What should you use? Desktop or web genealogy software?
The question is posed once in a while, and superficially, the question seems legit; there is a choice, so which one is best?
The answer is that the question is more than a little deceptive.
The choice between desktop and web genealogy software is a false dichotomy. You can have both.
The choice between desktop and web genealogy software is a false dichotomy. You can have both.
You not only can have both, but are probably also best of taking advantage of the best of both
- not the best of both worlds
, but the best of both platforms, coexisting in the same world.
Sure, you can choose to use just the desktop, just a tablet, or just the web, and if that suits you, that's fine. However, the suggestion, disingenuously implied by the question, that one platform is better for everyone, that one platform is all anyone would ever want or need, is poppycock.
If you pay attention you may note that, more often than can be considered coincidence, the question is posed by someone associated with a particular web app, as a lead-in to some text promoting their web app as all you'll ever need. Verily, they tell thou, that single web app is the future of genealogy, and thou willst be left behind if thou doesn't switch to it soon. Poppycock, balderdash and malarkey from vendors, sock puppets, sponsored bloggers, blinkered fankids and the occasional wannabe pundit.
Do not ignore the web, but don't drag your desktop genealogy application to the trashcan either, and don't forget about mobile apps. They all have their strength and advantages.
Do not ignore the web, but don't drag your desktop genealogy application to the trashcan either, and don't forget about mobile apps.
They all have their strength and advantages.
A desktop application offers immediate always-on access (no need to wait for some download, no need for an Internet connection).
A web app offers access anywhere you are - well, as long as there is an Internet connection that's fast and affordable enough.
A mobile app that keeps its database on your mobile device lets you take your data anywhere, no Internet required.
Your software choices will continue to evolve, but featurewise, today's web apps do not compare well to desktop applications. In fact, featurewise, today's web apps do not even compare well to lite editions of desktop applications. If you care about privacy - and as a genealogist you should - you want to keep your private notes private, and only publish information on living persons when they've given you permission to do so. Genealogy web apps are no substitute for backups. If you care about backups (of course you do), you do not merely want to be believe that backups are made, you want to know that backups are made.
Web apps are just one way to present your genealogy on the web.
There still are some genealogists who ignore the web, but they are far and few between.
The few I have encountered are all elderly people who just don't feel like learning anything new anymore.
The web has indexed collections and scans.
The web is a bad place for privacy, but the web is a great place to publish your finished research (yes, there is such a thing) or unfinished research to serve as cousin bait,
while informing family scattered around the globe.
It is a great place to search for distant family members, find research that has already been done, and interact with other genealogists.
There are multiple web apps that will show your genealogy on the web.
The desktop versus web choice is not only a false dichotomy because you can do both, it is not even a dichotomy.
Web apps are just one way to present your genealogy on the web.
The desktop versus web choice is not only a false dichotomy because you can do both, it is not even a dichotomy.
There isn't just one way to put your genealogy on the web, there are multiple ways to do so.
You can post fragments of your genealogy on your blog.
You can post an electronic document, such as a PDF file,
upload web pages created by your desktop genealogy application or a specialised web publishing tool such as GED2HTML.
You can install a web app such as TNG on your own server.
You can upload your data to a third party site.
There are quite a few choices. Each choice has advantages as well as drawbacks,
but your aren't limited to just one choice.
Shared webtrees are not for everyone.
There are two kinds of third-party sites you can upload your genealogy data to: genealogy hosting sites and shared webtrees.
A genealogy hosting site presents your genealogy database along databases created by others,
a shared webtree merges your data into a single database, which they typically call a world family tree.
Shared webtrees are not for everyone.
Although many people like that idea, many who tried one of the shared webtrees have become disenchanted.
The key issue with a shared webtree is that you have no control over edits, good or bad, because it isn't your database anymore.
Some persons associated with one infamously low quality shared webtree are remarkably eager to present the false dichotomy.
They are eager to claim that their product is the best ever, all the while cheerfully ignoring that there are other shared webtrees,
blithely neglecting the many other ways to get your data on the web,
and zealously suggesting that all desktop apps are inferior because, well, because they're desktop apps!
In fact, they'd like you to start thinking of desktop apps as nothing more than pretty front-ends for their shared webtree,
which is the future of genealogy.
The hogwash, hooey and hot air from these false dichotomists is so dissociated from reality,
that it cannot even be considered to be deluded wishful thinking,
but must be labeled as deliberately dishonest drivel.
It is paltry prattle that can only be categorised as product propaganda.
These demagogues like to start their product propaganda with the false dichotomy,
on the off chance that you're uninformed and credulous enough to fall for it.
The only actual dichotomy is the one between reality and their propaganda.
There is no dichotomy between desktop applications and web apps, and no dichotomy between desktop applications and tablet apps either. There is no need to choose between these. You can have it all.
There is no dichotomy between desktop applications and web apps, and no dichotomy between desktop applications and tablet apps either. There is no need to choose between these. You can have it all.
It is perfectly normal to have a desktop (or laptop), carry a tablet and use the web. It makes sense to have it all, to take advantage of the strengths of each.
Major vendors of desktop genealogy application agree, and have gone multi-platform with a vengeance,
evolving their offering from a product into a multi-platform product suite.
Ancestry.com's Family Tree Maker was rebuild to be multi-platform, available on both Windows and Mac OS X,
and sync with Ancestry Member Trees, which you cannot only view and edit on the web,
but also through the mobile Ancestry app for Android, iDevices and even Windows.
The MyHeritage Family Tree Builder desktop software does not merely let you upload your data to the MyHeritage web site,
but features deep integration with that site,
and the MyHeritage apps for both Android and iDevices let you view your data on a tablet or smartphone.
The latest version of RootsMagic not only lets you create web pages to upload to on your own site, but also lets you upload your data to My.RootsMagic. RootsMagic has already introduced RootsMagic To-Go (USB stick), RootsMagic for iDevices, and RootsMagic for Android, and is working on RootsMagic for Mac. BSD Concept redesigned Heredis as a multiplatform application that runs on Windows, Mac OS X and iDevices, and works with Heredis Online. Synium software has complemented MacFamilyTree with MobileFamilyTree for iDevices, to let you edit your data on the go.
By the way, disadvantages of web apps related to network bandwidth and availability disappear when you install them locally, on your desktop or laptop. You can do so with products like TNG, PhpGedView and Webtrees, to enjoy exactly the same product on the desktop and the web.
The web pages created by TMG are pretty poor, but John Cardinal sells Second Site to adress just that shortcoming. Millenia doesn't have an app for Legacy Family Tree, but TelGen's Families app for both Android and iDevices was specifically designed to work with Legacy. There is no app specifically designed for PAF or Ancestral Quest, but GHCS Software's GedStar Pro will import GEDCOM files from any genealogy application into its own format, and can handle pretty large databases. There also are several GEDCOM viewers for both Android and iDevices.
The desktop vendors aren't the only ones branching out into additional platforms, vendors of web services are doing so too. Geneanet has the Geneanet app, The TribalPages site has the TribalPages app. Geni.com still doesn't have it own app, but MobiWolf offers GeneDroid for Android, and TelGen's World Family Tree is available for both Android and iDevices.
The future of genealogy isn't on the desktop or the web. The future of genealogy is wherever genealogists are.
The future of genealogy isn't on the desktop or the web. The future of genealogy is wherever genealogists are.
There are good reasons to collaborate, there are good reasons to keep control over changes.
There are good reasons to keep data private, there are good reason to share.
There are good reasons to use desktop applications,
there are good reason to use tablet apps, there are good reasons to use the web.
No vendor is offering a single genealogy product that fits all genealogists.
Genealogist will try various products, and combine them as they see fit.
Genealogists are everywhere. The future of genealogy is everywhere.
Genealogists are everywhere. The future of genealogy is everywhere.
There is no need to choose one product or platform over all others. You can use multiple products on multiple platforms. Vendors will create products for platforms that are popular, and synchronise your data between platforms. You want your genealogy everywhere, you can have your genealogy everywhere.
Genealogy is never done
Copyright © Tamura Jones. All Rights reserved.