Technology Thursday - October 13, 2011

I am not ashamed to say I am a huge geek, an Apple fan-girl, and lover of all new gadgets and software. I spent a couple of hours last night updating my iPad, MacBook Pro, iPod, and MacBook Air (I warned you I am an Apple fan-girl!) with Apple's new "iCloud" functionality. Now comes the fun part: what is its practical application to the world of genealogy research? How will it help me become a more efficient researcher? I currently use Family Tree Maker for Mac, as well as Ancestry's iPad/iPod mobile application, and with my genealogy documents in the iCloud, everything I need for mobile genealogy research will be at my fingertips. I've also customized my iGoogle homepage by adding widgets and links to favorite research sites, started experimenting with Evernote, and now use Google Reader to stay in touch with my favorite bloggers. Technology is a wonderful thing! Don't be afraid to embrace it to help you become a more efficient researcher and connect with your fellow family historians.