Programs you should consider

As I travel around the genealogical community, such as the fact that I am presently in Atlanta (more particularly Duluth) Georgia for a Family History Expo, I find that many participants are not aware of what I would consider basic software programs for helping with genealogy. I decided to share a few short blurbs about programs I have found to be helpful and in some cases, indispensable.

Evernote.com - Initially free with optional paid upgrades
I use Evernote and its associated programs many times almost every day. If you haven't explored Evernote.com, you should take a look. This program is much more than simply a place to keep to-do lists, it has a whole family of associated programs that enable you to keep all sorts of information synchronized on all your devices; computers, smartphones, tablets and etc. Evernote.com's other offerings include my favorite screen grabber, Skitch, and others. Check this out.

VueScan.com - $$
While you usually get some kind of scanning software with your scanner, the software is usually fairly limited. What is even more interesting is the fact that you may not even realize the software is limited. That is, until you check out the specifications for VueScan. This program is one of the few that can download a RAW file from your scanner, giving you all of the information from the scan. If you choose you can also scan to .jpeg, .tiff and PDF files directly. If you would like to know all of the options for scanning check out this program.

Adobe Reader - Free Adobe Acrobat - $$
You may already have this program. But did you know it had a big brother called Adobe Acrobat? The full version, Adobe Acrobat, is a fairly expensive program, but if you need the features, it is worth the money. We have used Acrobat for years to prepare PDF documents for printing. It is an invaluable tool if you are in the document production business.

Kindle - Free
Kindle is more than a tablet, it is also a software program or app that works on you desktop computer and smartphones, both Android and iPhones. It will also work on Android tablets and iPads. You can download books and PDF documents and import other files for use on all your devices.

Adobe Digital Editions - Free
Many ebooks come in the Adobe Digital Editions format. This free reader from Adobe can connect you to these online digitized books from your library or those you purchase.

That's probably enough for today to keep you busy. I will return with more suggestions in the near future.