I find Time magazine's naming of YOU as 2006's person of the year to be quite apropos. Consider the fact that YOU can create a funny home video with your digital camera and post it on YouTube the same day to be seen by friends and family around the world. You can create a podcast commentary on any subject, post it on a Web site, and have it copied by folks to their iPods within hours.

If you find the idea of creating your own Web site intimidating, you can have space on MySpace or Friendster immediately and for free, where you can post photos, videos, stories, and blogs. As an example, check out my page at www.myspace.com/donedrington.

The following are among the most popular Social Networking sites (in terms of membership size):

As a musician, you can create a music video and have it seen and heard by millions without an agent or a professional producer. Sites that let you upload items for free are popping up everywhere. The following are just three of the many "upload your own video" sites now available: (The sites listed above also let you upload your own videos and pictures.)

A very popular site for storing and displaying photos is:
www.flickr.com

You can also post your picture and profile on all the Social Networking sites, in hopes of meeting new friends or a Mr. or Ms. Right. Sadly, you can also be conned by online scammers and predators of all kinds. However, scams have been around since long before computers, and using common sense has always been the best means of protection.

Using Your PC with Two Monitors

Speaking of PCs, they say laptop sales now exceed those of desktop models, as many users prefer the convenience and portability of the notebook variety. A really cool feature of most laptops is a port to a second monitor, which can be placed alongside the unit's main monitor and used as an extension of it. Your mouse will move seamlessly from one to the other, which means a wide spreadsheet can be manipulated without constant sideways scrolling. I use two monitors when working on a Web page. I edit the code on one screen and view the results on the other. Writing a book is also easier when you can have multiple pages fully open and in view at the same time.

After connecting the second monitor, right-click your Desktop and choose Properties. Two monitor icons will appear under Settings, which can be indicated Primary and Secondary when clicking the Identify button. Here screen resolution for each can be set. Pressing F1 will bring up detailed instructions.

Desktop PC owners can have a second monitor port installed in their computers by hardware technician.

Using USB-Connected Headphones, Microphones, and Speakers

The tiny built-in speakers that come with most laptops can be pretty anemic, but good external speakers or a headset can produce very impressive sound. All computers come with a traditional 1/8-inch stereo port for headphones and speakers, but USB-connected headphones and speakers can be even more impressive, since USB ports don't pick up all the RF signals inside a computer which can adversely affect traditional audio output ports. I use a combination headset and microphone made by Plantronics, and couldn't be more pleased with the way they work.

Furthermore, using a headset/microphone combo is the ideal way to take advantage of all the free PC-to-PC telephone options nowadays.