Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Would you pay more for one version of an app that has fewer features than another version? That's what Ancestry expects Mac users to do. The Windows download version retails for $39.99 from the Ancestry online shop, while the Mac version retails for $69.99. According to GenealogyTools.com, the following features are in the Windows version but not the Mac version: Unicode support; ancestor narrative, descendant narrative, index of individuals, and surname reports; and online data import. The Mac version also lacks the Smart Story and hint sync features. The Windows version also exports media to GEDCOM files, while the Mac version still does not. In addition to feature inequality, the FTMM2 and FTM 2012 file formats are incompatible with each other. That is, FTM for Mac cannot open FTM for Windows files, and vice versa. To me, this is incomprehensible. The FTMM2 installation CD does come with a FTM Migration Utility that enables you to transfer files between Windows and Mac versions, but the utility runs only in Windows. So if I want to send my FTM file to my dad, a Windows user, I also have to send him the conversion utility. Pros: +Tight integration with Ancestry, to include searching and merging hints +Ability to set preferred facts +Ease of copying and pasting source citations +Fastfields for names, sources, and places +Hyperlinks to Ancestry source citations in the source citation window +Good variety of pedigree and descendant charts & reports Cons: -Frequent hangs and crashes; buggy -TreeSync does not work consistently, nor does it sync hints, member connections, or tasks -Loss of media sources that originated from Ancestry member trees when re-uploading a tree to Ancestry -Adding people without a last name is problematic if you don't use "unknown," etc. -Place authority is limited and doesn't recognize place names with administrative division words like "county" in them -Search functions and management tools aren't as robust as other apps -GEDCOM standard compliance issues -Missing features that FTM 2012 has, especially Stories, hint syncing, and export of media to GEDCOM files -Costs 75% more than the Windows version Final Verdict: Family Tree Maker for Mac 2 should still be in beta testing and is not ready for prime time; it's certainly not worth paying 75% more than the Windows version. It's ridiculous that Ancestry charges Mac users such a premium for an inferior product. Until Ancestry fixes the bugs, especially with TreeSync, and provides the same feature set as the Windows version, I cannot recommend FTMM2. To see my full review of Family Tree Maker for Mac 2, go to [...]