The two real contenders thesedays are genealogy.com (the makers of Family Tree Maker), and ancestry.com. By far, the betterwebsite is ancestry.com. You can download a FREE program from their site to input ancestorinformation in. However, this program is very clunky to enter descendants, to add sourceinformation, etc. But what it does do, which you won't find anywhere else, is give you FREE accessto one of the largest databases of personal family trees. I highly recommend starting withancestry.com, if you want to dive into the genealogy world. The program immediately connects to theinternet and tells you what the closest matches are to your tree. You just point and click. (another note, I have dsl, so the tree may be slow for dial-up users. Only for the internetsavvy!)
In the other corner is Family Tree Maker. The program is far more robust, allows you toenter images into scrapbooks easily, has tons of features, and seamlessly integrates with themassive family tree library. If you have the money, you can go really far with FTM. But you willhave to pay for CDs or internet information. If your tree matches up with an online tree, you'llneed to pay the monthly fee to look at it.
The site requires you give them your credit cardinformation, and you have to CALL to tell them when you want to stop, as it auto-renews yoursubscriptions. No email to tell them to cancel you! A real hassle.
But at the end of the day,the program itself is solid, and the best to create a family tree in. But I agree with otherreviewers in the respect that the online "features" of the program are expensive and annoyinglyspammish.
To wrap up, I strongly recommend FTM, but don't spend money on "Collector's" and"Deluxe". Just buy the plain and straightforward one. Use the program to keep all of your info in. Then start your internet search at ancestry.com and the Mormon's site familysearch.org. Onceyou've built up an extensive tree, then consider spending money on FTM cd's and internet access, ifyou really need them.