Reviews
Previous Page 5 of 8 NextIn 15 years with a Mac, we have never experienced such excellent service from a software or hardware vendor!
F. McFarlane
Fullerton, CA
I just wanted to say thank you for your outstanding work with Reunion. I am in the process of making the change from Family Tree Maker.
I talk to thousands of Mac users every year and your product is at the top of my list.
Thank you
M. Billington
Toronto CANADA
For what it's worth, I have been writing Mac genealogy software reviews since 1987 for Genealogical Computing magazine. I have pretty much seen and used them all.
Nothing is perfect, but Reunion comes close. ...overall the feature list and ease of use swung me to recommend Reunion. All in all, trying to be fair, Reunion is the one worth your money.
L. Naukam
Fairport, NY
In my experience, Reunion users are among the most satisfied users of any software program, and the uniformly favorable reviews didn't happen by accident either.
C. Hohenstein
South Bend, IN
Reunion is the ultimate genealogy software. In addition to creating elaborate family trees, you can attach pictures, sound files and more... I was turned on to Reunion by my mother. Mom spends quite a bit of time on her Mac, surfing the net and building an elaborate family tree complete with scans of photographs from the family archives. A couple of my local customers recently purchased an iMac from us for the express purpose of running Reunion, so I figured it was time to check it out and I was definitely impressed. Sure it's a niche market, but I do not think that there is a better piece of genealogy software on any platform...
D. Mayer
from the Kibbles&Bytes, a weekly E-Mail newsletter from Small Dog Electronics, http://www.smalldog.com
Reunion for Macintosh is a superb product... among its innovations is a remarkable HTML-based help system that replaces the old manuals.
J. McWilliams
Piedmont, CA
Your software never ceases to amaze me. It's one of the best pieces of software I've purchased for any reason. You maintain and improve it well and provide outstanding support. Truly, an exceptional product and service.
Hope you're making lots of money with this product. You deserve it.
W. Pate
Pittsboro, NC
In our small town (about 30,000), we finally have a Mac store called TRG... They had an open house on Saturday. After I volunteered to help, they invited me to come in and demonstrate Reunion for anyone interested.
Not only did I have a thoroughly enjoyable day gabbing with other Macheads, but I convinced THREE new families to join the Reunion family in my five hours there. That's right, three bought Reunion because of my UNPAID enthusiasm.
Most gratifying for me though was the fact that not once did I encounter a question that I was unable to answer. That surely is a testimonial to all you who contribute to this forum [ReunionTalk] since this is where I learn most of my Reunion knowledge.
[You] should take a well-deserved bow for producing Reunion, which is so easy to be enthusiastic about.
G. Conetta
Aurora, Ontario, CANADA
I am very pleased with Reunion!
Family Tree Maker does so much advertising that I perceived it was a better product. I was so wrong!
Reunion is a quality item!
B. Christopher
Park Ridge, IL
It's indecision on the part of developers that leads others to claim that the Mac is dead or dying. If people are wise, they'll stop doing business with companies like Broderbund that won't decide what to do about the many Mac users out there and instead buy from companies whose decisions and products are ready, waiting, and high-quality.
All you Mac users on hold for an upgrade to FTM should simply go and look into Reunion. Leister Productions is a Mac-only software company. And it's good quality stuff.
S. Jackson
Montgomery, AL
I have used Reunion for several years...moving to it from PAF. I have also read ReunionTalk for several months and have come to a couple of conclusions:
- Leister has come up with an excellent database that more than meets the needs of about ninety percent of those who would use it.
- Leister has shown an amazing patience and receptiveness toward all recommendations and suggestions, no matter how far out they may seem.
F. Odom
Pensacola, FL
I have spent many years looking down on Macintosh computer owners, wondering if they knew how much they were missing in realm of software.
For the first time, now, I wish I had a Mac. They have such a wonderful software app for genealogy. It is called Reunion.
J. Hodgin
Fayetteville, NC
What can I say? Fantastic. Your group should teach most of the other software companies how to write a manual. Thank you for a class act!
T. Curtis
Fort Collins, CO
I have used Reunion for a number of projects over the past four years and found the program and the support provided exceptional. You can't go wrong using Reunion.
E. Burrowes
Philadelphia, PA
I think Reunion is a truly nifty piece of software, one of the best programs of any sort I've ever used. So elegant and flexible, yet so small. (Take THAT, Microsoft!)
T. Smith
Athens, OH
I have been using Reunion for several years now. I want to thank you for such a wonderful product. I spend a good part of my spare time working on genealogy. Sometimes I transfer lots of names and data from genealogy books from my country into Reunion and the more I learn about the program, the more impressed and the more pleased I become.
Allow me to tell you that I am seasoned engineer, who spends a good part of his time working with MS Word and MS Excel which are as good products as you may find, and, believe me, I can't believe I only paid like $100 for Reunion. To me it is worth more like $1,000.
Thank you again.
P. Bedoya
Lima, PERU
I've input several thousand names and haven't found glitches. I like the flexibility. I have been able to generate reports with ultimate control & flexibility. I have been able to import files sent over the internet, created on other systems/software.
I like that the program is designed for Mac, and very strongly supported that way. Not another design converted or adapted to the Mac. Given a choice, I always support the “pro-Mac” companies.
Wwe have found the current version of Reunion for around $100... I don't consider this very expensive for a piece of software that can handle your needs, I think, for the long haul.
When you have something that seems to satisfy the need, is well-designed and well-supported (for many years past, with dedication to the future), you can spin your wheels shopping. I was so thankful my brother sent me my own -- it certainly helps me keep my data organized better that 3-ring binders and 3x5 cards!
S. Mary
Lakewood, CA
Dear people from Leister, especially Frank Leister,
I have just received Reunion. Wow!!! ... this beats everything. This is the limit. I wonder how far further you can go beyond this limit. It is so incredibly beautifully laid out, simple, crystal clear and an absolute joy to sit down and work on and with my family. Especially the warm-hearted personal note by you, Frank, in the beginning of the manual was heart-touching. Wonderful. Thanks.
P. Delcour
Hilversum, Netherlands
For what it's worth: after only a short while, I am getting to move around this program now with speed and efficiency. It really is a great piece of software. Simple to understand, easy to use with so many handy little reference and presentation features. Congratulations!
It's always a pleasure to use a tool which enhances and improves a complex job -- such as applying a simple to understand structure to an intricate web of family and family and family.....and the courteous and efficient manner in which simple and sometimes naive queries as well as technical assistance are provided are greatly welcomed, appreciated and enjoyed, particularly when you have had the experience of dealing with the bureaucratic likes of Microsoft & Apple, et al. So thanks again, and best wishes.
M. Fitzgerald
Westport, CT
I like the manual, it's one of the best on-line helps I have used. Once again Leister has done it better than the rest.
S. Delforce
NSW Australia
Reunion is an excellent genealogy application that is written with the Mac in mind. Leister Productions not only knows genealogy software, but they also provide excellent technical support, a very informative web site, and their ReunionTalk Digest provides a forum for all Reunion owners to discuss their particular genealogical situations, problems, and helpful tips.
Before purchasing Reunion I did review various other products, one of them being Family Tree Maker (FTM). Family Tree Maker is probably one of the better genealogy software programs for the PC/Windows environment, but what I did not appreciate was their attempt to sell me genealogy history information online. The packaging and advertising of FTM is rather misleading because it leads you to believe that the product has the information when in reality all they are are indexes to information that must be purchased.
A. Gutierrez
San Jose, CA
excerpt from a letter to the editor of the San Jose Mercury News
There seems to be almost complete agreement that Reunion is the best Mac genealogy program.
Reunion has excellent product support and an active forum ReunionTalk where users exchange helpful information.
M. Mullen
Ridgecrest, CA
Just wanted to let you folks know how many compliments I get on my website. Honestly, I think everyone who has visited it has written to tell me how organized, well thought-out, complete it was.
Of course, I'd love to take credit for this but all I do is feed it information -- Reunion does the rest.
I'm also assuming that these people are used to seeing those other websites that just simply have names listed with links. Compared to that, mine is much better.
So anyway, just wanted to let you know how impressed people are with the website format that Reunion exports.
S. Sanders
New Berlin, WI
The greatest genealogy tool for any platform...
J. McDermott
Annapolis, MD
The main advantage of Reunion is that it is written for the Mac by people who thoroughly understand the Mac. They don't do a PC version at all, so their creativity is focused on one product. Reunion has a very active forum that discusses all sorts of research queries in addition to any dealing with Reunion. Their tech support is highly praised.
J. Trauger
Fairfax, VA
...I used to have FTM for Mac and I was very frustrated because I had friends doing things on the Windows version that are years away on the Mac version... I got Reunion about three weeks ago and I will never ever ever go back. It runs circles around FTM!
...the full software runs like a finely tuned sports car... or would it be a “family car”? ;-)
K. Heagerty
San Jose, CA
I tried Family Tree Maker & felt like a victim instead of a customer. Reunion is an outstanding product!
R. Calhoun
Sitka, AK
...I was astonished to see how powerful the software is and how easily a user can manage it's myriad of features. Reunion is now prominently displayed in our software section.
The Global Gazette
Canada's Genealogy & Heritage Magazine
...exceptionally easy for novices to master but has the functions, particularly for managing source citations, that proficient genealogists demand. Reunion encourages users to do it right. ... Leister supports an active online discussion group that compares notes and offers shortcuts and suggestions from users.
K. Much
Stanford, CA
excerpt from a letter to the editor of San Jose Mercury News
Once you try Reunion, you will be kicking yourself for waiting so long.
Consider this, you hear of various people changing from one program to another, but I've never heard of anyone leaving Reunion for another piece of software.
If you have 25 years of work behind you, consider the value of your time and effort and look strongly at getting one of the new Macs just so you can use Reunion.
R. Parsons
Austin, TX
Count me as another advocate of Reunion. It is by far the best genealogy app available for the Mac. It is very transparent and intuitive. You won't find yourself needing the great on-line help very much at all.
B. Adams
Waco, TX
Fantastic product. Easy to use. Features galore! I've been waiting for years to find this product.
R. Lantz
Dana Point, CA
It's a great program, excellent user manual and has a great mailing list to receive support from other users and the programmers themselves. This has been very handy -- a recent discussion of ways to customize features has given me wonderful ideas for making even better use of the database.
T. Paxton
Glendale, AZ
Thank you for a wonderful product. It is probably the best piece of software I own.
J. Levinson
Lodi, NJ
When I first downloaded the free demo of Reunion, I was convinced that someone had created a great program. Now that I use it on my latest Mac, I can only wonder how people can make such ultimate genealogy software for such low cost.
Elaborating my family tree (complete with scans of photographs from the family archives, input from our new digital camera) and putting them on the web is so easy!
There is no better genealogy software on any platform.
B. Sanders
Chicago, IL
I thank my lucky stars that I found Reunion when I started into computing for my family history and had to transfer all my manuscript and typewritten notes that I had gathered over some years. The program and its ability to do reports and charts with graphics and photos is awesome, improving with each upgrade, and the after-sales service from Leister is unmatched.
B. Bauer
Athens, OH
For anyone who views genealogy as more than a passing interest, Reunion for Macintosh is more than worth changing platforms. I know it's difficult for people to realize that something can be better than the best they have seen SO FAR.
P. Ronson
Huntsville, AL
My personal favorite is Reunion. It has everything that I could ever want.
C. White
UK
I was wonderfully pleased to get just what I wanted with Reunion. Not only does it have online help, but the help is linked and cross referenced in several different ways. There have not been any cases when I couldn't find the answer to a question, even if the answer was that the feature was not available.
Thank you Leister, for allowing me to spend my time working with the data and my genealogy, instead of reading manuals. When I need or want a feature, I look it up and use it -- the best way to learn. As for ideas on how I might use the program, that is why I subscribe to this forum.
D. Wells
Los Gatos, CA
Beautiful and easy to use Mac-centric interface! Keep up the good work.
A. Nahhas
Columbus, OH
I love it already. Definitely a Mac app, not “a reverse engineered Windows based program.” (That is, it's not an app which was created for Windows, then slightly modified for Mac use, etc., which is obviously the case with several of the other most-used genealogy apps.)
I will move all my research out of FTM and into Reunion AND have fun doing it, because it works like a Mac.
E. Addington
Phoenix, AZ
Fantastic features and value. Flat out BEST in its class!
M. Samomone
Kennett Square, PA
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