Alan E. Mann, AG

alan.familyhistory@gmail.com Accredited Genealogist

BYU 2007 Computerized Genealogy conference www.alanmann.com/articles

New and Emerging Technologies

Which May Impact Family History

This session is intended to be an entertaining, yet potentially useful look at some new technologies or concepts—either recently applied to family history or which are yet to be applied to family history. Then, we’ll look at a few new computer-related devices. At the end, I’ll give you a few hints on how to find more of the same on your own.

New Technology or Concepts

Automatic Source citation is something we’ve talked about for years, but has not yet come to pass. An actual implementation called Zotero is a major step in bringing this to pass. Check out the demo at www.zotero.org/documentation/screencasts/intro.

Media has been undergoing a major upheaval. The world is changing, and the future is in social broadcasting. Blogging and podcasting make audio and textual information sharing prolific, and YouTube has been a video revolution. Imagine being able to broadcast video or audio directly from your own webpage. Imagine being able to upload content to your broadcast web page directly from your cell phone. Sound futuristic? No, all of that can be done now. The future is in the widespread adoption of the technology and nearly universal availability and use.

I’ve been encouraging participation in blogging and podcasting long enough not to refer to it as a new technology. For those interested, check out NetVibes for blog tracking and iTunes for podcast tracking. Something new is splashcasting. Take a look at www.splashcastmedia.com. An example of a splashcast channel is OperaFeed at http://operafeed.com/. Examples imbedded in a blog include http://duanekeiser.blogspot.com/ and http://ridorlive.com/. For some entertainment, check out all of the Super Bowl commercials in a SplashCast at http://splashcastmedia.com/30-super-bowl-commercials-in-1-player.

At the root of the media revolution is the concept of getting the content you want when you want it, where you want it, and even how you want it. Why wait to watch your favorite TV program at the time the network says it’s available. Why not when you want and where you want? An answer is television on the web. While major networks and cable companies are fighting over rights while experimenting with online TV delivery, we can try Roots Television (www.rootstelevision.com). See these examples:

Vblogs - http://rootstelevision.typepad.com/video/2007/01/genealogy_websi.html.

Climbing Your Family Tree channel- http://rootstelevision.typepad.com/climbing_family_trees/2007/02/searching_for_y.html

Webbiographies - http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid203711729/bclid240119644/bctid452316473

New Technologies - http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid212355366/bclid236034208/bctid291718279

Along the same line, look at online video editing, creating slideshows and movies online, and a new site/web service called Pickle.

Online Video editing allows you to modify existing video or photos, add narration or music, and create your own video. As an example, see http://mojiti.com/learn, but other online video editors include www.vyew.com, www.JumpCut.com, www.MotionBox.com, www.EyeSpot.com, www.Gotuit.com, www.Cuts.com, and perhaps best of all (only one which can auto-attach a sound clip) www.photobucket.com.

Create your own movies and slideshows online from scratch or from photos on your computer or camera using www.slideroll.com. Once created, you can upload to YouTube or perhaps even SplashCast. Some early examples include the following: www.slideroll.com/slideshows/members/ginalance/show/lance-family-pictures-2/

www.slideroll.com/slideshows/members/rolandsmartin/show/john-h-johnson-lies-in-state/

Pickle is a free photo and video sharing service. Not only can you upload your photos and videos, but you can transfer them directly from your camera or cell phone. Once uploaded, you can set pickle to begin immediately broadcasting the video. Thus, you can have a live or near live broadcast of an event as it happens. No wonder the news media are worried about the future of news broadcasting… Check it out at www.pickle.com/StaticPages/newtour/overview.jsp.

Google Apps is part of a major shift in office productivity software. This new service offers word processing, spreadsheets, and presentation software via the web. You don’t need to have any software on your computer (except a web browser, of course). It will even store your documents online where you can retrieve it from any Internet computer or even allow coworkers or family members to work on the documents from their computers. See http://docs.google.com.

Immortal computing is a Microsoft project to create an artifact which preserves information. Could this change the experience of a cemetery visit? Could we use it to create genealogical time capsules for our posterity? Read more in an article at http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/300636_msftimmortal22.html).

Lip-Reading Computers. For several years, software has been available to allow you to speak commands to your computer. Now, researchers at the U of East Anglia have launched a three-year project to enable your computer to read lips. The project applies technology like optical character recognition (OCR), receiving input from a digital video camera and parsing it into the position of a person’s lips at specified intervals. It then uses algorithms similar to predictive texting to put together what a person is likely saying as text. This opens the possibilities of automatically converting what is being said on a video to text and making videos searchable by words spoken by persons within the video.

I’m not sure exactly what will be done with this, if anything. Here’s a look at what’s being called Genealogy motion graphics - www.metaportaldermedienpolemik.net/blog/Blog/2007-01-16/rhnav+-+rhizome+navigation+used+to+create+genealogy+motion+graphics

Web 2.0 is a popular term often used to describe new services offered using recent web technologies. For a great video production on Web 2.0, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nk0EOE. For a genealogical example, see www.genealogieonline.nl/genealogie-berkemeijer/I9510.php.

New Devices

Readius – I’ve mentioned before the Sony Reader, which stores 80 books and allows you to read them on a clear, paper-like screen. Now, a British company has gone a step further with a new reader which stores books, checks email, stores podcasts, and monitors RSS feeds. The reader and screen is the size of a cell phone, but folds out to a 5 inch screen. Take a look at www.polymervision.com/ProductsApplications/Readius/Index.html.

FreeLoader - a pocket-sized device which could easily fit in a purse or backpack, it basically draws energy from the sun and converts it into power for your camera, iPod, cellphone, or other gadget. It comes with various device hookups and can be charged via USB when the sun isn’t out. Should you need more mobile power, this device will sell for around $60. See more at www.solartechnology.co.uk/products/solar_chargers/freeloader.asp

True Multi-tasking - Debuting in May 2007, the Samsung 19-inch Syncmaster 940UX is a monitor that offers the option of connecting through USB as well as traditional DVI and VGA. Why is this significant? Because, if your computer can handle it, you can have as many monitors as you want—and have something different on each! The monitor will rely on the CPU rather than a graphics card, making multi-tasking more productive. The monitors will be available in Windows only (because they need drivers), with pricing as yet unannounced.

How to Find More on Your Own

There are thousands more such sites on the internet. It would be impossible to list them all here. Even if I could list them all, there would be more that weren’t listed by tomorrow! So how can you find more? There’s a lot you can do to be aware of developing technology. I would suggest:

· Read online newsletters, chiefly Dick Eastman’s newsletter (www.eogen.com). See www.cyndislist.com/magazine.htm#E-zines for a list of many others.

· Participate in or read Genealogy Blogs (http://genealogyblog.com, www.genhelp.org, http://genealogysites.blogspot.com, www.dearmyrtle.com, www.randomgenealogy.com, http://genealogy.about.com, or others.

· Follow technology blogs such as www.techcrunch.com, www.mashable.com, www.programmableweb.com, www.techquilashots, and http://coolfools.blogspot.com.

· Check out technical genealogy blogs http://beta.tech.lds.org, www.ldscio.org, http://familysearchlabs.blogspot.com, www.ldswebguy.com)

· Subscribe to blogs, podcasts, and searches via RSS (see www.rssgenealogy.com, or The Bluster about Blogging

) Use an RSS reader such as NetVibes (www.netvibes.com).

· Review Wikis (www.eogen.com) and similar items.

· Attend conferences & institutes like this one. Check both speakers and vendors.

· Participate in societies with technology topics or publications (such as Blue Chips, www.ucs.org/index.php and Utah Valley PAF, www.uvpafug.org).

· Read industry publications such as Genealogical Computing, PAFology (www.uvpafug.org), and Internet Genealogy (www.internet-genealogy.com) , and society publications--most include technology articles in current issues.

· Use search tools and directories, such as

o Linkpendium (www.linkpendium.com)

o Search Systems (www.searchsystems.net)

o Genealogy Sleuth (www.progenealogists.com/genealogysleuthb.htm)

o State Archive site list (www.sos.state.ga.us/archives/what_do_we_have/other _state_archives/default.htm).

o Cyndi’s List (www.cyndislist.com/primary.htm#Online)

o Genealogy Links (www.genealogylinks.net)

©Copyright 2006-7 by Alan E. Mann. All rights reserved. Written permission to reproduce all or part of this syllabus material in any format, including photocopying, data retrieval, or the Internet, must be secured in advance from the copyright holder.