It is a pain to get it into the programs that's for sure ... but most programs do help you by providing autocomplete on frequently used sites (cemetery and city names for example)
It helps to have someone reading what you need to enter ... Jeff and I do this for each other all the time ...
All programs will save your database in .ged format which you can email to whomever you wish and they can then open it in whatever program they prefer to use. Plus a lot of them will help you create a webpage so you can upload your information. Its amazing how this helps you. After I got my website on my genealogy up I got all kinds of new information from people who found it ... it *really* helps....
I have a preference for the program Family Origins, Jeff prefers Family Tree Maker. Both are good (I just like the tree display in Family Origins better .. its easier for me to move through my database using it)
Good luck!
Kat
Ma'at Moderator
Founder and Director of The Hall of Ma'at
Contributing author to
Archaeological Fantasies:
How pseudoarchaeology misrepresents the past and misleads the public
"If you panic, you're lost" -- W. T. 'Watertight' Southard