Family Tree Maker 9.0 Collector's Edition

Rating:
Summary: Buy the 7.0 version and you'll get a better value
Review: My sister-in law purchased this package recently and thinks it great. Personally, I thought [it] was a little pricey, so I found a new, unopened copy of the Collectors Edition for version 7.0 and paid [less]. We were suprised to find that just about all of the disks as far as databases and registries are concerned were pretty much exactly the same. The upside to buying version 7.0 is that you also get a video tape, the softcover "Geneology online for dummies", and little "organizer box" to put all the disks in. Those didn't come in the version 9.0 box that my sister-in law bought so she bought the book seperately for $... on sale. We both get the free membership to Geneology online so as far as having access to current and updated information they are equal. I'm sure there are some slight differences in the new version, but I don't know if they would be worth spending ... additional [money] on. The 7.0 collectors edition is hard to find unless you get it from an online auction ..., and it is well worth paying .... If you were planning on buying the "For Dummies" book and just a 1 month membership at Geneaology.com then you're basically getting the 7.0 collectors edition for free.

Rating:
Summary: Better for the total genealogy newbie
Review: This product is a real mixed bag. Some CDs, which is nice, but most of the data included is limited to a one year online subscription. The software is ok, but the search is buggy (too many names will cause it to bomb and automatically reboot your computer in an unsafe manner). And you can't import pics from from another piece of software - it's time consuming to fix all the bugs it creates if you're trying to convert from another piece of software. Also - I've not found much new data helpful to my tree - most of what I've run across I've already found for free on the internet. (...)