FAMILY TREE MAKER to be discontinued!

[KGarrad]

Paper?

Not good if there is a fire or flood!

[Beeonthebay]

Paper?

Not good if there is a fire or flood!

 

[AnneMc]

also have it backed up on an external hard

drive and have my bmd certificates in a fire proof box...


cheers

anne

[Yellowbird]

I use FTM on two separate laptops,  6000 miles apart, due to lifestyle and use the online tree (kept private of course ) to sync and keep and the two FTMs up to date.   With the expiry of the online version in due course, can anyone give me any advice on how to keep my tree synced and up to date when dealing with two laptops (and no, I do not wish to carry one half way around the world each time I travel )

Thanks.

YB

[groom]

Hopefully from what people have said we may still be able to sync, at least for the next few months. After that, the best way may be to download the tree from Ancestry onto a flash drive and then upload it onto the laptops.  That way you only have to carry a small flash drive.

[smudwhisk]

Hopefully from what people have said we may still be able to sync, at least for the next few months.

As ancestry have said, they are supporting the software until the end of 2016, support only goes from 1 Jan 2017.

Therefore, the sync option will remain until the end of 2016.  Ancestry's blog posts have specifically said that all functionality will remain until at least the end of 2016.

Which is why I, and many others, wonder why people are panicking so much at this moment.  All that stops at the end of 2015 is the sale of the software by ancestry.  That doesn't, I suspect, mean that the other sites that sell it will stop, unless ancestry are going to recall all the copies that have been sent to resellers.

[stonechat]

Hopefully from what people have said we may still be able to sync, at least for the next few months.

As ancestry have said, they are supporting the software until the end of 2016, support only goes from 1 Jan 2017.

Therefore, the sync option will remain until the end of 2016.  Ancestry's blog posts have specifically said that all functionality will remain until at least the end of 2016.

Which is why I, and many others, wonder why people are panicking so much at this moment.  All that stops at the end of 2015 is the sale of the software by ancestry.  That doesn't, I suspect, mean that the other sites that sell it will stop, unless ancestry are going to recall all the copies that have been sent to resellers.

It does mean we have to prepare for our long term plan for storage of our tree, and many will not be happy storing online only.

[groom]

That doesn't, I suspect, mean that the other sites that sell it will stop, unless ancestry are going to recall all the copies that have been sent to resellers.

If they continue to sell it, I hope, for the sake of anyone about to start their family tree, that it will be made clear that support will be withdrawn at the end of 2016.

I don't think people are panicking, they just need to know where they stand. I for one, have been reassured by all the information given here and as long as it can be used as a stand alone product, will
continue to use it. 

[smudwhisk]

I have to admit its debatable whether the other resellers will make sure people are aware that support will cease at the end of 2016, but I suppose they will just use the legal phrase "caveat emptor", "buyer beware".

The only way the software would ceased to function at the end of 2016 on people's PCs would be if ancestry issued an update that programmed the software to cease functioning as of that date.  Now, while I wouldn't necessarily put it past them doing this, I think that they would get so much hassle and trouble over it, its highly unlikely to be the case and I've not seen anything to suggest this.

The "panicking" I refer to are the numerous threats to cancel ancestry subscriptions because of the decision (even though that is spiting their own face probably more than ancestry's) and people panicking to change software immediately.  There have been examples on RC as well as elsewhere.  The sync option in FTM only started with the 2012 version, prior versions didn't have it, yet from what has been said in some online posts, you'd have thought it had always been available in all versions.

As none of the other software has an option to sync with ancestry, then its nothing different to using FTM after the end of 2016.  Should, though, one of the competitors come up with an agreement with ancestry to enable sync'ing with an ancestry tree, then that would be the time to move over.

I still have FTM2006 installed and was up until the beginning of 2013 using it in conjunction with FTM2012.  I only switched to Family Historian as I'd lost my FTM2012 CD when I purchased a new laptop.  I did eventually find the CD but had already by then decided that FH was a better product for what I wanted.