In the course of 40 years, I managed to take about 8,000 family photo slides, which are stored in boxes. Now I want my six children to have a DVD copy of the slides. I learned that it would cost me about $5,000 to have it done professionally. I do not have that money, but I have a good laptop, time and disposition to do it myself. What would be the best way to go about? - Dr. Nelson Borelli

A: I've got a couple of answers to this common quandary, and let me tell you, they aren't pretty.