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Post date: Mar 4, 2016 6:56:58 PM
Many of you still remember Ancestry's ill-advised announcement of the death of Family Tree Maker (FTM) from early December 2015, and the ensuing outrage, fear, and confusion expressed by many thousands of FTM users (see also Ancestry - A Day Late...).
You may also recall that nearly two (2) months later, Ancestry finally announced that they had two different solutions for their customers who would like to continue using a software solution similar to that which had been offered by Family Tree Maker. These solutions involved either switching to RootsMagic, or to continue using the Family Tree Maker, which was being sold to the Software MacKiev, company that had been developing this often-ill-behaved software on Ancestry's behalf for the past six (6) years.
Today, Software MacKiev has announced that an updated version of Family Tree Maker software is now available for sale, and that existing users of FTM 2014 (for Windows) and FTM Mac 3 will be receiving updates to their existing software soon, though they have not specified a date.
It does appear that Software MacKiev have increased the price for FTM, though I have to admit that I don't recall what the most recent pricing had been for FTM (if anyone had purchased a copy of FTM toward the end of last year, it would be great if you could let me know what Ancestry was charging - let me know if it was a new version, or an upgrade, and if it was the full price, or a discounted price).
Right now, Software MacKiev is offering discounted pricing for FTM, as follows:
- Download an upgrade from any earlier version of FTM for $29.95 vs the list price of $69.95; and
- Download a full version of FTM for $49.95 vs the list price of $69.95.
Meanwhile, RootsMagic is offering their FTM replacement to FTM users for only $20 (vs the list price of $44.90).
As of this writing, these prices do not yet appear on the Software MacKiev website.
The enhancements to FTM that are included in this new release include:
- New backgrounds for charts and reports;
- Integrated printing of charts through Family ChartMasters; and,
- Windows 10 and El Capitan compatibility.
I have not yet tested this new release of FTM, so I cannot attest to the stability of the software, the functionality of TreeSync, nor the usefulness of the enhancements from a genealogical perspective.
As of this writing, RootsMagic has not yet completed its integration of Ancestry search, TreeSync, or the ability to import FTM files.
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