A Glimpse of the Future -- Beta Site for FamilySearch.org

I was recently reminded of the Beta site for FamilySearch.org. I decided to log in and take a look. In a recent meeting of the Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group (UVTAGG) I listened to a presentation by Ben Baker from FamilySearch talk about a few of possible new developments to the program. and upon opening the program, was immediately reminded on his comments and those of other FamilySearch folks I had talked to recently. One of the benefits of living here in Utah is the opportunity to attend meetings like those held by the UVTAGG.

Well, what did I see when I logged into the Beta version of FamilySearch.org Family Tree? The main view of the program was quite different than what we see now. Here is a screenshot of the present program to remind you what it looks like:

Recent view of Family Tree

Here is the proposed Beta view:

Proposed Beta View

This new proposed view add features from the other views presently available on Family Tree. You can see the photos now available in the Portrait view and the icons representing various actions that need to be taken or opportunities for research hints etc. that come from the present Descendancy View. Some things are missing in the proposed view, including the pop up items that show wives, children and for those who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the ordinance link. I think I prefer the new look over the older one. I certainly like the inclusion of the icons for research and corrections etc. added on the proposed page look.

Clicking on some of the other view options crashed the program, so there was not much there. Once I signed back in, the other views of the Family Tree appeared to be about the same. I decided to poke around a little more and went to a lot of different pages and did not find anything too different than the present program. I guess I like the changes I did see, but given what I had been already told about what was coming, nothing was much of a surprise.