"Genealogy in the Cloud" Program Review

We had 40 attendees *including 13 guests) at the May 30th program meeting of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society.  The meeting featured a panel discussing "Genealogy in the Cloud" with short presentations and questions from the moderator and the audience.

The presentations included:


1)  Gary Brock on "Internet History and Cloud Computing"


Gary noted that "folks know what the Internet is, but not how it works." He provided a year-by-year history of the development of the computer and the Internet, reaching the present state where many computing functions are performed by servers and computers not under the control of the users (in the "cloud").  The cloud consists of platforms, infrastructure, applications and can be used by desktop computers, laptop computers, tablets and smart phones through cable, satellite, cell or wireless means.


2)  Shirley Becker on "Using Dropbox for Data Backup and Storage"


Shirley showed how she uses www.Dropbox.com,  a file backup and transfer site that can be used with any computer.  She backs up and saves her most important computer files using Dropbox.  She also uses it to transfer files from her desktop between her laptop computers.  Dropbox is free for up to 2.5 gigabytes, with fees for more storage.  A user can have one big folder, or a set of sub-folders.  Users can share files with other persons using a Public folder.  There are other backup and file sharing services, but they work differently from Dropbox.


3)  Randy Seaver on "Using Mobile Devices for Genealogy"


Randy briefly discussed the different types of mobile devices and their operating systems, and the applications that can be used on them for genealogy.  He used screen captures from his iPhone to demonstrate how he accesses his Gmail account, his Google Calendar, Internet browser, Google Reader, Evernote, Dropbox, Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Google Reader, SCGS Jamboree, Billion Graves, MyHeritage.com and Ancestry.com Member Trees.


John Finch, the Moderator, asked several questions of each presenter, as did the audience members.