John W. Scherer Video Professor Blog Sept. 8, 2006

Talking Tech!!

Less talking, more driving!
We are all guilty of driving poorly from time to time. Some of us are guilty of this all the time. We all get distracted, but on the highways, it seems that we are too easily distracted. Nobody these days pay attention to the road. But can you blame us? There is too much going on. We have to fiddle with our iPods, text message a buddy, conduct a conference call on our cell phone and, oh by the way, DRIVE! Apparently the legislators in California are implementing some stricter laws regarding cell phone use in cars. The only way we are truly going to put an end to it is to ban all cell phones in cars. Is this possible? Probably not, but it can’t hurt.
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Microsoft sets Vista prices
We can see the Vista! Well, that’s if Microsoft doesn’t delay it again. Targeted for sometime early next year, Microsoft will release its new operating system, Vista. This week, pricing for the new operating system was leaked, though Microsoft would not confirm. To get a full version, you'll need to pony up $399 and $259 for an upgrade. If you want to upgrade your home version, it'll be about $100. Once you upgrade, make sure you visit http://www.videoprofessor.com/ if you have any questions or need help.
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Get your hard drive squeaky clean
Everyday it gets tougher and tougher to protect the private information we store on our home computers. Without the proper protection, hackers can invade your system and steal all your sensitive information. Even with the right protection, however, what do we do when the time comes to get a new computer? Check out this article for some tips on sanitizing your hard drive.
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Phishy, Phishy
If you’re worried that Microsoft’s Internet Explorer isn’t as safe as it could be, well, they are making some improvements. The software giant announced this week that more advanced anti-phishing technology is going to be included in IE 6 and IE 7. Working with Digital Resolve, Microsoft’s IE browser will do a much better job of detecting phishing and scam sites, keeping you much safer while surfing.
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Schools struggle with gadgets
Now that school is back in session, teachers and administrators will have it a little harder. In the past, it was tough to keep a kid’s attention anyway, but now, adding the latest gadgets to the mix, and keeping them straight is a full-time job. I hope teachers are doing more to limit cheating. What’s stopping a kid from text messaging a pal during a test to get all the answers? Or, what’s stopping a kid from storing answers and notes on their PDA? I hope that schools are making kids turn their gadgets off when they step foot into the classroom. Let them use their phones on their own time.
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Off topic:
It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
Ok, that may be a little bit of a stretch, but the football season is here. The NFL officially kicks off this weekend and college football is in full swing. I love this time of year. Fall is just around the corner and the pigskins are flying. If you look up a few of the great match ups this weekend, how can you not love this time of year? On the college side, the two biggies are Penn State taking on Notre Dame and Ohio State traveling to Austin to face the Longhorns. We couldn’t have scripted a better week 2 game than No. 1 vs. No. 2. In addition, in Denver we all get entertained by the Rocky Mountain Showdown, pitting Colorado against in-state rival Colorado State. Now, before you bog me down with a ton of e-mails saying both teams aren’t worth the grass they play on, for the state of Colorado, it’s a great rivalry game. Plus, it’s being played at Invesco Field at Mile High, allowing 75,000+ rowdy fans to enjoy the game. I know, CU is coming off of a humiliating loss to Division I-AA Montana State, and CSU hasn’t seen the Top 25 in quite sometime. But when these teams hook up, it’s always an exciting game. Heck, in each of the last two years, CU has won on virtually the last play of each game.

Did I mention that the NFL is starting this week? I figured some of you might not have heard. Ok, I know that’s impossible, the way the NFL marketing machine works. There are some pretty intriguing NFL match ups this week. Cincinnati travels to KC, where Arrowhead is always one of the toughest stadiums in the league to play. We’ll see how Bengals QB Carson Palmer can do coming off that knee injury in the playoffs last year. Dallas plays at Jacksonville, which is normally a dog of a game, but we all get to see that circus named T.O. make his Cowboys debut. Finally, what I think will be a great game is Manning vs. Manning. The Colts and older brother Peyton travel to New York to battle baby brother Eli’s Giants. Denver is at St. Louis, by the way. The Broncos should really not have a problem with the Rams and first-year head coach Scott Linehan, but that’s what we all said about Denver last year when they lost to Miami with first-year head coach Nick Saban.

Picks o’ the week!
Because it’s football season, I’m changing the usual “Site o’ the week” post to “Picks o’ the week.” WARING: If you are using my vast football knowledge (wink, wink) to make picks in your office pool, you’ve come to the wrong place. If anything, do the opposite! Each week I’ll pick three NFL winners and will keep a season-long tally. Here are the teams I like this week.

Denver over St. Louis
Seattle over Detroit
Indianapolis over N.Y. Giants
(Oops, did I just pick three road teams?)

Have a good week!
John W. Scherer
CEO and Founder
VIDEO PROFESSOR, Inc.