* Non Release of FH7

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jsphillips
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Non Release of FH7

Post by jsphillips »

Hi
Before last Christmas it was mooted that Calico Pie would bring out the new version possibly named FH7.
No such luck.. then said early 2020 then nothing then again I sent a message to Calico no response.
I like many others no doubt would say, why not say NOT AVAILABLE before Christmas 2020 or maybe 2021.
Fed up with waiting I am no longer going to spend money on a product Calico Pie cant be specific about !!
I am moving back to Family Treemaker through MacKiev and advising all my members to do the same and recommending through U3a not to bother really bad communications
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tatewise
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Re: Non Release of FH7

Post by tatewise »

That is a bit unfair. Did you not see the following announcements:
Update on V7 from Simon Orde (17850) in Jun 2020
Wanted: Family Historian Beta Testers for Version 7 (18046) in Aug 2020
There has also been a great deal of other work behind the scenes.
So FH V7 is definitely on its way...

Meanwhile, FH V6 is far superior to FTM and if purchased now, comes with a free upgrade to FH V7.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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Gowermick
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Re: Non Release of FH7

Post by Gowermick »

Notwithstanding lack of info on FH7, what is wrong with recommending FH6?
Buying FH6 now, you still get an upgrade to FH7 when it does appear, but in meantime you have use of FH6, which in my opinion, is still better than FTM. After migrating from FTM to FH6, coudn’t pay me enough to go back to FTM :D
Mike Loney

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http://www.mickloney.tribalpages.com
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Martin Tolley
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Re: Non Release of FH7

Post by Martin Tolley »

And they must have had a welter of beta testers - I tried to sign up almost immediately after the June announcement was made requesting applications, and I was rejected within 20 minutes....
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Mark1834
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Re: Non Release of FH7

Post by Mark1834 »

There are really two separate issues here:

Long development times - have you ever looked at the competition to see what the market expectation is in this area? I also use RootsMagic, as a tool to keep the Ancestry copies of my trees up to date so I can receive new match hints (a noticeable gap in FH's features compared with RM and FTM). They first announced version 8 early last year, made a first call for beta testers nearly a year ago, and it still isn't released yet. I also used FTM for several years, and well remember the long delays and missed deadlines when MacKiev brought out their first Windows version. They were perfectly open about the reason - the internal plumbing of FTM was a mess (not unexpected, given that it has gone through a number of corporate owners over its long history) and it took them much longer than expected to get to a minimum standard they were happy with.

Communication - there is probably more of a case to answer there. Calico Pie have always played their cards close to their chest. They have little, if any, direct interaction with the user group, and newsletter e-mails are few and far between. By contrast, RootsMagic (who are a similar organisation, with one main product and driven by an individual rather than being part of a large organisation) are much more active in communicating directly with users and say a lot more about the development process, with V8 previews freely available on YouTube.

I suspect FH7 and RM8 will end up being released within a few weeks of each other, and it will be an obvious comparison for the various magazine and online reviewers to make.
Mark Draper
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Gowermick
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Re: Non Release of FH7

Post by Gowermick »

Mark1834 wrote: 15 Sep 2020 08:24 so I can receive new match hints (a noticeable gap in FH's features compared with RM and FTM).
What’s wrong with hints from FH? That works well with FMP, and doesn’t require you have a tree there.
It would provide hints to Ancestry too, if Ancestry didn’t charge so much for access ( so I understand)
Mike Loney

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Mark1834
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Re: Non Release of FH7

Post by Mark1834 »

Nothing at all wrong with FMP hints. It’s just that I prefer Ancestry as it has better coverage of London and the home counties, where I have extensive roots. I also want a (highly sanitised) version of my tree visible to other researchers and for DNA links.

It is for CP to decide their priorities of course. If it means giving us more of the features we use and enjoy rather than just a “me too” copy of the competition, that’s fine by me!
Mark Draper
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jsphillips
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Re: Non Release of FH7

Post by jsphillips »

Thanks all of you for your replies.
My real comment was to utter frustration in lack of communication. I too have Roots Magic 7.6.4 but they issue communications to everyone about their Version 8.
Why cant CP when announcing a future edition say something like
" We are going to issue a new updated edition of FH but the program may take a considerable time to complete and a further time for testing before issuing !! It is unlikely to be ready before an estimate of XXXXX. BUT i will post to to the FHUG User group from time to time with progress"
CL please notice Roots Magic comms.
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