Most of us at Family Tree Magazine are back from the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) conference, Sept. 3-6 in Orlando, Fla., where we met with contributing editors and Betterway Books authors, sat engrossed in classes and prowled the exhibit hall. See below for a conference recap and overview of notable products.

The biggest news of the week came from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' (LDS) Family History Library (FHL), which wants to fundamentally change the way you research. The LDS church announced during the conference that staff are conducting a worldwide genealogical needs assessment, which they hope will result in the development of a system to simplify family history processes—while improving the accuracy of these processes. No details were given on what a revised system would entail. Simpler and more accurate sound great, but hold your horses for now: It could be years before you see significant changes in the FHL. Comfort yourself with the knowledge that the FHL catalog, accessible at www.familysearch.org, is now updated daily and features a new keyword search.

—Diane Haddad, Newsletter Editor
ftmnews-editor@fwpubs.com

The FGS exhibit hall was a great place to peruse books from a variety of publishers, learn about software, explore local genealogical societies and try out subscription and non-commercial databases. The Bureau of Land Management brought its land records database, and the Department of the Interior was there to explain plans to microfilm homestead case files and bring them to the Homestead National Monument of America near Beatrice, NE.

Unless you're not already using a computer for genealogy research, the products and services exhibited likely won't revolutionize your research—but they may make doing genealogy easier. Here's an overview of some that have been recently tweaked or introduced.

Billing itself as an "electronic filing cabinet," Clooz is designed to store the thousands of facts and photos uncovered during genealogical research. Version 1.23 includes updated form templates, new data fields and repaired glitches. Visit www.clooz.com for the details. The upgrade is $5; the program is $34.95 for a download or $39.95 on CD. An hour-long instructional video is also available for $15.95.

GeneWeaver tracks your medical pedigree, making it easier to use your genealogical research to inform health decisions. Import GEDCOM files or type names and information, then answer health-related questions about each person. The software includes a list of outdated disease names. It's now available at a reduced price of $39.95 at www.geneweaveronline.com.

Genfolder is a system for automatically backing up genealogy and photo files via the Internet151according to owner Laura Williams, the safest, longest-lasting backup method available. About $100 gets you basic setup, 100 MB of storage and a year of file backups when you're online. Read more at www.genfolder.com.

Use House of Ancestors to create a family history home page, searchable by individual or surname, with no need for web programming skills or special software. Your data and site are regularly backed up via the Internet. Packages range from $35 to $65 per year. Visit houseofancestors.com for more information. Legacy Family Tree 4.0 Standard Edition genealogy software is now available in full form as a free download. The bells and whistles are fewer than the Deluxe Edition, but it might be a good starting point if you're making the transfer from paper to hard drive. Go to www.legacyfamilytree.com/DownloadLegacy.asp to get the download.

If you savor descriptive meat on the bones of census records and death certificates, visit Reflections on the River, the Cincinnati Public Library's Web site commemorating the city's Tall Stacks celebration. The Web site explores Cincinnati history through the lives of three actual 19th-century Cincinnatians who left their stories behind: entrepreneur and Englishwoman Frances Trollope, author of Domestic Manners of the Americans; free black hairdresser Eliza Potter, who published A Hairdresser's Experience in High Life and riverboat captain James Wise, immortalized in letters to his family.

Audio in each person's own words is accompanied by historical illustrations and documents—such as Elizabeth's 1860 census record and a map of her neighborhood. A resources page lists the sources used to piece together these stories, as well as selected items from the library's substantial genealogical and historical collections. Learn about Frances, Eliza and James at the Reflections on the River site, www.cincinnatilibrary.org/tallstacks/voices. Find other Tall Stacks events and web sites at www.tallstacks.com.

Submit your family tree scrapbook page to the Memory Makers magazine Family Tree Contest and you could win a place at Memory Makers' Croppin' Around the Caribbean cruise next spring!

Entries must be good-quality color photocopies accompanied by official entry forms and postmarked by Sept. 3. The grand prize winner and a guest will spend seven days on the Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas learning from scrapbooking experts.

The complete contest rules and entry form are at www.memorymakersmagazine.com/specialoffers.asp?mmftcontest .

Having trouble tracking down those elusive ancestors? In this biweekly, Web-exclusive column, contributing editor Nancy Hendrickson points to new and helpful ways to do your computer-related genealogy research. This week, she discusses genealogy-related travel.

www.familytreemagazine.com/specialoffers.asp?FAMancestorcurrent

Hendrickson is a family historian, freelance writer and the author of Finding Your Roots Online, on sale now at www.familytreemagazine.com/specialoffers.asp?EMfyro. Browse the archive of her AncestorNews columns at www.familytreemagazine.com/specialoffers.asp?FAMancestorarchive.

This week's tip comes from Phyllis Penninga of DeMotte, Ind.:

"I often scribble notes about helpful Web sites, things to look up, etc., when I'm at the library or working on the computer. Now, I've organized them into a three-ring binder. I put the family name at the top of the page and write the notes down the page. When I get a chance to follow up, I put a check mark by the note, so I know not to look it up again. I often have time at work to do research on line, but can't bring all my genealogy with me. This notebook is a great help."

If you have a great idea for discovering, preserving or celebrating family history, we'd love to hear it. E-mail us your tip at ftmnews-editor@fwpubs.com with "TIP OF THE WEEK" in the subject line. If we publish it, you'll win a free copy of Locating Your Roots by Patricia Law Hatcher, also available for purchase online at www.familytreemagazine.com/specialoffers.asp?EMlyr091103.

Overwhelmed by the number of family history-related Web sites popping up? FamilyTreeMagazine.com sorts through them all—whew!—to bring you only the very best. We recently recommended the following as Sites of the Week:

• Speech Accent Archive
Listen to 249 different accents from around the world as the speakers read the same paragraph in English.
classweb.gmu.edu/accent

• Corpus Christi Local History Databases
Find information on your Texas ancestors through birth, marriage, divorce and death notices that appeared in Corpus Christi newspapers. This site also includes newspaper abstracts and historical postcards.
lhdatabases.ccpl.ci.corpus-christi.tx.us

• Hawaiian Language Newspapers
The University of Hawaii at Monoa has dozens of Hawaiian Language newspapers from the mid-19th through early 20th centuries available online. Browse by newspaper or article.
libweb.hawaii.edu/hnp/newspapers/htm

• Resurrecting the Past With Your Pen
Are you ready to put your ancestors' trials, tribulations and triumphs down on paper? Genealogy expert and author Sharon DeBartolo Carmack offers tips for writing your family history.
www.familytreemagazine.com/articles/aug03/writing.html