You need a vacation, and trips are sometimes expensive. Fortunately, you can find lots of services to plan your vacation that won't cost you a dime.

The Internet is like a fancy Hollywood party with lots of swag: You can get tons of stuff for free, but not all of it is good. Still, some of the Web services, apps, and downloads out there are great, and don't require you to pay a cent. Our 17th annual roundup of free stuff includes dozens of no-cost services, apps, and programs that are worth your time. To help you find the most valuable freebies, we've categorized them based on which types of people they'll help most. Enjoy the free life!

Staying in shape is a constant struggle, but a slew of apps out there can help you track your fitness.

For more information about all of the items in our 2012 Best Free Stuff list, read our package of articles.

Managing appointments, cancellations, and no-shows can be tough for a very small business to manage. Groupon is offering a free scheduling tool that you can easily add to your website. Groupon Scheduler has been running for a few months as a perk for merchants running a Groupon deal, and it's now available to any small business in the United States and Canada excluding Quebec.

The updated specs of the iPad 3, should make the tablet even better at something it already does well: enabling remote desktop access.

InfoWorld gives you the full scoop on the state of the cloud in 2012, including key trends in the cloud's technology and its job opportunities, as well as what you have to know about the cloud before developing for it.

If you have an office or a retail store, you may also have a security system that to alert you and the police in case of a break-in--or a webcam set up to monitor your business in your absence. But the capabilities of security systems go much further than they did even a few years ago, letting you monitor your business from a smartphone or tablet.

No single cloud service can do everything. Some shine when it comes to streaming a cloud music collection from the Web, but stink at syncing desktop folders. Other cloud services are great for sharing photos, but useless for reviewing a document's revision history.

Start your engines: Google’s long-rumored Drive service is officially out and ready for a test… well, drive. The search giant’s answer to services like Dropbox, Drive offers 5GB of free online storage space that also syncs with a local folder on the desktop of your Mac or PC. (An Android app is currently available, with an iOS app in the works.)

Why the heck would Apple want to buy Hulu?

Some people just don't like change. Less than a week after Digg released version 4 of its social news-sharing site, fans have rebelled, flooding Digg with links from a rival sharing site, staging a "Quit Digg Day," and prophesying a major drop-off in traffic if the site doesn't return to its roots. Has Digg dug its grave, or is this yet another kneejerk neophobic reaction?