Software Review: Evidentia

I've mentioned in some previous posts that I have been beta testing some new software lately.  The software is designed to supplement and complement your research - meaning you won't have to abandon your current genealogy program.  As a matter of fact, (as of this writing) this program won't even touch your current data.

The software is Evidentia.  It is designed to help you organize and analyze your research in such a way that it is easier to reach a "soundly reasoned, coherently written conclusion." 

One thing that drew me to this software was the fact that it supported the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS).  This happens in several ways:
1. You cannot enter a claim without a source.
2. You cannot reach a conclusion without fully analyzing all of the evidence.
3. Provides an overview of all sources consulted for a particular claim, to determine if a reasonably exhaustive search has indeed been accomplished.
4. Complete and consistent source citations.

First Impressions:
I like the look and feel of it.  The colors are subtle (read: not annoying).  The layout itself is pretty simple, but in my opinion, it should be.  When you're working on proof arguments, the last thing you want is to be distracted by all the bells and whistles of your software.

Data Entry:
This is pretty intuitive, and there are plenty of tool tips to guide you if you need it.  

When you begin working with the program, the first thing you'll do is enter your sources.  Evidence Explained-based templates are provided for most common sources (I think there are around 170 templates).  You can also add your own customized source templates as well.

After you enter your source, you will add a citation with the details of your source (page number, etc.).  Then you begin adding "claims."  These are the assertions made by the particular source ("John Brown was age 22 in 1887").  You will attach the claim to a subject - your ancestor - and the claim type (birth, death, occupation, etc.).  Then you will select the quality of the information (primary, secondary, unknown).  (You will be amazed at the number of claims ONE source can make - I think I had around 35 claims for one census record).

Once you have your sources and claims entered, you can analyze your evidence by clicking on (appropriately named) "Analyze Evidence."  You are then asked to choose a subject and a claim type.  You do this by selecting from the drop-down menus.

All claims related to that subject and claim type are presented so they can be analyzed, which encourages you to weigh the evidence (or lack thereof), and identify and resolve any conflicts.  In some cases, it could lead you to realize that you've been looking at your data all wrong (I wouldn't know anything about this at all) and lead you in a completely different direction altogether.

After you have analyzed your claims, the summary window will unlock and allow you to write your evidence-based conclusion.

Now your proof report is ready to print.  Just select "Reports," choose which report you want to print, select your font, and click OK.  Voila!  The reports are consistent in their formatting and easy to read.  (This is not an actual proof report - it's just an example)

Drawbacks:
You can only print your reports in HTML.  That means you need to take the extra step to print to PDF in order to save it.  I'm hoping that sometime in the (very) near future, there will be other options for the reports.

You have to manually enter your sources.  The "clone" option is helpful, but ultimately it would be nice to just import them.  You can, however, copy/paste your source information directly from your genealogy program (as I do from RootsMagic).

The only other major issue I have with the sources at this time is that once you enter a source, then make a citation for it, any future citations for that source will not auto-fill the citation information (for example, if you have individuals listed in the 1880 Census in the same enumeration district but on several different pages).  You have to copy/paste and then edit.  I have logged this as an ongoing issue, and hopefully it will be addressed soon.

Conclusion:
After playing around with pretend data for a week or so, I started inputting my data for real (which led to a couple of pretty good blog posts).  It has been so much easier for me to see that I really haven't done a reasonably exhaustive search, but more importantly it has shown me how to really "listen" to my sources.  Turns out, they have quite a bit to say - and a lot that they don't say.  So, in my opinion, drawbacks aside, it is worth checking out.

Bottom Line:
Retail price is $24.99.  However, a little birdie told me that Evidentia will be released tomorrow (Monday, December 17) for download at an introductory price of $19.99.  So you'll want to get it before the price goes up.  If you're interested in purchasing it, you can get it here (affiliate link).

More Info:
The Evidentia website has a lot of videos and tutorials available to help you navigate through the program and answers some questions that are likely not addressed in this post.



**In the interest of full disclosure, I was provided a free license for the software in return for beta testing like a boss! (which means I broke it ... a lot)**
**no puppies were harmed in the writing of this post**

Do we share any ancestors? 
Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

Product Review: Imagelab Slide & Negative Scanner

I love technology.  I love new toys.  Fine ... I'll admit it.  I'm a gadget whore.


This one, I think, will prove quite useful.  I put this little item on my wish list some time ago, and when my mom asked me to send her my Christmas list, I simply copied the link to my Amazon wish list and emailed it to her.  I never thought she would choose this from that list.


The Imagelab Slide & Negative Scanner.  (cue ethereal music)


When I emptied everything out of the box, I was quite impressed.  The scanner is actually smaller than I was expecting.  It weighs a touch over a pound, and it's around 7-1/2 inches tall.  That's completely a guess because at the time I wrote this, I was unable to find my ruler.  The scanner is a little over half as tall as Meresa (my Barbie).  Don't judge.  I know for sure that she is 11 inches tall.  Ergo, the scanner is about 7-1/2 inches tall.

Meresa: Presenter and measuring standard

Instead of simply plugging everything in, turning it on, and figuring out how to use it myself (which I usually do), I decided to read the instruction booklet.  The first page is READ THIS FIRST!!  So ...


The first thing you should know is that you can only use 35mm slides or 35mm negatives.  Scanning other sizes could damage your originals.


The second thing you should know is that you should not get the scanner wet.  No scanning negatives in the bathtub!  You've been warned.


Whew!  Glad I read that part first.


You can use the scanner with the provided AC adapter, or you can use 3 AAA batteries.  I bought a box of 50 AAA batteries and have not one single thing in my house that uses them (I thought they were AA).  Today we're going to use the AAA batteries.


It also takes a standard SD card, or you can use the USB cable to scan directly to your computer.  I used the SD card that I use for my digital camera.  It's an 8 GB card, and the counter on the scanner says I have 8125 images worth of space.


I found some old negatives - I have no idea how old - and I can't tell by looking at them what the photos are, so I suppose it will be a surprise for all of us!  I opened one of the negative trays to place the negatives.  The tray was a little tricky for me to get opened at first, but that is probably user error (or what we call a PICNIC problem -- problem in chair, not in computer).


I got the negatives loaded up and slid the tray into the slot.  The images show up on the LCD screen (approx. 2-1/2 inches square).  I pressed the button that says "negative" on the top to scan the photo to my SD card.

Here is a completely unretouched version of what was on that negative:

That's actually a photo of the quilt that my grandmother made for my (now 21-year-old) daughter when she was very little.  This photo was probably taken around 14 years ago, judging by the background.


I don't own any slides, so I couldn't test out that feature.


Bottom line, the scanner is very easy to use.  It's a little difficult to get the negatives to stay locked on the little nubs that are supposed to hold them in, but I attribute that to the fact that my negatives were slightly curled.  The images are scanned at 9 megapixels, so they aren't too shabby.  The images are saved as .jpg, not .tiff, so if that's a feature you really want, you might want to check out other brands.


Now I just have to find the time to scan all the negatives in that box on the closet shelf ...


Disclaimers: I have not received any compensation from Imagelab, Amazon, Rayovac, my grandmother, or Mattel for this review.  I am not a professional reviewer -- I simply got a new gift and wanted to show people how it works, in case they were toying with the idea of buying one.

MagicBoard to the Rescue?

A few days ago, I posted about my 2nd great grandfather, Joseph Zenophile Lanctot, and all the inconsistencies I was finding in my research.  In an effort to try to keep all my thoughts straight, I found and downloaded an iPad app called MagicBoard.  I needed something that would allow me to use photos, documents, scratch notes, draw arrows to stuff, and generally move things around until they made sense - at least in the way that my brain works.  At first look, MagicBoard seemed to fit the bill, so since it was being offered for the low, low price of $1.99 I thought I'd give it a try.


First, let me say that I was pleased by its simplicity.  There are no intrusive menu bars or toolbars.  Five icons on the top bar are all you need: one takes you to the main page where you store all of your boards; a "layer" icon so you can arrange your layers; an "add" icon that allows you to add text, a sketch, an image, or a map; a "settings" icon; and a "send" icon.


I created a board and loaded all my images (8) for Joseph from my Dropbox (I was thankful that I had decided to use Dropbox as the home for my family tree data!) into my "camera roll" on the iPad2.  From there, I was able to place the images on my board.  I was able to resize, move, rotate, and even add a caption (after I figured out how to do it - double-tapping seemed to do the trick).  There were options to add a text note and even maps.  I thought that might come in handy later.  There is an option to work in layers, but I haven't really explored that yet.


One thing I didn't like was that in order to jot my notes down (like I would if I were using a whiteboard) I had to add a sketch item, draw or write what I wanted to say, and then I had to manipulate the item to fit where I intended it to go.  I didn't have the ability to sketch in context with the rest of the board, so it took a few tries before I finally got it like I wanted.


I was able to send a picture of my board to myself via email.  Here it is:

What I liked:
1. I could manipulate my images however I wanted.
2. The size of the workspace.
3. The customization options available (background, etc.) - you can even choose whether to use "tape" or "pins"
4. The simplicity of it.
5. Having a lot of Irish ancestry, I thought the logo was super cute (and appropriate)!


What I didn't like:
1. Sometimes the images got a little stubborn and didn't want to play nicely (when resizing or moving, I ended up moving the entire board - that could have been user error or the app, jury's still out).
2. I can't draw arrows and circle stuff like I want.
3. I couldn't resize the actual board, so I ended up having to scroll from side to side to see all my stuff (which usually ended up with me moving all my images around unintentionally).
4. There was no way to change the default settings, so for each image I added, I had to keep changing the "fill bounds"  setting so the images would only fill the size of the space I gave them.
5. I wish there was a way to change the portrait/landscape orientation of the images.


Technical issues:
1. After I got all those images added and captioned, and got my sketches in the right places, I took the picture, emailed it to myself, and that was the last time I've been able to work on my board.  Now, when I open it, instead of my images, I see this:

2. Even though the app itself is fairly intuitive, I thought there should also be some sort of pop-up tips or something to tell you how to do stuff.  There aren't even instructions on the website (at least none that I was able to find).  I had to go to the forum to find out how to do some of the things the app boasted.


In any case, I posted a message on the forum about the image issue, and got a very prompt reply back from the developer, assuring me that they are aware of the issue and that it will be fixed with the next update (which I hope is soon).  I'll wait for that update and see if it changes my mind about this app.  Right now, it's completely useless to me. 


*I was not compensated in any way for this review. I spent my own money, used my own time, and these opinions are completely my own.