DearMYRTLE: Looks like we've got newer computers

Providing practical, down-to-earth advice for family historians since 1995, online since 1985.

Looks like we've got newer computers

DearREADERS,
I was talking with a rep from one of the genealogy publishing houses Tuesday about the average profile of the readers who visit my DearMYRTLE website. I noticed from yesterday's stats that your computers are a lot newer than I had previously thought. Here's the breakdown of the operating systems and the number of unique visitors who came by DearMYRTLE.com to read 4-5 columns:

Windows XP - 12,544
Unknown - 4,919
Windows 98 - 2,061
Windows 2000 - 1,552
Windows ME - 916
Windows 95 - 650
MacOS - 177
MacOSX - 147
Windows NT - 138
Linux - 46
Windows 32 - 46
Windows NT 5.2 - 12
WebTV - 5
SunOS - 3

In the past, genealogists had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the world of computers for:

-- keeping track of ancestors' names, dates, places & bios

-- doing online research about ancestors

-- reviewing online library catalogs before visiting for research

-- sending emails to communicate with other family historians

Look like better than 54% of you have fairly new computers. I hope this is a good trend. It would be wonderful if these stats run across the board, among all genealogists (not just the ones who visit my website.) It just plain makes sense to have good computer equipment with fast internet access to do the job of:

-- scanning old documents

-- attaching them to

-- copy & paste special items from the web to notes on an ancestor for further research

-- saving an online scanned census image to attach to the ancestor in your genealogy program

As the cost of computers, digital cameras, scanners, etc. comes down, it's easier to justify the purchase of good equipment to "do genealogy." Here is a break-down of the number of visitors from a recent report. "Unknown" certainly isn't a country. I DO however think that is where some of my ancestors are from!

Country Visitors %
UNITED STATES 3,056 59.17
UNKNOWN 1,430 27.69
MALTA 202 3.91
UNITED KINGDOM 129 2.50
CANADA 106 2.05
AUSTRALIA 40 0.77
NETHERLANDS 34 0.66
EUROPEAN UNION 29 0.56
CHINA 23 0.45
FRANCE 18 0.35
GERMANY 12 0.23
NORWAY 12 0.23
JAPAN 12 0.23
SPAIN 10 0.19
POLAND 6 0.12
MAURITANIA 6 0.12
SOUTH AFRICA 6 0.12
BELGIUM 6 0.12
ISRAEL 5 0.10
DENMARK 4 0.08
PORTUGAL 4 0.08
URUGUAY 4 0.08
PHILIPPINES 4 0.08
ITALY 4 0.08
AUSTRIA 3 0.06

So a great big THANK-YOU to the three of you in Austria who stopped by. PLEASE write and let me know if you are foreign nationals or long-time residents with generations on your family tree from the same area. I should begin to think more globally about the topic I discuss in my columns. As you know, my columns are largely based on readers' questions. So WRITE to me, South Africa and Uruguay! Let me know about what YOUR research concerns. My email address is Myrt@DearMYRTLE.com .

Happy family tree climbing!
Myrt :)
DearMYRTLE,
6023 26th Street West PMB 352
Bradenton, FL 34207
http://www.DearMYRTLE.com