here's how to attend:

1. Register at www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/webinars.asp today. It's free!
2. You will receive a confirmation email containing a link to the webinar.
3. You will receive a reminder email during the week prior to the webinar.
4. Calculate your time zone by clicking here.
5. Click on the webinar link (found in confirmation and reminder emails) prior to the start of the webinar. Arrive early as the room size is limited to the first 1,000 arrivals that day.
6. Listen via headset (USB headsets work best), your computer speakers, or by phone.

We look forward to seeing you all there!

Other upcoming webinars

Wednesday, April 6, 2011. Building a Research Toolbox with Thomas MacEntee. Register here.

View past webinars

Our webinars are available in the archives at www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/webinars.asp for at least 30 days. Select webinars are now available to purchase on CD:

• Google for Genealogists by Thomas MacEntee, 1 hour 28 minutes
• Sharing Genealogy Electronically by Geoff Rasmussen, 1 hour 49 minutes
• Chasing Women: Finding Your Female Ancestors, pre-sale

Who ever said that money can't buy happiness? After battling a recent computer crash, I finally have my new computer up and running. Wow, is it fast!

If these specs mean anything to you, you will know why I am so happy:

• Processor: Intel Core i7 950 3.06 GHz; 4.8 GT/s LGA1366 8MB Cache (dual-quad processor)
• Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth x58 tri-channel DDR3 SATA 6Gb/s + USB 3.0
• Memory: DDR3 12GB 1600MHz
• First hard drive: 1TB (for my programs and data)
• Second hard drive: 2TB (for another backup of my data)
• Windows 7 Professional
• and a bunch of other goodies

In just a couple of hours I fly to Salt Lake City to participate in RootsTech. I hear there are over 2,000 pre-registrants. Fantastic! I've now got my new computer set up with my GoToMyPC account so I will be able to access it from anywhere I have Internet.

Got an Android-powered device? With the brand new Families application from TelGen Limited you can now easily transfer your Legacy Family Tree files from your PC to your Android device, enabling them to be viewed and edited wherever you are. Any changes you make on these devices can then be synced back to your Legacy file on your PC.

Features of Families:

• Family and Pedigree Views
• Pictures, including the ability to add pictures from camera or photo album
• Locations and addresses, with geolocation via Google Maps
• Multiple family files
• New family files can be created from scratch
• Index, searchable by given name, surname, or RIN
• Events
• To Do Lists
• Master and detail sources
• Alternate names
• Portrait and landscape mode on all views
• Legacy file version 6 and 7 are supported

Families uses a highly efficient database implementation, allowing very large family files to be supported. Users have successfully displayed and edited files containing over 300,000 individuals on an Android device.

Families can be purchased from the Android Market via your phone or on the web for £8.99 (about $14.95 US). Click here for more information.

Chug, chug, chug. Puff, puff, puff. Ding-dong. Ding-dong. The little train rumbled over the tracks....She puffed along merrily. Then all of a sudden she stopped with a jerk. She simply could not go another inch. She tried and she tried, but her wheels would not turn.

As I read The Little Engine That Could to my 2-year-old daughter last night, I couldn't help but see the similarity between it and my computer. Fortunately for the blue little engine it made it over the mountain. Sadly for my computer, it didn't.

Oh the woes of life when a computer kicks the bucket. Its symptoms began a couple of months ago with some odd chugging sounds. Every now and then I would hear a ding-dong (beeps) and it would not wake up at first. Yesterday, it never woke up. Rest in peace good old computer.

I guess my mourning for it would be much worse if I did not have a good backup of all my data. Thankfully, my Mozy.com account had a backup of my 202GB of pictures, videos, webinar recordings, etc. Then a little salt was added to my wound when I learned that Mozy's new pricing structure (emailed to me yesterday morning) would change my rates from $4.95 a month for unlimited storage to $21.99 a month for the amount of data I have. As soon as my new computer is set up, I'll check out other off-site backup services such as Carbonite, CrashPlan, or BackBlaze. Thanks Dick Eastman for these other suggestions.

Speaking of my new computer...I had it custom-built for me and in my home over a week ago in preparation for the demise of my old computer. Unfortunately, my old computer won't turn on, and my new computer won't stay on. Every few hours it freezes or crashes - not what I would expect for a computer just out of the box. The computer was built and shipped to me from Washington state so my only method of trying to figure out what's wrong is to correspond with the manufacturer via email and telephone. After too many days of this, I went to my local computer store yesterday and ordered another new custom-made computer. My welcome home party for it should be tomorrow. In the meantime, I've now got 570 unanswered emails (thanks to those who have written me for your patience!) a big webinar later today to plan for, a private webinar to set up for this Friday, and a seminar in Fresno to pack for this weekend.

I am more convinced than ever that there are only two types of computer users in the world. The first type is someone who has had their computer crash. The second type is someone who will have their computer crash. But with a good backup strategy a lot of heartache can be avoided.

I am still in the "I think I can, I think I can" chapter of the transition to my new computer. By this time next week I hope I'll be like the little blue engine who, after climbing the mountain, said "I thought I could. I thought I could."