MAC update Family Tree Maker?
Jim & Jan Jacquet
This has been asked before, but as a Macintosh user of Family Tree Maker, I
keep wondering when we will see another update on the Mac platform. Or has
Broderbund totally abandoned Macs? The answer I've seen posted by company
reps in the past is that they couldn't tell the general public what the
company was planning. I'm afraid that answer just does not cut it.
Especially since I am forced to use version 3.02 while there have been at
least two updates on the Windows version.
Broderbund should realize there are a lot of other good programs out
there--you are alienating part of your constituency.
Jim Jacquet
digi...@cco.net
For expert digital photo restoration: http://www.cco.net/~digiredu/
Paul Burchfield
Jim,
I'm sorry if you don't like the answer you've been told. At this point in time
it is the only answer I can give. As soon as any additional information is
available, I'll pass it along.
Sincerely, The Genealogy SiteFinder: Over than 34,000 categorized,
Paul Burchfield cross-indexed, and searchable links at:
Broderbund Software http://www.familytreemaker.com/links/index.html
bhai...@hotmail.com
I think it should be pretty clear by now that Broderbund/FTM has abandoned the
Mac market. It's not just a case of them not wanting to say what features
will be in the next Mac upgrade. They won't even commit to saying whether or
not there will ever *be* another Mac upgrade. FTM for Mac is already at least
2 versions behind its Windows counterpart. And it's hard to even really blame
Broderbund for their position. The Mac market must look like pretty small
potatoes to a giant like Broderbund. Why go to all of the trouble to keep
developing FTM for Mac, when the Mac market is so small compared to their well
esablished and ever expanding Windows customer base? It's not like FTM can
ever hope to compete with Reunion in the Mac genealogy software market. Mac
users naturally prefer Mac-native software. They want a program that was
written for the Mac and takes full advantage of the Mac interface; not some
slow, bloated clunky piece of software that was clumsily ported over from a
Windows version like FTM for Mac. Whatever you think of Family Tree Maker for
Windows (and I know many people love it), the Mac version stinks.
As I said before, I don't really fault Broderbund for making the logical
decision that it just doesn't make good business sense to try to compete with
Reunion in the Mac market. After all, Leister Productions made a similar
decision when they sold their Windows version of Reunion to Sierra last year
so that they could concentrate on Reunion for Mac. What I *do* fault
Broderbund for is stringing Mac users along instead of being forthcoming about
their lack of interest in continuing to develop FTM for Mac.
Let's face it, as long as we Mac users have a terrific product like Reunion,
we have no need for FTM. The only thing we could possibly desire from
Broderbund/FTM is a small stand-alone Mac reader for their CD-ROMs so we don't
have to buy their bloated FTM for Mac program in order to access the CDs.
Aside from that, we Mac folks can just continue to sit back and chuckle at the
silly anti-FTM/pro-FTM flame wars that continually run through the newsgroups
and mailing lists.
Bruce Haines
In article <6fd3ft$2s9$3...@ha2.rdc1.sfba.home.com>,
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james
In article <6fe01k$oh4$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>, bhai...@hotmail.com wrote:
> snipped
> And it's hard to even really blame
> Broderbund for their position. The Mac market must look like pretty small
> potatoes to a giant like Broderbund. Why go to all of the trouble to keep
> developing FTM for Mac, when the Mac market is so small compared to their well
> esablished and ever expanding Windows customer base?
>snipped
>
> As I said before, I don't really fault Broderbund for making the logical
> decision that it just doesn't make good business sense to try to compete with
> Reunion in the Mac market.
I agree that broderbund is stringing along mac users tryting to bleed as
much as they can out of us. however I disagree with your reasoning. its
not so much the small mac market - as the outdated features and POOR
implementation of their product for mac users. first off - making the
applicatoin PowerPC only when it was released 2 years ago was a mistake -
secondly the absolute terrible non-standard way the program implements
some items is broderbunds fault.
they released a poorly ported application, have done nothing to support it
and its users and now simply string along mac users.
the company is one i choose not to purchase anything from.
jim szczodrowski
bhai...@hotmail.com
In article <jamessz-2603...@udppp1.buffnet.net>,
jam...@buffnet.net (james) wrote:
>
> I agree that broderbund is stringing along mac users trying to bleed as
> much as they can out of us. however I disagree with your reasoning. its
> not so much the small mac market - as the outdated features and POOR
> implementation of their product for mac users. first off - making the
> applicatoin PowerPC only when it was released 2 years ago was a mistake -
> secondly the absolute terrible non-standard way the program implements
> some items is broderbunds fault.
>
> they released a poorly ported application, have done nothing to support it
> and its users and now simply string along mac users.
James,
I think we agree on much more than the simple fact that Broderbund is
stringing Mac users along. The bit about the small mac market was only part
of my reasoning. You just seem to have snipped out the part of my post where
I said that FTM couldn't compete in the Mac market because FTM for Mac is such
a godawful piece of junk. Below is part of what you snipped out of my post:
> > It's not like FTM can ever hope to compete with Reunion in the Mac
> > genealogy software market. Mac users naturally prefer Mac-native
> > software. They want a program that was written for the Mac and takes
> > full advantage of the Mac interface; not some slow, bloated clunky piece
> > of software that was clumsily ported over from a Windows version like
> > FTM for Mac. Whatever you think of Family Tree Maker for Windows (and
> > I know many people love it), the Mac version stinks.
Bruce Haines
bhai...@hotmail.com
I think it should be pretty clear by now that Broderbund/FTM has abandoned the
Mac market. It's not just a case of them not wanting to say what features
will be in the next Mac upgrade. They won't even commit to saying whether or
not there will ever *be* another Mac upgrade. FTM for Mac is already at least
Broderbund for their position. The Mac market must look like pretty small
potatoes to a giant like Broderbund. Why go to all of the trouble to keep
developing FTM for Mac, when the Mac market is so small compared to their well
ever hope to compete with Reunion in the Mac genealogy software market. Mac
users naturally prefer Mac-native software. They want a program that was
written for the Mac and takes full advantage of the Mac interface; not some
slow, bloated clunky piece of software that was clumsily ported over from a
Windows version like FTM for Mac. Whatever you think of Family Tree Maker for
Windows (and I know many people love it), the Mac version stinks.
As I said before, I don't really fault Broderbund for making the logical
Bruce Haines
> Paul Burchfield
> Broderbund Software
kvalley
Sydenham24 wrote in message
<199803270027...@ladder03.news.aol.com>...
>" stringing Mac users along instead of being forthcoming about
>their lack of interest in continuing to develop FTM for Mac."
>
>This they do to Windows users, too, if it suits them.
>Sounds like a flame, more like a fact (in my experience).
>
>searching for
>O'Connor Walker Nolan Punch or
>Byrne Martin Moran Schmidheiser Kane all from Ireland to Phila
>between 1840 and present. Thanks!
Back that up! I keep seeing the same two or three people posting negative
comments about ftm. If you have a complaint fine but quit posting the same
drivel every two or three weeks just because the program you purchased
doesn't do all the things you suposed it should.
I don't mind the occasional this happened what now but jeeze to hear
every two weeks FTM stinks and never see why really annoys me.
Sydenham24
Sydenham24
'back that up'
well, once again and without any feelings, if that's how youwant it.
FTM problems I know about
1. Notes is a poor way to store data. Five years fromnow if you want to locate
the records of a particular cemetary - you will have to go into each persons
notes.
2. I hada a photo that I could not remove from any report.
Tech support was no help - they acted like they had never heard of it. My
system is completley vanilla..It is quite unlikely that I was the first or the
last
3.Most recently, I tried to use a menu selection and the program halted that
function. 'Paul' of Broderbund then wrote and discussed some print driver or
something I should have.
Well, had I just taken 'his' advice (I don't think this is one person, but I do
think that that is how Broder. makes things seem personal)
I would now have a useless and obsolete print driver.
Why useless? becasue another post from Paul (not sent to me)
then said that this was a 'known problem' and that the feature had been removed
fromFTM software!! Why not just say that, rather than ask me a bunch of
questions.
If they had a simple DB program into which they typed problems, they could
select specific problems with keywords.
Those are just a few of the very concrete, time wasting problems I have had
>>.> keep seeing the same two or three people posting negative
here are the feelings: Ignore this if you like. Please do if it will upset
you.
It is odd to me that, instead of trying to help people with FTM since youlove
it, you want to diss them and single them out.
You may have a high need to belong to the FTM family but let me stress that
this is a product for which we have paid money.
It is not a club. I have a high need to use my software productively and not
waste time and money.
I have a high need to belong to my own family, the family for which the
genealogy is intended. Problems with FTM put me back 6 months as I tried to
get them worked out,
I was new at the time, so I didn't realize not all software was this buggy and
not all software support people were so well meaning but ultimately unhelpful.
Hope that answers it.
If you don't want to be in the discussion, why not just ignore the text? Use
the subject line to make that decision.
james
snipped
> Back that up! I keep seeing the same two or three people posting negative
> comments about ftm. If you have a complaint fine but quit posting the same
> drivel every two or three weeks just because the program you purchased
> doesn't do all the things you suposed it should.
> I don't mind the occasional this happened what now but jeeze to hear
> every two weeks FTM stinks and never see why really annoys me.
we've paid good money for a product I was told would be updated and kept
current with the PC version. if i apy for something and it works I will be
the first to pat them on the back - but to be dumped on and have
broderbund continue to sell a mac version of FTM that is over 2 full
versions behind the PC version is poor business. the mac version cant even
import a photo!
if you dont wish to read the posts about Mac FTM - dont - but i for one
will continue to vent my displeasure. if i can stop one person from buyng
FTM for the mac and go with a software company that supports and will
continue to support the mac - that'll be lost money for broderbund and a
happier mac user.