I bought a Nikon D40 and and on the digital display there are a lot of things blinking within the picture.?

Press the up button or down button and they'll be normal again.

It is telling you which parts are over exposed (there will always be some parts which are...) Clicking the up & down when viewing photos gives you different options on viewing them. You can also get a graph of exposure is you want that.

Well the Nikon D-40 is a 6 Megapixel camera. The Nikon D-40x is a 10 MP camera/ The Canon Rebel XTi is also a 10 MP camera. Canon just came out with their new Rebel XSi which I believe is 12.5 MP for only $799 with the 18-55mm zoom lens. Beware of those ads in the back of camera mags. Some are real rip-offs. They will pester you to buy extended warranties or "upsell" you to purchase a better lens. Sometimes they will strip out all of the accessories such as the lens caps, neckstraps, cleaning cloths or other factory packaged accessories. If your not careful you could end up spending a LOTTT more than you thought you would. Be sure to put the purchase on a credit card so you can STOP PAYMENT if you get ripped-off. Also...don't just use the amount of megapixels as a Gold Standard" Some 8 MP camera are better than some 10 MP cameras.

Edwin is right on. Take time to study, you will be a better photographer.

Now the answer is, when the blinkies are flashing, it is telling you what part of the photo will contain the most light. If too much is blinking, your photo may be underexposed where you are wanting to take.

My D80 does this and the way to turn it off is rotate the wheel on the top right of the camera and it will take you through blinkies, histogram, etc.

You've bought a great camera, go to amazon.com and check out the books or DVD that will teach you to better use your camera.

You know, I bet that if you would READ & STUDY the Owner's Manual for your camera you'd learn how to use it.

I know that's a lot of work but its the only way you'll actually get the most benefit from your camera.