I am very pleased with my Western Digital My Passport for Mac. It plugs in and you drag and drop. No attempt to try to back up your hard drive like my old Western Digital used to do. It was $79 for 1 Tb. I have put tons of school files, 10 years of yearbook photos, and my personal photos from 100+ CDs, and the drive is now 15% full. I actually bought two drives and have one in a safe at home.

Such a good idea, those tablets. I use my iPad lots. HOWEVER, make sure you spend eQual time with your child. I worry that the marvelous experience of reading to a child, turning the pages, cuddling close, taking a minute to look at each other and actually TALK will be lost as our children lose themselves in an electronic screen. Are we conducting a social experiment and won't know the results for 20 years?
Spoken by a mom of 3 who is sending her baby to college in 6 months. She doesn't fit so well on my lap now that she's 5'10.

Beautiful! Reminds me of the eTrade baby.

Can you open up PS6, go to File, and Open Recent to see where it might have gone?

These are the grandchildren of the people who thought Polaroids were "enough" in the 1960s and 70s. Low expectations eQual an unremarkable experience.

Ask her what she wants to learn about and make it very person-centered. It's a great time to start her now because hopefully she isn't addicted to Instagram shots yet. Also, the 4H program has a set of 3 books with great projects, each book getting a little higher in complexity. The books are fun to use and have lots of nice bright photos. Try your local 4H office (extension office out of your state ag university?)
I also like the challenges Darren Rowse does at Digital Photography School <newsletter@digital-photography-school.com>.
Just make sure you infect her with the photography bug so she can start asking for lenses for Christmas. Her mom will love that!

I take photos of our high school's musical. I use a 50mm lens and take photos at dress rehearsal so I can stand where I want to and move around. No flash, and settings to use the stage lights for illumination.I can't remember my settings, but I set the ISO at 400 to preserve nice looking faces. Also, check out the white balance to get rid of yellowish light from stage lights. Try to work it out with the director to shoot on a non-performance night.

I have followed the "walkaround" threads and appreciate the people who have patience to give advice. Here was my situation last weekend: Easter dinner at my sister-in-law's house in the country, dreadful glare because windows had no curtains, brand new twins, Easter egg hunt outside after lunch, and a beautiful sunset as we left. What lens do I put on my Nikon D7000 to get tack-sharp photos of the new babies in their grandparents' arms and then shots of my daughter being the Easter Bunny outside with the toddlers? I took a 35mm so that I didn't have to use flash inside but I would have liked a little zoom. The sunset shots got deleted. Boring.
Mostly what I wanted was sharpness. Those babies won't stay little long. I could save up for the 28-70 lens but it seemed heavy when I rented one. Is there another choice in about the same range that will be sharp? I don't want to clunk in with a big camera case and 4 lenses.
This is what I mean by a walkaround lens -- one that will handle the many situations of life in the best means possible. Thanks for staying with those of us who are still searching and dithering.

It's a nimble camera. My students can really get going on changing the shutter speed and aperture on it because it's so simple to use but has a lot of capability. I like the light weight of it.

When I rented the 24-70 lens and took it to a tennis tournament, I was disappointed by image Quality, until I took a portrait of my daughter. Wow! Maybe I would do better on sports now with better skills.

But I want it all!! Great lens, not too heavy, cheap price.

I am in the same position as you -- got the D7000 and now want to have a good all-round lens that gets sports photos worthy of the D7000's abilities. Just last weekend I was shooting state basketball for my school -- my 35mm looked pretty puny besides all the 70-200s next to me under the basket. However, I was very happy with the shots I got and kept thinking that the 70-200 looked awfully heavy to keep holding up for 2 hours. And what happens when the action gets that close to me?
I'm going to rent the 70-200 for graduation (another underlit gym) and see if I can stand the weight.

Yes, you want to move to another location. Get under the basket and let the game come to you. I shot this shot in our home gym with a 35mm 1.8 lens. I was pretty happy.

I shoot with a d3100 and the 85mm lens or recently a 35mm. Not very expensive lenses. I stand close to a basket and let the game come to me (great advice from a fellow UHH reader). Don't shoot until they are close, take into account whether you kid is left- or right-handed. Shots in the stands are rarely very good. Remember that your trouble will be worth it in 20 years when they show their kids what a great photog Grandma is.

Here's what I have for my new D7000: the kit lens, a 50 mm 1.8, a 35mm, and a 70-200mm from work that I can use to shoot sports like track. What I really want is an all-round that allows me to shoot at a family event or vacation where I might want a little zoom or a little wide-angle, and I want to get really SHARP shots. The Nikon 24-70 I rented years ago was a little disappointing on sports shots (maybe I just wasn't a good enough photographer back then) but excellently sharp on some informal portraits of my daughter.
I can save up for a new or refurbished 24-70, but what I would really like to know if there is something at about half the cost that will give me those sharp photos? If not, I will just keep saving.