find software solution

[Janby]

I am a genealogy volunteer teacher. I need all of the following because my personal and teaching files are getting unmanageable and was hoping not to have to buy more than one program.  I needed expert help.  I have been on the computer all week trying to find a program that does all of the following at a reasonable cost to the individual retired person.

What I need is an easy to use program that organizes:
1. pictures (all formats)
2. scanned documents
3. saved Word Perfect or MS Word format documents
4. PowerPoint presentations
5. multimedia (CD, DVD, MP3, audio & video files, etc)
6. Genealogy programs with their GEDCOMs
7. emails
8. Contact info (addresses, phone, personal data such as birthdates)
9. a calendar/alarm would be a nice bonus but not necessary

A. It needs to allow comments or descriptions to be added to each entry
B. It also needs to be able to search by date, name, or words within each document or description
C. It needs to have scanning capability built in with Picture formats and an OCR capability (I think this is the format   
    necessary in order for the documents to be searchable? right?).
D. Download part of, or all info onto a smaller device (don't know what kind of device would support what I do, I'm still 
    learning)
E. Most important of all it needs to be simple (color coding help a lot, especially if I can choose the colors)
F. If possible, Needs to be able to magnify  (yes, my eyesight is going too)
G. If possible, Needs to work with voice commands (it will be a something I will need down the road when I am no long to write or type)

Now that so many records are going on-line for the wonderful world of genealogy, I know my files will just get worse if I don't organize them soon. I realize this is a tall order in a software, but I have faith it is out there.  Help....

[soybean]

Do you now have an Office suite such as Microsoft Office or OpenOffice.org? 

Apparently, you have a scanner.  So, it came with software, right?

I think you're simply not going to find one program that will do everything you've listed here.  The organizing you want can be done using a program or programs that pertain to a specific task.  For example, you need to use an email program to organize your email; no other program is going to organize your email. 

If possible, Needs to be able to magnify 

Many programs can do that.  Just hold down your Ctrl key and use your mouse wheel to zoom in or out. Or, use the menu options in the program to control font size, etc.

Download part of, or all info onto a smaller device

Windows will already do that; you don't need to find another program to do this.  Use Windows Explorer to move files from hard drive to flash drive, floppy drive, or external hard drive.

If possible, Needs to work with voice commands

I believe this will have to be a separate program unless you have Windows Vista.  Some info: http://www.consumersearch.com/voice-recognition-software

I get the feeling you really need to learn more about Microsoft Windows.  If you can get into a class or, at least, borrow books or videos on Window from a library, that should be beneficial to you.

[Janby]

I just downloaded Microsoft Office 7 today. I'm hoping One Note may be helpful, don't know yet.  I appreciate the other advice and help you gave me. Thanks...