That article is slanted towards the UK, but is still interesting in part.

I would advise, before spending any money on either Ancestry.com or programs, one take advantage of FREE stuff, like Geneology.com or programs like Simple Family Tree or ScionPC or, if you want more complex stuff...Gramps

I have found some of my family back to the 1600s with no investment, just by incremental searches on known names.