By this time, you should have thousands of digital pictures.  After all, with no film to pay for, you click as fast as your fingers will let you.  However when it comes to showing off your budding photographic skills, how do you do it?

To create incredibly cool, animated slideshows, check out Animoto, Flixtime, and Stupeflix.  These sites allow you to upload pictures, choose your music, and produce incredible videos.  While the sites are free to create 60 second videos, heavy users will want to pay a little to remove that time restriction.

If you have an iPhone or iPad, listen up!  Apple quietly made one of their services and apps free.  The “Find my iPhone” app will work with both your iPhone and iPad…with a little set up.

First, make sure you are on the latest operating system version for your device.  To find out what version you are on, get your iPhone or iPad and click Settings, and then choose “General.”  At the top of the screen you should see “About.”  Click it.  Scroll down until you see “version.”  As long as it it is greater than 4.1, you can do this.  If your device is not up to 4.2, sync it with iTunes and upgrade it.

Once you are at the correct OS version, click on Settings, “Mail, Contacts, Calendars,” and choose Add Account.  Choose Mobile Me. It will ask for your iTunes login information.  Then simply switch the “Find my iPhone” option to “on.”  That’s all there is to it.  If you have an iPad, also, follow the same steps.  Finally, go to the App Store and download the “Find my iPhone” app and install it.

That’s all there is to it.  Now, if you ever lose your phone or iPad, just fire up the app on the other device (or go to me.com on any computer) and it will show you a map of where your device is.  Keep in mind, your device must be connected to the Internet for the locator to work

You know you want one.  In fact, some of your colleagues are already sporting them at meetings.  The iPad has turned into the must-have device for the workplace.  But how do you justify the expense?  After all, you can easily end up spending up to $1000 before it is all said and done.

The key is to understand what the iPad DOES and DOESN’T.  First, the iPad handles e-mail incredibly.  The large screen makes reading messages effortless.  I can churn through my inbox much faster on my iPad than on my iPhone.  The screen also allows me to view web pages very easily, which comes in handy during meetings.

Let me give you an example: During a typical meeting with a client, I have their records pulled up on my iPad, giving me everything I need in one place.  If they ask a question, I can have their answer in just a few “finger-swipes.”  This ability alone has improved our customer experience tremendously.

I bought the version of the iPad with 3G.  That means, using the AT&T network, I can access the Internet anywhere my iPhone can. This feature has allowed me to easily work off-site, including customer sites.  But you have to weigh the pro’s and con’s. The iPad is large enough to serve as a sales and training platform in a one-on-one situation.  And with the additional adapter, I can use my iPad to project my presentations at large conferences.

Basically, the iPad has replaced my laptop.  And the “instant-on” ability means I can be ready to go in seconds instead of waiting for my laptop to boot

By downloading various apps, I have also discovered other uses for the iPad: Dragon Dictation allows me to “speak” my meeting notes into the iPad.  My speech is turned into text that can be easily copied to our Customer tracking systems.

The primary limitations of the iPad revolve around the keyboard.  If you enter a lot of text, you may want to buy the Apple wireless keyboard.

I could go on and on, but space limits me.  To learn more about the Apple iPad, check out these videos.

Computer mice are great…until they stop working.  Have you ever been working in Windows and had your mouse die?  How did you save your document and reboot?

What most people don’t realize is that Microsoft has created a keyboard-equivalent to everything you currently use a mouse for.  Here are my favorites:

• CTRL+C (Copy)
• CTRL+X (Cut)
• CTRL+V (Paste)
• CTRL+Z (Undo)
• SHIFT+DELETE (Delete the selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin)
• CTRL while dragging an item (Copy the selected item)
• CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item (Create a shortcut to the selected item)
• F2 key (Rename the selected item)
• CTRL+A (Select all)
• ALT+F4 (Close the active item, or quit the active program)
• ALT+TAB (Switch between the open items)
• SHIFT+F10 (same as right-clicking on an item)
• CTRL+ESC (Display the Start menu)
• F10 key (Activate the menu bar in the active program)
• F5 key (Update the active window or refresh a web page)
• BACKSPACE (same as hitting the “Back” button in your browser)
• SHIFT when you insert a CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive (Prevents the CD-ROM from automatically playing)

We have all seen it on TV: Those commercials where families are using their computers, cell phones, and TVs to hold live video chats.  They make it look so easy.  And the quality is always perfect.

Well, up until a few months ago, I would have suggested those results were exaggerated.  However, with today’s fast Internet and snappy new applications, I’m all about using video to communicate.  Three sites lead the pack in the video conferencing race:

TokBox – Want to chat with up to 20 people, simultaneously, for free? Of all the programs, this one seems to work the best for large settings. You can import your contacts from Gmail, Yahoo, and Facebook and text chat during the call. They have some paid plans which give more features to businesses, but I’ve found that the free service works in most situations.

ooVoo – If crystal clear video is your goal, check out ooVoo.  What sets it apart, simply, is the quality.  I haven’t seen another service be able to match the sharpness of the video.  ooVoo comes closest to “TV-quality” video.  Chats between two people are free.  To add more participants, or include calls to land-lines, paid plans are available.

Skype – The 800 pound gorilla of video conferencing is Skype.  Most people have heard of it.  And most people will try it first – primarily because it is one of the easiest programs to install. One of the unique features in the Skype free plan is the ability to share screens.  Other services typically reserve this feature for paid plans.

So, which is best?  Well, I tend to use Skype, but only because the people I conference typically already have it.  Enjoy!

How do clients schedule appointments with you? Do you play phone tag when trying to set up meetings?  If you bill for your time (consultants, hair dressers, lawyers, plumbers), and find it difficult to coordinate your calendar with that of your customers, check out Tungle.me.

This site syncs with your existing calendar, and posts a non-detailed version online for your customers to see.  Customers can then choose a convenient time to meet with you and it automatically syncs back to your calendar. Cool!  In fact, many of our customers are asking us to embed Tungle into their company websites.

Quick, what’s the best photo editing software?  That’s right, PhotoShop!  However, many small businesses, students, and individuals don’t have the $200 to buy it. Well, if you know where to look, you can find cheap (sometimes free) alternatives.  Sites like Alternativeto and Osalt give you lists of feature-rich programs to perform the same tasks as their more expensive cousins.

For instance, instead of Microsoft Office Home and Business ($200), why not try Open Office (Free).  Instead of Adobe Acrobat ($300), why not try PDF Creator (Free). The list is endless, but with a little careful searching, you can outfit your PC with the same capabilities as any large company!

One of the things I like about Google is how fast it gives me results.  I could type in anything, and within a second or two, I get a list of all the websites on the planet that talk about that thing.
Well, Google wasn’t satisfied with a “second or two.”  They just launched Google Instant.  Basically, Google will now start showing results as you type your keywords in, letter…by…letter.  At first, that sounds great.
But then my A.D.D. kicked in.  I found myself watching the results as I typed.  In fact, I started clicking on links before I finished entering my actual keywords.  Look!  Squirrel!
I never did finish typing in that keyword phrase.  But I found a funny video I forwarded to my friends.
So, is Google Instant worth it?  I don’t know.  Personally, I find it distracting.  The good thing about this “feature,” though, is that you can turn it off by clicking on the far right of the search blank.

Would you buy a TV from Apple?  How about TV service?  Apple just announced a new product, Apple TV.
About the size of a hockey puck, this little device will allow you to watch the following on your big screen TV:

• Movies recorded on your PC
• Streaming movies from Netflix
• YouTube videos
• Any TV show, movie, or song from your iTunes collection.

You can even control the device remotely with your iPad or iPhone.  The interface looks amazing and they claim the device is fast enough to prevent any “video stuttering.” Best of all, the device will sell for only $99.
Apple hasn’t released them yet, and won’t for about a month.  But if they can come through on these pre-release promises, I bet a bunch of you will find these little toys under your Christmas tree!

Every once in a while I get a call from someone asking, “How do I know if someone has been snooping around on my computer when I’m not around?”
Well, if you have sensitive information on your PC, make sure you set up a password on your user account.  But back to the question at hand.  The first place I check is the “Recent Items” option in the Start Menu.  It will show you what files were last opened.
Check your Internet history for what sites were visited.  If you think they are deleting their tracks or history, get my favorite parental control software, K9 Web Protection.  Even if they delete the data, you can see where they were.  Folks, that software is not just for kids.  It’s great to track anyone you think is snooping around your PC.