Don’t Forget Your Backpack
Apr 10th, 2007 by Bill
I recently received an e-mail from Nathan letting me know about a neat Web service that genealogists might find useful, called Backpack.
Backpack is basically a Web site where you can store notes and to-do lists free of charge. There are also paid upgrade options available that include the ability to add images and files, additional Web pages and calendar functions. I have used Backpack in the past and found it very useful.
Your free Backpack account includes the ability to create 5 Web pages where you can create lists and keep your research notes. You can take a Backpack tour and sign up for your free account at http://www.backpackit.com/tour.
The same company that created Backpack, 37 Signals, has also created an online contact management system called Highrise. A free Highrise account will allow you to maintain contact information, notes and even tasks for 250 people.
You can also get a paid subscription that allows you to add more contacts and some other options like Secure Socket Layer (SSL) connectivity. While it’s probably not the intent of the site, this could be a cool way to maintain information on your ancestors along with the options of creating to-do lists and research tasks.


