Tombstone Technology
Here you will find the neat new things that cemeteries and web developers are doing to create unforgettable memorials and decode the messages from the past . Hopefully this list will keep growing, as technology keeps charging forth.
- Memory Medallion - a company that creates BEAUTIFUL medallions to adhere to headstones. The medallion opens to reveal a 'QR Code', which when scanned with your iPhone/Android cell phone will open a page of memories in the form of text, photographs and videos, created by the surviving family. An excellent use of technology! www.memorymedallion.com/
- Tombstone birthday calculator - Have you ever seen a grave that had no date of birth, a date of death and details of how many days, month and years they lived? How do you figure that birthday? It can get complicated with leap years, how many days in a month, and the fun of MATH. This link takes you to a calculator that will figure all the math for you.
- BillionGraves.com - is a site launched in May of 2011, designed to gather photographs of grave markers with assistance of Taphophiles worldwide. The volunteers scour cemeteries photographing headstones with their a special app designed for their iPhone or Android cellphones, which will record the exact GPS location of the grave. After these photos are uploaded they are available online for transcription from more volunteers, so the index is searchable... and growing. Searching the site is free, but there are additional upgrades you can 'earn' by participating or contributing in the photographing and transcribing process. If you want those upgraded features without contributing there is a nominal fee . Online maps and geographical coordinates may make future cemetery trips something like Geo-Caching for ancestors. This site is a brilliant use of technology. www.billiongraves. com