Managing Partitions

Most computers now have partitions on the hard drives. A partition is like a room. You might have two partitions on your hard drive, say C Drive and D Drive. C Drive is the portion of your hard drive that has all your stuff– the operating system, your files and folders, etc. D Drive is the portion of your hard drive that has, say, your operating system’s recovery information. Fewer and fewer computer manufacturers are including the operating system on disk anymore– they now install the operating system on the computer’s hard drive (on a partition) where you have to copy that information on a number of backup DVDs. I dislike it very much. I like having a factory disk of the operating system, I hate making the recovery backup disks, and I hate having all that wasted, unused space on my hard drive.

Here’s a cool (and FREE) program that helps manage your partitions: Easeus Partition Manager. Don’t ask me how to pronounce it, though! I have not used this yet, but I intend to. My hesitation right now is that there doesn’t appear to be a free program for 64-bit Vista, which is what I have. So I’m waiting until I have made data backups (and am feeling adventurous) to see if Easeus will work on my computer.

Easeus has gotten rave reviews. It enables you to create, delete, manage, resize, amd reformat partitions on your hard drive. I am in need of making more space for my C Drive and shrinking the monster that is my D Drive. It looks very user-friendly. But as always, do backup your important data before messing with your files.

Download Your Flickr Files

I found this software program today: FlickrDown. This is amazing stuff! I have about 2,000 photos and videos on Flickr, and wanted to make a backup of my stuff there. Unfortunately, Flickr offers no means to download your files from their site. So a guy named Gregg created a little software program that does it for you. It’s an absolute breeze to use, and I can now sleep at night because I know that my photos are backed up.

The software is completely free to download and use, and there are no ads for stuff like Lipovox on it, either! You do need to authorize the program to access your Flickr account. Authorizing the program is easy– sign in to your Flickr account with your browser, and open to FlickrDown to authorize. Flickr will ask if you want to allow the third-party program to access your account. If you say “no,” FlickrDown won’t be able to download your photos.

I’ve been using the program all afternoon, and I just love it. You can choose which sets you want to download, or which photos, or all. It’s a terrific and simple little program that saves a lot of headaches!

Vista’s Snipping Tool

I’d mentioned that I got a very cool Apple Aluminum keyboard for my Windows Vista computer. I am just loving this keyboard! I can type faster and I make fewer typing errors. It has made me more productive, and there’s nothing like a new gadget to inspire and motivate a person!

I’d said that some specialized keys don’t work for me (like the media keys, which I never used on PC keyboards, either). But I discovered that one of my favorite keys is missing– the “PrtScrn” key. I do a lot of copying my desktop, for image-making and for tutorial posts.

I did a search and tried all the button variations I found online: Ctrl + Command + Fn + Shift + 3; Shift + Command + 4; Fn + Command + F11; argh! It wasn’t long before my fingers were aching from all the Twister-like variations I had to try, like Plantar Fasciitis on the hand, lol. And still nothing worked.

I figured that I’d have to download some specialty software to get the function to work. I try not to go that route if I possibly can, because the last thing I need is another little program running in the background (or some weirdo thrid-party hack that is buggy). But then I read about something that Vista has already! It’s called Snipping Tool. Oh my goodness, this was just what I needed, and it is on my computer already! And better still, it’s sleek, it’s small, and it’s very easy to use. It’s even better than PrtScrn, because I can add some graphics (like highlighted text, or “write” with a colored pen of my choice.” Cool!

Below is a screenshot I took using Snipping Tool. It’s a screenshot of my blog post. I doodled on the image with a few of Snipping Tools features. It’s really a fun program.

And the next screenshot is something I took off Wikipedia. Snipping Tool saves/copies the images as JPEG files, which are the standard and most common image files– so everything is very compatible with everything else.

So if you have Vista and are looking for a keen little copying program, look for Snipping Tool. The easiest way to find it is to clck on your Vista “Start” button (the small round button on the bottom left hand side of your screen) and type in Snipping in the search bar. If you have it, it will show right up. If you want to save the shortcut to a more convenient location so you can access it quicker next time, right-click on the title “Snipping Tool.” A small menu will appear. Choose “Pin to Start Menu.” From now on, when you click on the Start button, you’ll see the Snipping Tool icon listed in your Start Menu for easy access.

Using the Internet for Genealogy Research

My grandmother was a genealogist. She had hundreds of folders, books, newsletters, papers, and more all crammed with genealogy information. I guess I got the bug from her. As a kid, she took me along with her on all her cemetery research exploits. I find myself doing the same thing with my own kids. Unfortunately, some of her research only goes so far back. She just didn’t have access to records to continue the lineage.

The Internet has changed all that– boy, has it changed all that! Thanks to the Internet, I’ve been able to trace some of my ancestry as far back as the 900s! And I discovered that I am a direct descendant of a Matflower Compact signer. That’s something I know my grandmother would have liked to have known. I’m sorry she died before I could tell her.

I’ll share with you some of the best resources I’ve found online for my genealogy search. I haven’t spent one cent in doing so; I know Ancestry.com charges fees (what is it now, $100 a year?), but there are loads of other sites out there that offer you information for free, if you are willing to do a little legwork. (Just to let you know, everything I mention here is absolutely FREE unless otherwise mentioned.)

First thing before you get too deep into research– you need to keep records. I used to write everything down, but that became very messy. I now use free software, called Personal Ancestral File (PAF). It’s offered free by the Latter Day Saints site. They also have a searchable database where you can search for your ancestors. It’s limited somewhat, and I found numerous errors in my ancestral information (someone had last names mixed up, which could lead a person on a goose chase).

If you like to write things down, there are some free family tree documents you can print out, at Family Tree Templates.

About.com has a good genealogy site to get you started. There are some good links to sites that you may find very useful.

Cyndi’s List is probably the most famous genealogy portal. She links to dozens of ancestry sites. There’s a lot there to find.

U.S. National Archives. This is a huge site. They have a section devoted to genealogy with loads of links and articles. Exprect to spend half your lifetime here, lol.

The U.S. Census Bureau. It’s not exactly the most user-friendly place, but everything is there.

Census Online. You can search the site by state and by year. They also enable you to search a few countries.

Ellis Island online. This is a site I found rather sketchy in information. The records keepers at Ellis Island cared little for accuracy or family names. We’ve all heard the stories about the records keepers designating names like “Shumacher” because a man said his occupation was making shoes (even though his last name was really Fischer or something). Also, I found absolutely nothing at the site to help me, because all my ancestors came to America in the 1600s and 1700s, centuries before Ellis Island took in immigrants. But if you have ancestors from Europe who came the U.S. sometime after 1890s, this site may help. ALWAYS get confirmation on your research, though.

Vital Records. The government has loads of information about registered births, deaths, Social Security, marriages, divorces, taxation, and census information. Check out this site, which is searchable by state.

USGenWeb Project. Huge. You can search by state.

DAR. This stands for the Daughters of the American Revolution, and they have lots of information on American patriots and servicemen. You can join the group, too, for added benefits.

Cemeteries online. I don’t have a link because there are millions of cemeteries, everywhere. Sometimes a Google/Yahoo search for your ancestor’s last name and place or residence is enough to find his/her burial place. I have been to dozens of cemeteries where I’ve located mt ancestors. Here’s another tip: take photos of the headstones when you visit. You can upload them into your genealogy program or online. And don’t underestimate the amazing record-keeping of cemeteries. If you can pinpoint an ancestor’s location, you can probably find relations nearby in the cemeteries. Some cemeteries have websites with photos. New York State has a huge database of cemeteries, organized by county. Here’s a brief list:

New York State’s Official Division of Cemeteries
New York State Association of Cemeteries
New York State Department of Health
NYGenWeb Cemetery Database
Interment.net

(Note: Now just because I’m listing New York State links, doesn’t mean you can’t visit them! If you click “HOME” on some sites, it will take you to the home page where you can search extensively by state or keywords.The nice thing about genealogy research is that you can dig deeper and deeper and perhaps find some important information or clues.)

For New Yorkers, there’s a nice database here called the NYGenWeb. It has a lot of links and other places to search, also. There’s also the New York State Library system, which has a lot to look into. If you’re looking into Cayuga County, the county has one of the BEST sites I’ve ever seen, The Cayuga County NYGenWeb Project. Some of the links may give you leads for other areas.

New York State is a good place to start genealogy searches. Why? Because just about everybody who moved east to west passed through New York. Everyone I meet always says they have a relation or ancestor in New York! New York, with the lowlands of the Mohawk Valley and then the Erie Canal, was the only way to get east to west for hundreds of years. People couldn’t cross the Adirondacks, Alleghenies, or the Appalachians, and New York State has a natural strip– a low area in the valleys– where people and their goods could pass through. Many genealogists have found my own blog, New York Traveler.net to be a helpful resource for their searches, because I have blogged about history, visited cemeteries and landmarks, and have mentioned various New Yorkers. So maybe that will help.

Here’s a very extensive site called Ray’s Place. He has a ton of information and links about New England, and an excellent site relating to New York’s Local History.

Other useful links I have found:
RootsWeb
GenCircles.com
Geneaolgy Links.net
Genealogy Today
Ancestor Hunt
ProGenealogists
JewishGen.com is affiliated with the Museum of Jewish History.
Genealogy.com
Genealogy.com also has a good forum where you can search for names and browse discussions. I have found some good information there (and a few mong-lost cousins!) The forum is the GenForum.
GenGateway
Olive Tree Geneaology (yes, they spelled it that way)
DMOZ has a page on genealogy (but they spelled it wrong, too)

I hope this helps! Remember to keep records, take photos, and verify as much information as you can. Your grandkids and great-grandkids will appreciate it. Happy hunting!

Free PDF Creator

I remember, a few years ago, when it was so hard to find a free PDF creator program. Adobe charged, what, $300 for their creator? And the smaller ones charged $50 or so. I’d found one or two online, but they were complicated or buggy or had flashier interfaces than the neon signs in las vegas nevada. How the times have changed.

Here’s a great PDF creator I’ve found: Primo PDF. There’s a free version and a beefier, professional version. I haven’t downloaded it yet, mostly because OpenOffice (another free program) has one in their word processor software, also for free. I like OpenOffice, but it is a big file. If you are simply creating PDFs and don’t want to deal with a big office suite or Word documents, Primo PDF might fit the bill.

A Mouse-Controlled Volume

I’m a mom. I work at the computer. And the kids are often nearby, working on their schoolwork or doing other things. I HATE it when I visit a website and blaring loud noise blasts out! It breaks the concentration of the kids and makes my heart leap into my throat! Oftentimes, I’m just not fast enough to reach up for the speakers to press the “mute” button or turn the volume low. I am, however, very quick with the mouse! So I installed “Volumouse” on my computers. It’s perfect for the laptops. There’s a free download here. I’ve been using it on my laptops for many years now (laptop volume controls are very difficult for fast action!). I like the program– it works well, doesn’t eat up computer resources, and it’s free!

You can use your mouse or set up your own hotkeys to work with Volumouse. Using it doesn’t interfere with using your mouse for other things (you press the “alt” key and use the mouse scroll button to use Volumouse). It’s a pretty cool program! And Volumouse can control Windows Media Player volume, too.

Making Screencasts

I’ve been on a quest for some good video editing software (you who follow this blog know what I’ve been up to). I’d also been searching for good screencasting software. I’ve found a great tutorial video by Shawn Powers that led me to some success!

Screencasting is making videos of your desktop. Programs like the very popular Jing make great screencasts. The only problem I found with Jing is that it saves the screencast as a shockwave flash file format (swf), which isn’t recognized by Apple’s Quicktime or Windows Media Player or the Windows Movie Maker that I use for making videos. So although Jing is really neat for making quickie screencasts (for example, for online tutorials or whatever), I can’t use any of it for my videos. Specifically, I wanted to make a screencast of me using Google Earth. It took me forever to find screencast software that would do this. Thanks to Shawn Powers, I got some ideas of what I needed! Here’s his video. I have it here because it’s fun (he’s very humorous) and he mentions a whole bunch of different kinds of software you might find useful for yourself.

I use the software AviScreen Classic (it’s free at Download.com here). The software is a little clunky but it worked great and I got my Google Earth screencast!

I’ll be sure to post more updates and more goodies I find as I continue to scout around.

Convert Videos to Flash

I hope you aren’t all tired of my video-based topics. I am STILL looking for a perfect video editing program… sighhhh. But the things I am finding along the way are very good. They just aren’t what I am looking for at this time. However, that is the beauty of having a blog. Here I can post my findings for sharing (and I do hope some of these you find helpful in some way) and they also serve as “bookmarks” for me in case I need something at some time in the future. I ALWAYS get a good, functional “search” feature when I use a blog theme, because I am always comeing back and searching my own blog for things I mentioned months ago.

To make a long story short, here’s another jewel I found– convert your videos to Flash. I love Flash, because it takes up less space, is less bulky, and just about every browser can use it. This software program is called Riva VX. It’s a Flash-encoder.

This encoding program will transcode your video files into FLV format (that’s the file name for Flash movies). The Riva VX works with AVI, MPEG, WMV, Quicktime. And the program is free, which is always nice.

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