I have been using Family Tree Maker ("FTM") since the 1990s. It has always been simple to use and flexible; so much so that I never felt the urge or the need to change. The software developer also made annual updates and upgrades to the program that helped it keep up with the times as genealogy research began to migrate from paper to online resources.
The rights and developers for FTM changed hands a number of times, until they were eventually purchased by Ancestry.com, the online giant that has a reputation for snapping up smaller genealogy sites and programs and turning them into vehicles for the company's profit. While Ancestry maintained the software for a number of years, in December 2016 it announced that it would no longer support Family Tree Maker, leaving long-time users to fret (again) over what would happen to their years of research and data.
Ancestry has since announced that the rights to Family Tree Maker have been acquired by MacKiev Software. Last week, MacKiev began selling an updated version of Family Tree Maker on their website for both MAC and Windows platforms. According to both Ancestry and MacKiev, the software will continue to be able to access Ancestry's 'leaf hints' in addition to incorporating new features.
MacKiev has provided an FAQ for long-time users of FTM. For those with significantly older versions of the program (mine is the 2009 edition), MacKiev is offering an upgrade for purchase.
Having invested more than 15 years in FTM, I am personally torn between upgrading this popular software with yet another "owner/developer" or whether it's time to explore other genealogy software avenues. Especially since either option requires my spending hard-earned $$.
Decisions, decisions ...
