RIP BBM: BlackBerry Messenger Shuts Down

BlackBerry Messenger is no more. The long-lived and once-popular messaging service just couldn’t compete in a word filled with Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram, and all of the other messaging apps consumers can choose to use instead. RIP BBM.

BlackBerry Messenger Is No More

Emtek, which acquired the licensing rights to BlackBerry Messenger, has shut BBM down for good. The company made the decision in April 2019, and finally shut BBM down for good on May 31, 2019. This leaves the last remaining users seeking alternatives.

On the BBM Blog, the company opined that “in spite of our substantial efforts, users have moved on to other platforms, while new users proved difficult to sign on.” Therefore, “the time has come to sunset the BBM consumer service, and for us to move on.”

PING !!!

Today is the last day to use BBM ??

Thank you for all the support and memories that you have spent together with BBM ?

As an alternative, you can use BBM Enterprise. Check the following link for more details https://t.co/uKmBGP3CQI pic.twitter.com/BnwaoGYehc

— BBM (@BBM) May 31, 2019

While many modern smartphone users will wonder what the fuss is about, BBM launched in 2005 at a time when most people were still using SMS. And BlackBerry Messenger introduced many of the features we now take for granted when using messaging apps.

What has specifically shut down is BBM Consumer. However, BBM Enterprise (BBMe) is still very much alive, and available on Android and iOS (as well as Windows and Mac). What’s more, BlackBerry Messenger will continue to work on BB10 and BBOS devices.

Download: BBM Enterprise for Android and iOS

BBM Was the Pioneer of Messaging Apps

While some people will be genuinely disappointed to lose access to BBM, most of that will be based on nostalgia. However, the rest of us should remember how BlackBerry Messenger “helped shape messenger platforms to become what they are today.”

If you’re a former BBM user now searching for a new messaging app, there’s always WhatsApp. Or, if you refuse to use WhatsApp, here are the best WhatsApp alternatives. None of which will engender those same feelings BBM did back in the day.

Image Credit: Maurizio Pesce/Flickr

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How to Relax—Stop Being Busy and Get Better Results (Free Ebook)

If you’re tired of feeling stressed, overwhelmed, anxious, and chronically busy, this is the book for you.

All around us we see people in a constant hurry. Smartphones and laptops dominate our attention. We wear our “busyness” like a badge of honor. We neglect our friends and family in favor of work. Our ambitions are pushed aside simply so we can keep on top of the to-do list.

But escaping this vicious circle is possible.

How to Relax is a free ebook that will show you how to finally slow down, relax and get better results, all while doing less.

Download How to Relax For Free!

In this free ebook, you will finally learn how to combat busyness, and how to:

• Step away from noise and the neck-breaking speed of the world around you
• Recharge your overstressed mind and body
• Deal with nagging, negative emotions
• Utilize some of the most effective stress-reducing habits
• And achieve a lot despite not being part of the overworked crowd!

In a world of constant distraction and always-on connectivity, slowing down and relaxing is a skill we must all develop, and this ebook will help you do exactly that.

Are you finally ready to regain control over your life? Simply click here to download How to Relax from TradePub. You will be required to complete a short form to access the ebook, but it’s well worth it!

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5 Travel Apps to Find Interesting and Unique Tourist Spots on Your Trips

Activision Unveils the New Call of Duty Game

Call of Duty is back, with another instalment of the popular and extremely long-running series being released in October 2019. It’s titled Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and, as the name suggests, is a reboot of the Modern Warfare story arc.

A Brief History of the Call of Duty Franchise

The first Call of Duty game was released way back in 2003. It was called Call of Duty, was set in World War II (as all first-person shooters were back then), and was released on PC. It was a great game, but no one predicted it would spawn so many sequels and spin-offs.

Call of Duty 2 was released in 2005, and there has been a Call of Duty game released every year since then. The Modern Warfare titles, set in the present day, have been the best-received games in the series. Which explains Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

What to Expect From Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

The new Modern Warfare is likely to be the most realistic Call of Duty game ever released. Infinity Ward, the developer responsible for the game, wanted Modern Warfare to look and sound like real life (and death). And built a new game engine to make this possible.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is a soft reboot of the Call of Duty franchise. It’s a reimagining of the series designed to be relevant for 2019. Which means less black and white, and more shades of gray. And characters making decisions you won’t agree with.

This is a game designed to affect you emotionally. And not always in a good way. While previous Call of Duty games have focused on a shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later approach, Infinity Ward hopes that Modern Warfare will impact you on a different level.

When Is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Coming Out?

Call of Duty Modern Warfare will feature a single player story campaign as well as the usual multiplayer modes. The campaign follows two story strands, one where you’ll play as a special-ops soldier, and the other where you’ll play as a rebel fighter in the Middle East.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will be released on October 25, 2019 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Like the best cross-play games out now, Modern Warfare will support cross-play between PC and consoles. However, there isn’t going to be a season pass to buy.

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Teams autonomously mapping the depths take home millions in Ocean Discovery Xprize

There’s a whole lot of ocean on this planet, and we don’t have much of an idea what’s at the bottom of most of it. That could change with the craft and techniques created during the Ocean Discovery Xprize, which had teams competing to map the sea floor quickly, precisely, and autonomously. The winner just took home $4 million.

A map of the ocean would be valuable in and of itself, of course, but any technology used to do so could be applied in many other ways, and who knows what potential biological or medical discoveries hide in some nook or cranny a few thousand fathoms below the surface?

The prize, sponsored by Shell, started back in 2015. The goal was, ultimately, to create a system that could map hundreds of square kilometers of the sea floor at a 5-meter resolution in under a day — oh, and everything has to fit in a shipping container. For reference, existing methods do nothing like this, and are tremendously costly.

But as is usually the case with this type of competition, the difficulty did not discourage the competitors — only spurred them on. Since 2015, then, the teams have been working on their systems and traveling all over the world to test them.

Originally the teams were to test in Puerto Rico, but after the devastating hurricane season of 2017, the whole operation was moved to the Greek coast. Ultimately after the finalists were selected, they deployed their craft in the waters off Kalamata and told them to get mapping.

Team GEBCO’s surface vehicle.

“It was a very arduous and audacious challenge,” said Jyotika Virmani, who led the program. “The test itself was 24 hours, so they had to stay up, then immediately following that was 48 hours of data processing after which they had to give us the data. It takes more trad companies about 2 weeks or so to process data for a map once they have the raw data — we’re pushing for real time.”

This wasn’t a test in a lab bath or pool. This was the ocean, and the ocean is a dangerous place. But amazingly there were no disasters.

“Nothing was damaged, nothing imploded,” she said. “We ran into weather issues, of course. And we did lose one piece of technology that was subsequently found by a Greek fisherman a few days later… but that’s another story.”

At the start of the competition, Virmani said, there was feedback from the entrants that the autonomous piece of the task was simply not going to be possible. But the last few years have proven it to be so, given that the winning team not only met but exceeded the requirements of the task.

“The winning team mapped more than 250 square kilometers in 24 hours, at the minimum of 5 meters resolution, but around 140 was more than 5 meters,” Virmani told me. “It was all unmanned: An unmanned surface vehicle that took the submersible out, then recovered it at sea, unmanned again, and brought it back to port. They had such great control over it — they were able to change its path and its programming throughout that 24 hours as they needed to.” (It should be noted that unmanned does not necessarily mean totally hands-off — the teams were permitted a certain amount of agency in adjusting or fixing the craft’s software or route.)

A 5-meter resolution, if you can’t quite picture it, would produce a map of a city that showed buildings and streets clearly, but is too coarse to catch, say, cars or street signs. When you’re trying to map two thirds of the globe, though, this resolution is more than enough — and infinitely better than the nothing we currently have. (Unsurprisingly, it’s also certainly enough for an oil company like Shell to prospect new deep-sea resources.)

The winning team was GEBCO, composed of veteran hydrographers — ocean mapping experts, you know. In addition to the highly successful unmanned craft (Sea-Kit, already cruising the English Channel for other purposes), the team did a lot of work on the data processing side, creating a cloud-based solution that helped them turn the maps around quickly. (That may also prove to be a marketable service in the future.) They were awarded $4 million, in addition to their cash for being selected as a finalist.

The runner up was Kuroshio, which had great resolution but was unable to map the full 250 km2 due to weather problems. They snagged a million.

A bonus prize for having the submersible track a chemical signal to its source didn’t exactly have a winner, but the teams’ entries were so impressive that the judges decided to split the million between the Tampa Deep Sea Xplorers and Ocean Quest, which amazingly enough is made up mostly of middle-schoolers. The latter gets $800,000, which should help pay for a few new tools in the shop there.

Lastly, a $200K innovation prize was given to Team Tao out of the U.K., which had a very different style to its submersible that impressed the judges. While most of the competitors opted for a craft that went “lawnmower-style” above the sea floor at a given depth, Tao’s craft dropped down like a plumb bob, pinging the depths as it went down and back up before moving to a new spot. This provides a lot of other opportunities for important oceanographic testing, Virmani noted.

Having concluded the prize, the organization has just a couple more tricks up its sleeve. GEBCO, which stands for General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans, is partnering with The Nippon Foundation on Seabed 2030, an effort to map the entire sea floor over the next decade and provide that data to the world for free.

And the program is also — why not? — releasing an anthology of short sci-fi stories inspired by the idea of mapping the ocean. “W lot of our current technology is from the science fiction of the past,” said Virmani. “So we told the authors, imagine we now have a high resolution map of the sea floor, what are the next steps in ocean tech and where do we go?” The resulting 19 stories, written from all 7 continents (yes, one from Antarctica), are available for download here.

 

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MobiScribe: An E-Ink Display That Writes Like Paper

Do you enjoy the feel of writing on paper, but aren’t a fan of the inconveniences that come with actual paper? A new device called MobiScribe might be exactly what you’re looking for, as it takes E-Ink technology and a stylus to create the look and feel of paper but without the drawbacks. Or at least, that’s the goal.

MobiScribe Features

When it comes to taking notes, keeping schedules, and drawing, there’s nothing like the feel of pen and paper. While MobiScribe isn’t actually paper, it promises to feel much closer than writing on a tablet or a laptop.

MobiScribe is all about taking some of the conveniences offered by modern technology and combining them with the comfort and feel offered by old-school pen and paper. The E-ink tech provides a look and feel that’s closer to paper than a tablet, but the apps and Wi-Fi allow it to do more than a regular piece of paper ever could.

There’s a preinstalled Note app that offers all kinds of functionality that would require a wide range of notebooks. There’s a general note pad, music writing sheets, graph paper, and plenty of other types of paper to choose from.

The device has pressure sensitivity, so as you push down harder with the stylus, your pen, marker, or pencil will become darker, just like it would on a real piece of paper. Though you don’t need to worry about breaking the tip off the pencil, which is a nice bonus offered by modern technology.

Outside of writing and drawing, you can also use MobiScribe as an e-reader for a variety of ebook files. It supports .mobi, .epub, .pdf, .txt, azw3, .azw, .fb2, .prc, and others. If you have a book you want to read on this device, chances are great that it’ll support it. It even supports comics in the .cbz and .cbr formats.

MobiScribe Availability

The team behind MobiScribe is seeking funding on Indiegogo to bring its E-ink notepad to market. It’s exceeded its funding goal by a large margin and is currently in the production stage, which means you can still pre-order one, but it hasn’t started shipping yet. However, you won’t have to wait too long, as they plan to ship the devices in August 2019. If you’re interested in ordering one, you’ll need to spend $214. That’ll get you the notepad, a cover, and a stylus.

As with any crowdfunding project, there are risks involved and there are some things you should consider before deciding whether to back one with your hard-earned money.

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DUEX: A Thin Portable Second Monitor for Any Laptop

Working on a laptop is great. You can kick back on the couch, at your local coffee shop, or just about anywhere else. But the one place laptops can’t compete with desktops is with multiple displays. It’s amazing how much more productive you can be when you have two displays in front of you.

However, a new product called DUEX aims to bring the experience of working on multiple monitors to laptops—and it aims to do it without adding too much bulk to your portable computer.

DUEX Features

DUEX is a 1920×1080, 12.5-inch display that connects to the back of a portable computer. You place the magnetic adhesives to the back of the laptop, put the screen on those adhesives, plug it in, and slide the screen out. From there, it works like any second screen.

Interestingly, DUEX can slide out to the left or the right side, or it can be turned around and faced outward to be used for presentations.

Because the screen is tucked away inside when not in use, the device promises to be durable. Obviously, if you’re going to be carrying DUEX around on your laptop, it runs the risk of taking some hits, so being durable is necessary.

The screen is lighter than you might expect, coming in at 1.5 pounds. To put that into perspective, a 13-inch MacBook Pro weighs in at 3.02 pounds, so you’ll be increasing the weight by about 50% if you add a DUEX to a Pro. Additionally, it’s 0.48-inches thick, so it won’t add too much to the size of your laptop.

The creators of DUEX promise that it’ll work with Mac, Windows, Linux, Chrome OS, and Android, so you should be able to use it with your laptop without issue.

One major concern with adding a second display to a laptop is the battery drain. While the creators didn’t spell out exactly how much it’ll suck down a laptop’s juice, they did say that the device is Energy Star rated to minimize the amount that it will drink down battery life.

DUEX Availablity

The creators of DUEX are deep into their funding campaign on Indiegogo. They’ve already shipped the first batch to backers, and they’re shipping the next batch in June. If you’re interested in preordering on, you can do so for $222 (the final retail price will be $250).

Even though this project is already in the shipping stage, you do need to be aware that there are some risks involved in backing a crowdfunding project, and it’s not necessarily the same as a traditional pre-order.

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The 6 Best DIY Security Camera Apps and Software for Linux

Security is a major concern in the tech world, but we’re not just talking about phishing attacks and malware. Old dangers, like break-ins and theft, threaten our homes and businesses, which is why there’s a market for top quality surveillance systems.

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Thankfully, you don’t need to pay hundreds of dollars for a surveillance system if you’ve got a spare PC running Linux and a few spare cameras. The DIY route will be cheaper and give you more control—as long as you pick the right software. Here are the best Linux security camera software options for you to try.

1. ZoneMinder

ZoneMinder is an awesome option for a do-it-yourself surveillance system. Professional features shape ZoneMinder into the perfect solution for household and commercial security alike. It comes with compatibility for both IP-enabled and standard PC cameras. If you’re on the go, Android and iOS apps let you monitor your cameras remotely.

You’ve got plenty of options for configuring ZoneMinder to your own requirements, with both live video and regular image stills supported. Email and SMS notifications help you to stay informed, even when you’re not monitoring directly. Additionally, ZoneMinder offers user access levels to let you limit who has access. It’s pretty flexible with options to zoom, tilt, and pan cameras.

Linux CCTV users benefit from installers for various distributions like Ubuntu and Debian, but you can also compile from source if you’d prefer. You can deploy ZoneMinder on low-powered devices like a Raspberry Pi, too.

2. Xeoma

If you’re looking for easy-to-use Linux IP camera software, Xeoma is a good option—it markets itself as “childishly easy” video surveillance. It has a modular approach, letting you add in the components and features you need as you set your system up.

This Linux security camera software is feature rich. It’s compatible with everything from typical USB webcams to Wi-Fi CCTV cameras. You can connect up to 2,000 cameras to a single Xeoma installation, making it perfect for commercial use.

Screen captures from all monitors at once, remote access, and motion detection are all features that make Xeoma a good option for users. It also supports mobile access, with SMS and email alerts, as well as remote access to archives, cameras, and settings. You can also take advantage of different storage settings, delayed recordings, and even algorithms to avoid false positives. This latter feature is great for users with pets or small children.

While it’s available for purchase, Xeoma does offer a free edition with a few limitations (eight cameras, three modules per chain). Overall, Xeoma is a simple but comprehensive option for keeping an eye on your home or workplace.

3. Motion

You can probably guess from the name, but Motion monitors, well, motion. This free program detects if a major part of a picture from a video signal has changed. Written in C, Motion was created specifically for Linux distros with the video4linux interface.

While it saves video when movement is detected, Motion also includes time lapse settings for regular monitoring. You can also set Motion to save as either video or images. It runs headless and a GUI isn’t needed, giving it a lightweight footprint compared to other Linux surveillance software competitors.

That’s what makes Motion such a great choice if you’re looking to build a cheap DIY network video recorder (or NVR) to run on low-powered devices like the Raspberry Pi. It’ll record your surveillance images or video digitally, either locally (on an SD card) or over your internal network.

Motion might be lacking in features compared to other Linux NVR software, but it’s a good option if you’re looking for a basic motion-sensor camera system.

4. Bluecherry

If you want to exclusively run open source software, Bluecherry is the Linux NVR for you. It’s a cross-platform video surveillance system so you’re free to run it on other platforms if you’d prefer.

Installation is simple, with a one-line install script available for Ubuntu, Debian, and CentOS. It supports over 2,600 IP cameras, with playback for recordings or live streaming available from your browser. Unfortunately, Bluecherry lacks its own mobile app for Android and iOS, but it does support integration with IP Cam Viewer.

While Bluecherry is free and open source, paid support packages are available for business users. With a rich feature set and paid support options, Bluecherry is a great option for both business and residential use.

5. Ivideon

If you’re designing a DIY surveillance system on a budget, you should consider Ivideon. The system requirements are among the lightest you’ll find for any DIY DVR—you can run Ivideon on an Atom-powered PC with 1GB RAM and just 500MB of storage. You’ll need at least 11GB available for daily video footage storage if you want to store locally, however.

Despite a low resource footprint, Ivideon is a service integrated with the cloud, with notifications and playback available over the internet. You can also store your recordings using Ivideon’s cloud storage.

Installation is pretty simple. You can either download and run an installation script or run the individual commands from a terminal window yourself. Like many other video surveillance systems, Ivideon offers a mobile app for Android and iOS devices. It officially supports the most recent Debian and Ubuntu releases, but it can be installed on other distros.

Home users have a range of plans to pick from, including the basic (but feature-heavy) online plan for free, although business users will have to stump up for the $5/month package.

6. Kerberos.io

Kerberos.io is another free NVR software for Linux, compatible with almost all Linux-supported cameras. It’s cross-platform so you can run it on Windows and macOS as well as Linux. You can even download a docker container to set yourself up in minutes without any configuration.

With support for Raspbian, Kerberos.io is the best option for users looking to create a surveillance system with low-powered tech. Notably, Kerberos.io also has a clean, modern and easy-to-use web interface.

If you don’t want to spend a long time setting up, configuring or maintaining your system, then Kerberos.io is one of the best options for you on Linux. While it’s free, certain features (like viewing your cameras remotely) requires a cloud subscription, starting at under $2/month.

Stay Safe With Linux Security Camera Software

Building your own DIY Linux-based surveillance system can help protect your home and business from more traditional threats. They can also play a part in building a smart home with other DIY projects available to try.

If DIY-ing your own system sounds a little too complicated, then don’t worry. Pick up one of the best wireless home security cameras instead.

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The 9 Best Free and Cheap Audio Editors for Mac

Whether you want to make music, record a podcast, or just knock together a ringtone, you’ll need a good quality Mac audio editor. There are some amazing audio editors for Mac available that won’t break the bank. In fact, many won’t cost you anything at all.

So, from quick and simple apps to professional level tools, here’s our pick of the best affordable and free audio editing software for Mac.

1. Audacity

Audacity is the first audio editor that most people will stumble upon through a Google search. It’s an easy recommendation. It’s free and open source, has a fairly straightforward interface, and supports a massive number of file types, including MP3 and WAV.

You can record straight into the app (though not using instruments), or edit existing files. There’s an enormous number of effects you can use, a spectrogram for analyzing frequencies, and it supports high quality 32-bit audio as well.

Audacity is a fantastic starting point for anyone who needs a simple editor, but has enough power to grow as you become more experienced. The only downside is that it doesn’t support full non-destructive editing, so make sure you’ve got a backup of your original audio before you begin.

Download: Audacity (Free)

2. WavePad

WavePad is another highly competent Mac audio editor that’s free so long as you’re only using it non-commercially.

It supports a large number of file types. It allows you to work on multiple files at the same time, and you can even batch process thousands of files at once. WavePad supports audio bookmarking, the usual range of effects and some text-to-speech and vocal manipulation tools to boot.

The multi-window interface takes a little getting used to, but as a free WAV or MP3 editor for Mac it’s well worth a look.

Download: WavePad (Free for non-commercial use)

3. OcenAudio

A completely free and feature-packed cross-platform audio recorder and editor from Brazil, OcenAudio is another option for the budget sound engineer. The app supports a huge number of file types including MP3, FLAC, and WMA. It also supports various videos formats including the MKV container.

OcenAudio is often seen as the main alternative to Audacity. It has a similar feature set, but a much more refined interface that makes it super accessible. There’s also support for VST instruments, a range of effects, a fully featured spectrogram, and the ability to edit very large files without kissing goodbye to all of your Mac’s memory.

Download: OcenAudio (Free)

4. PreSonus Studio One Prime

For the best free audio mixing software look no further than Studio One Prime. It’s a free version of a professional suite that would normally set you back $399.

You can create or mix music with the built-in effects, instruments, and loops. And it’s just as good for recording and editing podcasts and voiceovers. It takes some time to find your way around the interface—let alone master. But if you’re willing to invest the time Studio One Prime has got everything you’ll need in a free package.

Download: PreSonus Studio One Prime (Free)

5. Avid Pro Tools First

Pro Tools is the industry standard for audio production. Pro Tools First is a free, stripped down taster for new users.

It’s feature rich but a daunting proposition, with a complex interface and steep learning curve. It also needs a more powerful computer than the other apps we’ve listed here. There’s a big limitation on free users—you can only save your files to the Avid cloud servers, and you can only have three projects on the go at once.

Pro Tools First is overkill if you’re only looking to edit your podcast. But if you want to try your hand at recording and mixing music you won’t find better free sound editing software.

Download: Avid Pro Tools First (Free)

6. GarageBand

Finally, as far as free audio editors for Mac are concerned, don’t overlook the app you’ve already got installed on your machine… GarageBand.

Although it’s designed primarily as a tool for making music, the app works as basic audio editing software. You can record directly into the app, or import and edit existing recordings. It’s a decent option for podcasters, too, with voice-optimized features built in.

For more, see our guide detailing how to use GarageBand.

Download: GarageBand (Free)

7. Reaper

On to the paid options, and at $60 Reaper is at the upper end of what we’d class as a cheap audio editor. But it comes with a very generous 60-day free trial, so you’ll know whether or not it’s for you long before you have to stump up any cash.

And the signs look good. Reaper is loved by its userbase. It’s a small download, and much lighter than the likes of Pro Tools First. It supports all common file formats at whatever quality you need, and you can use free VST plugins, making thousands of instruments and effects available.

What it lacks compared to similar commercial products is a sound library. But the internet is packed with thousands of freely downloadable samples you can use to build your own.

Download: Reaper ($60)

8. Adobe Audition

I know what you’re thinking—no Adobe products are cheap! It’s true that using Audition long term will set you back hundreds of dollars. But if you’re just working on a specific project and you want the best, you can pick it up for a month for a little over $30.

Adobe Audition is a popular choice for all types of audio editing and mixing. It’s great for music and podcasts, and even integrates with Adobe Premiere Pro so you can create soundtracks for your videos. There’s very little it can’t do and very few file types it doesn’t support.

Adobe has even produced a full range of tutorials to get you up and running straight away—in terms of functionality, it doesn’t get much better than this.

Download: Adobe Audition (Subscription from $20.99/month)

9. Fission

Fission is an audio editor that focuses on fast, lossless editing in a neat and stylish package. The app comes with a decent free trial which provides unhindered access to all functions, except for one thing: audio files are saved at lower quality.

Fission has a long list of features including batch editing, simple waveform editing, support for FLAC and WAV (among others), and the lossless editing of already-compressed MP3 and AAC files. You can batch convert from one file format to another, while a handy Podcasts panel makes it easy to package your broadcasts to share online.

Download: Fission ($35)

More Mac Software for Creative Types

It’s surprising just how good the free or cheap audio editors for Mac are. There are apps in this list that are suitable for anything, from quick 5-minute jobs to launching your recording empire. However, if you’re planning to use one of these apps to start a podcast, make sure you invest in the best podcasting equipment first.

Apple’s macOS has always been the platform of choice for creative types. If video is more your thing, check out the best free macOS video editors to get started.

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The 10 Best Free Genealogy Websites to Find Your Ancestors

Researching your family tree is fun, fascinating… and tough. Whether your family hails from various towns, cities, or countries, or your ancestors lived in the same village for centuries, finding out about those that came before can be fraught with difficulty. Free genealogy websites offer a great opportunity for research.

Paid ancestry sites tend to have a higher profile than free. That doesn’t mean that the free ancestry sites aren’t worth using, however; just that they’re difficult to find.

Here are several totally free genealogy websites to research your ancestry without spending a dollar.

Free Genealogy Websites for a Free Ancestry Search

Without exaggerating, there are thousands of genealogy websites out there.

Occasionally you’ll find a truly useful website with a free ancestry search feature that accesses real data. For the purpose of this article, I will provide a list of the top 10 free genealogy websites that would be most valuable to anyone first entering the hobby. These sites provide valuable tools, guides, and access to databases that are overflowing with historical data.

When you’re done with these, don’t overlook Google. With the right search tricks, you can use the search engine giant for genealogy research too! For additional help, you may also consider boosting your research with an ancestry DNA test from 23andMe.com.

1. AccessGenealogy

Access Genealogy is more than your typical ancestry website and a great place to get started. Its main page is pleasantly clean and well organized. You’ll find links to some unique research sources including charts, old letters, military records, Native American records and more.

One of the more fascinating resources here are the transcribed cemetery records. There are researchers in every State around the US that walk through the oldest cemeteries. While there, they transcribe names along with birthdates, date of death and family members.

This resource alone will keep you busy for hours.

2. The Olive Tree

Olive Tree Genealogy is another private researcher’s website holding a collection of links and resources for historical data. One thing that sets this site apart is the considerable research that went into the provided links.

Website creator Lorine McGinnis Schulze writes that she started the site in 1996 to provide free resources to other researchers. While it looks as though the site is still in 1996, it remains an unmissable resource.

She certainly delivers on that promise. One of the more impressive links on the site are the ship passenger lists where you can search through the names of your ancestors who immigrated to the US decades ago.

Meanwhile, the site provides a “guide for beginners” that walks you through each step of finding your ancestors. Specific resources are listed that you should check out first in order to conduct preliminary research.

3. Family Search

One of the most well-known names in the genealogy research world is FamilySearch. This is the famous genealogy website provided and supported by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Church of Mormonism.

Family Search will amaze you with the sheer volume of information available. A single search found my paternal grandmother, her correct date of birth and death, and the town where she lived. I also found the name of her spouse and most of her children.

Birth and death records appear to be accurate, even though relationship records seem incomplete.

The historic gems you can discover here are truly remarkable. For example, I discovered an actual scan of the 1940 Census conducted by the Department of Commerce. If you’re a genealogy researcher, that kind of document is a gold mine.

4. Family Tree Searcher

The family tree searcher is another website created by a private researcher. This site is unique; some of the resources are interactive quizzes that allow you to customize your research method.

One very useful quiz, in particular, is the “free advice” quiz, which quizzes you about what you’re looking for. In the end, it provides you with a customized “research plan” along with the free resources to help your search.

5. GENUKI

If you’re in the UK or researching lineage that reaches back there, then GENUKI is your one-stop shop for genealogy. UK & Ireland Genealogy (to use its full name) features links to local groups across England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.

A database of churches is included, useful in helping to track down graves and family records. You can also use the site to find more about towns and cities in the UK dating back centuries, grab information about professions and trades, and even see old maps.

If you haven’t accessed the resources on offer from GENUKI before now, it can help to unlock so much of your research.

6. Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center

An eclectic collection of databases and catalogs, the Genealogy Center of Allen Country Public Library can be accessed online. It’s a remarkable group of tools, ranging from a microtext catalog of microfilms and microfiche at the library to transcriptions from family bibles donated to the center.

The Surname File can put you in touch with others researching the same name, and there’s a Native American Gateway. Information on how to research First Nation family history can be found here, as well as links to relevant information in the US National Archives.

You’ll also find resources for many other US states.

7. US National Archives

For a US-based historical researcher, the National Archives should be at the very top of your resource list. Eventually, most other websites end up linking to these resources anyway, so why not just start at the source?

This is where you’ll find census information, military records, immigration records, and even bankruptcy records. There are even articles and information on historical researching techniques.

8. UK National Archives

The UK also has a valuable resource for history buffs in the form of its own National Archives website. The main page of this website links to data such as births, marriage, deaths, census records, passenger lists, etc.

European history is long, and these resources are unbelievably thorough and archived all the way back a thousand years. On this website, you’ll also find valuable guides and articles on researching family and military history.

9. US GenWeb Project

One of the largest and most valuable resources for historical information available to US genealogy researchers is the USGenWeb project.

This project is made of up historical enthusiasts who actively volunteer their time and energy to provide free information for other researchers throughout the country.

Simply click on the State where you’re looking for information, and you’ll go directly to the State’s GenWeb site. Here, free resources for your community and local history are provided.

10. WorldGenWeb Project

Once you get involved in genealogical research, the first thing that becomes apparent is that the hobby knows no borders. You’ll find expert researchers in just about every country around the world, and the WorldGenWeb Project brings them all together.

WorldGenWeb lets researchers focus on valuable and useful resources to conduct their research. Click on the country of your choice and eventually, you can drill down to the specific community, and related free genealogy websites.

In turn, you’ll find other free ancestry search tools to hunt for more ancestral information.

More Free Ancestry Search Tips

Sometimes it isn’t enough to use a free resource. As you may know, Ancestry.com has the biggest library of census information and military records available to the public. However, it can be expensive to access regularly.

So, what can you do?

Some of the information Ancestry offers is duplicated from information in the sites listed here. BMD information, newspaper reports, that sort of thing. But occasionally you need direct access to primary sources (that is, historical documents created at the time you’re researching). You need to use Ancestry.

However, this need not cost you anything. Simply find the right library with a family history section and use one of their computers. Educational institutions, libraries, and other community or municipal buildings can provide free access to Ancestry.

You may need to pay to use the computer or printer, or join as a member, but this approach to searching ancestry for free can save a lot of money.

The Best Free Genealogy Websites You Cannot Miss

The sites we have covered are great if you’re a history or genealogy enthusiast or if you just want track down family members past and present.

1. Access Genealogy
2. The Olive Tree
3. Family Search
4. Family Tree Searcher
5. GENUKI
6. Genealogy Center
7. US National Archives
8. UK National Archives
9. US GenWeb Project
10. WorldGenWeb Project

And if all that fails, simply search Ancestry.com for free via your local library.

Want to know more? See our in-depth guide to researching your family tree online.

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Upgrade Your Web Development Skills With These 10 Essential Tools

Becoming a web developer is a process. Whether you are taking your first steps into code, or already know how to program but are moving into online browser-based applications, there is a lot to take in.

Luckily for anyone wanting to start, there are many great tools which can help you. Today you’ll discover 10 of the best!

1. Visual Studio Code

A good code editor is essential for developing web apps. Sublime Text used to rule the roost in terms of lightweight feature-rich text editors for coding. Slowly, developers seem to be moving to Microsoft’s open source Visual Studio Code hybrid code editor.

It’s easy to see why, with a vast array of extensions to help all kinds of development, and a built-in collaborative coding Live Share feature. Code completion, linting, and an integrated terminal make VS Code the only thing you need for developing apps, websites, and software.

2. Chrome Developer Tools

If you are learning to develop for the web, you should be using Chrome Developer Tools. Available free with the Google Chrome browser, they give robust inspection and debugging on all websites.

Highlighting page elements in code and vice versa allows you to get a good sense of how websites come together. There is also a built-in device emulator for testing how websites work on a variety of devices. Powerful site metrics and security checking make Chrome Developer Tools essential for all web devs.

3. GridGuide

For a simple but effective way to work out custom grid sizes, GridGuide can help. Its simple user interface allows you to specify width, columns, and outer gutter ratio.

It returns examples of what different sized grid settings will look like along with the pixel values required to replicate it in your visual design. Grids are shareable and available as PNG files for later reference.

4. CodePen

CodePen is an online social development environment for designing and sharing front end development. Focusing purely on the various flavors of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, the standard CodePen window is the perfect place to experiment and share your ideas.

Frequent community showcases and challenges are open to developers at all levels, and examples of almost anything you’d want to make in the browser are available to view, or fork for your own use.

5. ObjGen

JavaScript is the language of the internet, and JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) is the primary way to manipulate data online. While other tools can help create JSON from code, being able to generate it on the fly is vital for testing and development.

ObjGen takes input in the left window and converts it into JSON in the right window, which saves in the browser, or a JSON file for later use. Perfect for anyone learning data visualization and full stack web development.

6. Coolors

Getting the color scheme right for your website is an essential part of any design. You’ll find many apps online which allow you to generate and build color palettes for free. Coolers is an example of a simple to use app which helps you settle on your visual feel.

The space bar generates a new color palette as a starting point. Each color comes with alternatives and tweaking tools to get it just right. When you are happy with a color, you can lock it and generate new colors based on it. Available for free in the browser (and available as an iOS app) it’s an excellent tool for all frontend designers.

7. DevDocs

This browser-based API documentation browser is free and gives programmers a quick place to reference multiple codebases using a simple web UI.

All major languages are supported, and any that you choose are searchable, available offline in the browser, as a plugin to VS Code and Sublime Text, and on mobile.

DevDocs is a game changer, giving quick access to documentation for your project.

8. Sass

A not-so-secret about web development: CSS sucks. Luckily there are options out there to make styling your websites easier. Syntactically Awesome Style Sheets (Sass) is a CSS extension language for quick and easy website structure.

Completely compatible with already available CSS libraries, various frameworks are also available to kick start your design. Inheritance, Mixins, and Operators are all supported in Sass, making it a powerful tool for browser-based projects.

9. ReactJS

Frontend frameworks come and go, but currently, ReactJS is dominating web development. Designed by Facebook and a community of developers under the MIT license, it is the most popular single-page app tool and can fit into any web application.

Powerful data binding, a virtual Document Object Model (DOM), and hooks allow for complete control over code execution and performance. ReactJS uses JavaScript XML (JSX) allowing developers to mix HTML and JavaScript elements easily.

ReactJS looks good on any web development CV; job postings for ReactJS developers show no signs of slowing down!

10. Pingdom

Having a site that loads quickly is essential. No matter how well you design your user experience, slow running web pages are an immediate turnoff. Chrome Developer Tools can give you metrics for your site. Sometimes, however, it’s nice to get an outside impression of how your website performs.

Pingdom provides a service to test the speed of your website and gives various metrics to help you debug what might be slowing you down. The test grades each element for performance and advises what you can improve on. Pingdom has a limited free service, with paid models available on a sliding scale.

The Right Tools for the Job

Having the right tools to hand makes any job more manageable. When that job is learning web development, then it can improve your overall experience.

All the tools in the world can’t replace experience and practice. The best way to improve is to pick some beginner programming projects to get you started.

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The Best Online Photography Courses for Beginners

The best photography course you can take is the one just outside your front door. In other words, get out there and take photos of anything and everything! However, there are also some great online photography classes worth exploring.

If you are an absolute beginner, here’s our own beginner’s guide to digital photography. This will teach you the absolute basics. However, there are plenty of other photography courses available online for those eager to learn.

1. R-Photo Class

Key Benefit: A basic course that spans 30 self-paced lessons.

This free online photography course is more recognizable as the Reddit Photoclass. It started its life on the r/photoclass subreddit and ripened into 30 full-fledged lessons on its own site. You will be in the good hands of Alex Buisse, an adventurer and a photographer himself.

You don’t even need to own a DSLR. A smartphone will do the job. Lessons have assignments which you can submit in the comments. Community feedback helps but there is no grading here.

2. Coursera: Photography Basics and Beyond

Key Benefit: A complete photography class from Michigan State University that can take seven months to complete.

This online photography course for beginners is a specialization track that is a package of five different courses. Go from the fundamentals of camera controls to publishing your best photos with a project.

You can do the whole thing in seven months or less. Or, you can pick one of the courses to finish first. Read and go through the course content for free if you do not want to pay for the Coursera certification.

3. Cambridge in Color

Key Benefit: An ad-free photography tutorial site that’s easy to read.

Cambridge in Color has existed from 2005 and is still going strong. It is an organized tutorial site that helps you progress step by step. Start with Concepts and Terminology if you have just picked up a camera for the first time.

When you are deeper into it, browse through the Tools section for handy calculators that will help improve your shots.

Round off your learning in the Discussion forums. A book is also available if you want to carry the instructions with you.

4. Ditch Auto – Start Shooting in Manual

Key Benefit: Learn to take fantastic pictures in manual mode.

Beginner photographers are wary of the manual mode on their camera. But this four-hour course pokes a few holes in those fears by teaching you the basics. And it stresses the need to get comfortable with the manual mode.

Jerad Hill is a wedding photographer who is self-taught. He offers this course and a few others like the Photo Editing with the iPhone for free. Tackle this course with any camera and at your own pace.

5. Lectures on Digital Photography

Key Benefit: An entire course from a Stanford professor for free.

Mark Levoy’s Wikipedia profile says that he is a computer graphics researcher and Professor Emeritus of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at Stanford University and a Distinguished Engineer at Google. The world came to know him better when he released his entire Stanford lectures on photography online.

The course is more on the science behind photography. But you do not need any prior photography or programming knowhow to follow the 18 lectures. Each lecture is approximately one hour long. There are optional photographic assignments which you can do on your own.

The course will help you fill the gaps in your technical knowledge. For instance, how does a camera work? And what’s the formula for depth of field?

6. Harvard’s Digital Photography Course

Key Benefit: A more technical course on the fundamentals of photography.

Harvard University offers many open learning opportunities. They are usually launched through MOOC platforms like edX and others. The Exposing Digital Photography course materials are available online for free as OpenCourseWare (or OCW). There is no enrollment required.

This course attracts students with a wide range of experience and expertise in photography. There are 12 videos that cover the technical aspects of photography.

Topics include Software Tools and Light, Exposure, Optics, The Histogram, Digital Cameras, Color, and Video. Each video class runs for 2 hours, so you get 24 hours of instruction from top tier instructors from one of the best colleges in the world.

7. MIT—Introduction to Photography

Key Benefit: Use the Ivy League syllabus as reference material.

This course made a splash when MIT released it for free via the Open Course Ware (OCW) program. It’s one of a range of photography courses offered by MIT you can follow by downloading the course materials provided for free.

It’s a bit difficult to do the semester-long course without the live classroom interaction and field projects. But you can use the course materials as a teaser to understand what undergraduate level photography courses are like.

Some of the photography courses do include video lessons. Most of them come with reading lists, lesson guidance, assignments, and projects.

8. Annie Leibovitz Master Class

Key Benefit: Learn the art of creating timeless portraits with one of the best names in the field.

This photography course is part of the Masterclass series of lectures which are taught by some of the biggest names in their field. Anna-Lou Leibovitz is a well known American portrait photographer. You can pay to join this single class or sign up for access to all the masterclasses taught on the site.

The quality of the teaching is second to none. Especially if you are interested in photographing people in portraits or candids on the streets. Work through the videos, an assignment workbook with extra materials, and feedback from fellow students and Annie herself.

Learning to weave a story with photographs, or just mastering the art of natural light photography, could make this worth the price of admission.

9. Nikon School

Key Benefit: Short and easy-to-follow courses for Nikon users.

Nikon offers workshops and online courses in most of its major markets. The Nikon School is a banquet of courses from the camera manufacturer which can help you advance through the various stages of photography. Beginners can enroll in the Getting Started with Your Nikon DSLR ($14.95) or the Fundamentals of Photography ($29.95) course.

The courses are available at different price points but won’t break the bank. Most of them have short videos and you may not even need a Nikon camera to complete them.

10. Canon Online Learning

Key Benefit: Short courses taught by industry experts who use Canon.

If Nikon is there, can Canon be far behind? Canon also offers a similar bundle of premium photography courses that train you in the different aspects of taking great photos and videos. Some courses like Photo 101: How to Take Great Photos are camera-agnostic, but there are a few model-specific courses too.

The interactive courses are taught by industry experts who offer tips, techniques, and tricks of the trade. Prices range from $19 to $40 depending on the topic.

Tackle Multiple Online Photography Classes

Learning never stops, so feel free to tackle more than one of these online photography classes. Each one of these photography lessons could teach you something new.

There are also some professional photography courses available on Udemy if you want even more options. You can also go offline and seek out mentors. Just Google “photography classes near me” and you should find a few options close to home.

When all is said and done, learning how to take better photos is an ongoing process. And it can be hard word. So arm yourself with more knowledge, then go outside, and try these skill-building photography exercises that really work.

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