We will respond, where appropriate, to postings relating to Families in the Legacy User Group on Facebook, and will continue to provide support via email (families@telgen.co.uk).
As an additional support resource, a new FAQs page has been added to the web site. This contains frequently asked questions, including some material from past User Forum postings. This page will continue to be added to as a result of ongoing support discussions.
The future of the Families App
The Families app was released in 2010 for iOS and Android. It was built on a product called Xamarin which at the time was state of the art for development of cross platform mobile apps. Xamarin was acquired by Microsoft in 2016.
The current version of Families is 3.6.1, released in March 2024 for both iOS and Android. This is a mature and stable version on which there have been very few problems reported.
Microsoft officially ended support for Xamarin in May 2024. I have been monitoring the status of Xamarin and its associated tools since then, in the hope that despite support having ended, the software would continue to work OK (rather like the support status of Windows 10 vs 11). I deliberately held back releasing a new version of Families until the situation was clearer. This has turned out to be a good decision as Microsoft has now imposed minimum versions of certain software components which apps must adhere to but which can no longer be achieved with Xamarin. This means that it is no longer possible to build a new version of Families which can be uploaded to the App Stores. Fortunately the current versions in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store will continue to work without the need for a new version.
Families Sync, which runs on the PC and interfaces with Legacy, is not subject to the same dependencies as Families and I should be able to update this if necessary, e.g. to support a new version of Legacy.
I intend to continue providing support for as long as I am able.
So, in summary:
- Families 3.6.1 will continue to be available from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. No new versions will be released.
- Families Sync 3.4 will continue to be available from www.telgen.co.uk/families/sync.
- Support will continue to be provided via Legacy User Group on Facebook, or email at families@telgen.co.uk.
Malcolm Green