Joe Weiss, the creator of Soundslides is a multimedia producer and a software developer. His popular program has enabled anyone willing to pay $40 to combine still images and sound in a functional mutlimedia package for posting on the web, and has simplified how the way images are conveyed to readers of online news services. I've used it, and will continue to use it, for my multimedia slideshows. In fact, I prefer showcasing my photography work with Soundslides rather than regular HTML galleries, since I can add music, ambient sound recorded during my photo shoots, and interviews or narration. This adds what I call 'aural texture' to the images. Some detractors of the product (and there are many) find it too constraining and too simple. To each his own, I guess.
Many photographers and established news services (notably Mercury News of the Bay Area of San Francisco) use Soundslides to present news and features. It's an attractive, it can be tailored to one's esthetic requirements and it's a boon to photographers because it's a cinch to produce multimedia shows with it.
I just don't understand why CNN, New York Times MSNBC still insist in using their clunky slideshow viewers instead of Slideshows (or something similar).
There are many tutorials on Soundslides around, including one by the talented Martin Fuchs, but here's one I found on Popular Photography's website:
Popular Photography: Soundslides Tutorial