RootsMagic family tree software is one that I often recommend to readers, for its ease of use and wealth of features. Some, however, were reluctant to invest time trying out the limited trial version, or not yet ready to invest in such a comprehensive program. Thus, I was thrilled when Bruce Buzbee announced today that he has created a free version of his desktop genealogy software, titled RootsMagic Essentials.

RootsMagic Essentials contains many of the core features found in the full Roots Magic 4 version, including the ability to add unlimited people and events, pictures and media management, powerful merging and clean-up tools, dozens of reports and charts, integration with FamilySearch, the SourceWizard to format your source citations for you, and the ability to share data with other people and software programs.

The free version of RootsMagic Essentials can be downloaded directly at www.rootsmagic.com. If you're currently using another genealogy software package, RootsMagic and RootsMagic Essentials import directly from PAF, Family Tree Maker (through 2006), Family Origins and Legacy Family Tree. It can also import family trees in GEDCOM format.

Earlier this year my father-in-law passed away at the age of 90 - the last living World War II veteran in my family. Luckily for us, we have many of his stories recorded, but for many veterans the stories and memories of their war experiences have died with them. Take time this week from your family history research to learn more about the veterans in your family tree - interview a living veteran, track down a military record, or read online accounts of other military veterans who served with your ancestors. Thank you for honoring our veterans.

If you're like many of us, you (or your parents or grandparents) probably have stacks of old slide carousels loaded up with family memories. Unfortunately, the precious images on those slides are deteriorating with each passing day. Here are several options for converting those pictures to digital format.

Once you've scanned your old family photos or slides into digital format, try these tips for digitally cleaning up those tears, stains, creases and faded images.

As a bonus for your hard work, the digital pictures you've created from those old family slides can now be used in all sorts of creative ways to make great holiday gifts for your family members -- from ornaments to calendars!

Footnote announced today that it will digitize and place online all publicly available U.S. Federal Censuses from 1790 to the most current public census from 1930. The 1860 and 1930 censuses are already online, with digitization of 1900, 1910 and 1920 just getting underway.

So why use the census on Footnote when it is available elsewhere on the Web? Footnote does do it a little differently - offering interactive census pages for each individual which allow users to add comments and insight about that person, upload and attach scanned photos and documents, and identify relatives found in the census by clicking the I'm Related button. Check out the 1930 interactive census page for Jimmy Stewart to see available features.

Footnote also offers an alternative to other subscription genealogy sites, such as Ancestry.com, which offer the complete U.S. census. The census records also make a very nice addition for people subscribing to Footnote for the many other records they offer. Of course, FamilySearch Record Search offers many U.S. Federal Census online for free (along with census records for many states and other countries). They currently have indexes and images for 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1900, plus indexes only for 1880 and 1920.

Check out the latest interactive census additions at Footnote, and sign up to receive an email when images are added for your chosen states.