Friday, October 27, 2006

John W. Scherer Video Professor Blog Oct. 27, 2006

Straight Tech Talk!

He hasn’t got mail…
Technology is not completely wasted on the President of the United States. According to a recent interview President Bush is a fan of Google, but is reluctant to use e-mail. He, like many, is cautious about the way e-mails can sometime spread. What he says on e-mail could easily be the next headline of the Washington Post. Maybe Video Professor should send the White House a copy of our “Learn Outlook” tutorial.
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Online video growing
It’s a good thing I started a company to teach people how to use their computers and didn’t start a TV manufacturing company. The tube’s days may be numbered. Ok that’s a little extreme, but who knows where technology will take us in the future. As online video sites such as www.YouTube.com continue to grow, people may eventually shift to online TV viewing rather than sitting in front of the plasma. In this on-demand world, why wait for your show to come on when you can download it at a moments notice?
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The next big thing
So you want to be discovered? Are you looking for your big break in the entertainment world? If you YouTube, you may be on your way. You just don’t know it yet. Apparently talent agencies are combing the popular video portals for the next big thing. Talented writers, directors and producers are getting noticed and the entertainment landscape is changing.
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Off topic:
Needless violence on the gridiron
Despicable. There really isn’t any other way to describe what happened last week at a peewee football game for five and six year olds. In case you didn’t hear about it, a father of one of the players got into an argument with the coach over playing time. Bad words turned into fisticuffs that led to the father pulling out his handgun. He pulled a weapon on somebody because he felt his kid wasn’t getting ample playing time? Where is our society heading? It’s nearly impossible to make it through a day without seeing a needless act of violence in the news. It’s ridiculous and it needs to stop. The kids just wanted to have a little fun on the gridiron, but now they are left with tragic memories.
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I am Dracula, and I bid you welcome . . .
With Halloween just a few days away, I was very disappointed to read this story. I love the creepy, crawlies. I love the things that go bump in the night. I love mummies and Frankenstein. And I really love vampires. A researcher at the University of Central Florida came up with a formula that debunked the vampire myth. Well even if bloodsuckers don’t roam our streets for real, I’ll still believe at least one night a year.
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Picks o’ the week!
After going “O-fer” a couple weeks back, I got back on track last week going 2-1. Overall this year, I’m not too bad, sitting at 13-8 going into Week 8. I have a couple comments about the week that was. First: Just when you think Jake “The Snake” was turning it around, the old Jake came out in the fourth quarter. Denver was in control of the game at 17-0 in the fourth and the defense looked poised for a road shutout. What does Jake do? He throws an interception resulting in the Browns gaining possession inside of Denver’s red zone. An easy drive later, and the lead has shrunk to 10 with a lot of time left to play. Denver shut Cleveland down after that, but Jake should never have put them in that position. Cincinnati got a must win over Carolina. Do you agree that Carson Palmer just doesn’t look right? Finally, I’m never trusting Arizona again. After that debacle on Monday night a couple weeks ago, they lose to the winless Raiders. Wow. Dennis Green, your days look to be numbered. Ok, now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, let’s move on to my Week 8 picks:

New Orleans over Baltimore: How can you not root for this Saints team? Wow, talk about your surprises. This early-season success is giving that wonderful city and state a shot in the arm. Way to go Saints. Keep it rolling at home this Sunday. Baltimore still has a good defense, but their offense is offensive. Coach Billick will be calling the plays for the Ravens after sacking his O-coordinator before their bye week, but it won’t matter. Saints will roll.

Indianapolis over Denver: This has the makings as the NFL’s game of the week in my opinion. Denver’s defense has been unreal so far this season, but it has not faced an offense as powerful as the Colts. Denver’s only hope for victory is to limit Peyton and boys to fewer than 20 points. If this game becomes a shootout, Denver is in trouble. That troubled offense can’t keep up with the Indianapolis scoring machine.

Minnesota over New England: After what Minnesota did to Seattle last week, Monday night’s game just got a lot more interesting. This should be a great game. The Patriots always show up for big games and I think Minnesota is a very legitimate team this year. At the end of game, however, I think Minnesota at home will pull out a squeaker.

John W. Scherer
CEO and Founder
VIDEO PROFESSOR, Inc.

Friday, October 20, 2006

John W. Scherer Video Professor Blog Oct. 20, 2006

Let’s talk some tech!

Internet Addicts
I could see this becoming a bigger problem than it is now. Are you an Internet addict? Heck, if you’re reading my blog, you just may be. Ha! There is so much information on the Web and not enough time to surf it all. Video Professor has been teaching folks for years how to use the Internet. Maybe we should slow down a bit? I’m joking. It’s a great tool to help us in life. But like anything else in life, moderation is the key.
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An iPod is born
There are quite a few stories on the Web trying to dissect the true origin of the iPod. Well, according to Wired, here is how the iPod came to be. Regardless of how it started, it has certainly revolutionized the music industry.
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The next big thing...
Speaking of Apple, according to analysts, they plan to roll out a new cell phone as early as next year. Could Apple possibly strike gold twice? I won’t put anything past Steve Jobs and his marketing gurus.
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Is the Vista near?
The beta 2 version has been out for a while and Microsoft is frantically fixing the bugs, but officials at the software giant say that Vista is still on schedule to ship on time. With that, Video Professor will be right behind the release with helpful tutorials breaking down the ins and outs of the new operating system.
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It’s about time
Microsoft made more news this week with its much-anticipated release of Internet Explorer 7. After many, many beta tests and many, many months of development, the browser is finally available. It has been five years since Microsoft last released a new browser, Internet Explorer 6, and some experts say that has led to a loss in market shares. Popular browsers, such as Mozilla’s Firefox, have slowly been nibbling at Microsoft’s customers. And speaking of Mozilla, the company released a new version of Firefox this week too.
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Off topic:
Immortalizing your fandom
I’m a big-time sports fan. I love to watch baseball, football, basketball and even hockey. I’m not sure, however, that I’m THIS big of a fan. A company called Eternal Image has cut a deal with Major League Baseball to sell urns and coffins so baseball fans can represent their team in the afterlife. In addition, they are trying to work similar deals with the NFL, NHL and even NASCAR.
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Traffic is going to get a lot worse
Wow, can you even grasp how big a number 300 million is? Seriously, what does that really mean? The US Census Bureau announced this week that the population in the United States has passed 300 million. I thought traffic was bad now.
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Picks o’ the week!
What a difference a week makes. I guess I was too confident and football karma went against me. After picking three correct two weeks ago, I was rewarded with a goose egg last week. Ouch! I was pretty confident with the games I picked last week, and I guess I can take solace in the fact that they were all close games. Seattle knocked off St. Louis on a last-second field goal, Carolina narrowly escaped Baltimore and the New York Giants pulled off the road upset. That’s how it goes from week to week in today’s NFL. There is so much parity in the league right now. That is evident by the fact that the Bears, who looked dominating in the first five weeks of the season, frankly got lucky against Arizona. In a game that Chicago should have won by 10 points, the Bears escaped with a 24-23 win. And, they didn’t even score an offensive touchdown. Weird things happen in this league. Well, going into Week 7, I’m 11-7 overall this year. Humbly, I give you my picks for this week.

Cincinnati over Carolina: Carolina has won four straight. Cincinnati appears to be reeling lately. This should be a pretty easy pick, right? That’s what makes the NFL great. I think Cincinnati will get back on track this week, especially at home. They have something to prove after last week’s embarrassing loss to winless Tampa.

Denver over Cleveland: I think this is a pretty easy game to pick. Denver is the better team and should win, despite their offensive woes of late. There is some great intrigue surrounding this game, however. Almost every week we see a situation that a player returns to play against his former employer. But in this game, the entire starting defensive line for Denver returns to Cleveland for the first time since they all played for the Browns. Do you think they’ll have a chip on their shoulders?

Arizona over Oakland: This is a dog of a game, but it’s certainly fun to talk about. Oakland is pathetic. There is nothing more to say. Arizona is in the same class. The second-half meltdown that Arizona suffered last week was legendary. How do they bounce back from that? In a normal situation, I’d say it’s impossible. But fortunately for the Cardinals, they get to play Oakland.

John W. Scherer
CEO and Founder
VIDEO PROFESSOR, Inc.

Friday, October 13, 2006

John W. Scherer Video Professor Blog Oct. 13, 2006

Tech, tech and more tech!

This is one way of keeping kids safe
You know you and I have read numerous times in this space that it’s the parents’ responsibility to keep their kids safe when surfing the Internet. Well, here is one way to do that. A recent complaint filed in San Antonio is holding the parents responsible for what their kids do online. Read the attached link for the details of the story. I totally agree. Yes, the kids too should be held accountable for their actions, but so should the parents. There are too many potential dangers for kids out there. Parents; the burden lies with you!
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The Wal-Mart of the cyber world?
Pretty soon, it appears, that Google will own every significant property in the cyber world. There will be more Google fingerprints on the Web then there are Wal-Mart stores in the U.S. Last week Google gobbled up www.youtube.com for a reported $1.65 billion. Don’t you think that’s a pretty steep price to pay for a site that has yet to generate any revenue? I guess Google doesn’t care about that. Can you blame them? YouTube drives a tremendous amount of traffic everyday, as evidenced by more than 100,000 video views a day. For them, eyeballs are a lot more important than revenue.
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Microsoft distributes new patches
Here’s a heads up, in case you did not see the news from Microsoft. The software giant said the six new patches would help fix holes in the software allowing hackers access to your computer.
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I’m feeling old
Can you believe that the VHS is 30 years old? Holy cow! I remember vividly the battle between Beta and VHS and who ultimately won out. I have to give a lot of credit for the success of Video Professor to the VHS. When we started producing computer tutorials more than 19 years ago, all Video Professor lessons were for the VCR. My, how times have changed. Customers can now get all our lessons on CD-rom or via our web site at www.videoprofessor.com, a far cry from the days of the tape.
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Picks o’ the week!
Hey, I’m getting pretty good at this. After going 3-0 last week, my overall record is now 11-4. There were some exciting games last week, and I didn’t make a pick for any of those. The three I did pick turned out be to yawners. Philadelphia dominated the Cowboys (well late in the second half that is), Chicago absolutely rolled Buffalo and the Chargers handled the defending Super Bowl champions.

After five weeks in the NFL, I think we are finally seeing some teams emerge. “Da Bears” are for real. That defense is arguably the best in the league and the offense is starting to roll with young Rex Chapman. The biggest surprise for me, however, is the Broncos. Everyone expected them to be good and possibly contend for a Super Bowl appearance. But what is shocking is how they are doing it. The Mike Shanahan-led offense has been pathetic at best while the defense is reminiscent of the 2000 Ravens. What they did to Baltimore on Monday night was superb. Granted, Baltimore doesn’t have a potent offense, but Denver dominated that game defensively. They forced three Steve McNair interceptions and the offense did just enough to get over. I see Denver getting their offense back on track, especially in the next two weeks. They play Oakland and Cleveland in their next two games. They should get healthy. If the defense keeps playing the way it is, and if the O can get on track, look out. Enough about that, let’s get to the picks for Week 6. (And don’t look for me to cop out and take Denver as one of my winners this week. WAY too easy!)

St. Louis over Seattle: Upset warning: I think the Rams, especially at home, can pull this upset off. It won’t be the biggest upset since Broadway Joe guaranteed victory in the Super Bowl, but it’ll be pretty big. St. Louis is quietly turning out to be one of the better teams in the NFC. Throw in the fact that Seattle is without Shaun Alexander and the Seahawks could be in for a long day.

Baltimore over Carolina: After the tough loss endured at the hands of the Broncos last week, I see the Ravens getting back on track to beat the Panthers at home. The game will still be a typical, ugly Ravens game, but they’ll do enough to get it done. Baltimore is too tough at home, and they should have a chip on their shoulders.

Atlanta over the New York Giants: This has the makings of a good game, in my opinion. Atlanta is a good team and Michael Vick is an electric player. New York is also showing improvement and is looking like they can hang with some teams. At the end of the day, however, I think the Falcons’ rushing attack will prove to be too much for the G-men.

John W. Scherer
CEO and Founder
VIDEO PROFESSOR, Inc.

Friday, October 06, 2006

John W. Scherer Video Professor Blog Oct. 6, 2006

Let’s talk about technology!

Free Wi-Fi is expensive
What is good for us is not good for cities. Many cities across the country are rushing to install free Wi-Fi in a race to keep up with technology. But it can be quite costly. Some experts are estimating cities will spend upwards of $700 million to build their wireless networks. Is this cost going to get passed down to us? Are we headed for a case of when free is not really free?
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Good news for Microsoft
We may be reaching the Vista on time. According to recent reports, Microsoft’s new and much anticipated operating system, Vista, is due to hit shelves on time next year. There had been much talk that Microsoft was not going to meet its deadlines, but analysts are expecting it to come out on time. That means that Video Professor will be right in step, providing you the most in-depth training of the latest operating system on the market.
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Are we getting too lazy?
Seriously? Is this what this country is coming too? I know work ethic has waned over the past decade, and the rise of the Internet has made slacking even easier, but this is ridiculous. Attention employers, be on the look out for more sick time abusers. There is a web site out there that allows people to record their sick message the night before and the site will automatically deliver it to your voice mail before you get to work. For innovation, I give it an “A,” for productivity, an “F.”
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Technology and football
Technology has helped football become America’s pastime. It has certainly passed baseball in terms of popularity. When most people think of technology in the game, they instantly think of how the Internet helps them track their fantasy teams. Well, technology really does more than that. In fact, it can help keep the players safe on the field. Check out a few ways that technology is helping players.
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With a heavy heart…
My thoughts and prayers go out to all the families and friends of the people who have needlessly suffered in the wake of the recent events in Bailey, CO. and Lancaster County, Pa. It makes me sick when I pick up the newspaper and see innocent people suffer like this. I wish I could do more to help make these incidents stop forever and maybe someday, if we all work together, we can help stop these attacks from happening.

Picks o’ the week!
I’ll take a 2-1 week, which bumps my overall record to 8-4 on the season. Heck, if I would have said I’d be four games over .500 going into Week 5, you would have thought I was crazy. I should have been 3-0 though, but “Marty-ball” had to show its ugly face. With a 13-6 lead going into the fourth quarter, San Diego allowed Baltimore to score nine points in the final stanza and steal the game. Now I know Baltimore was at home and Baltimore has a great defense, but San Diego lost control of the game. They were dominating the action, until Marty decided to go ultra conservative with the playbook. Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers only attempted eight passes in the second half. It’s one thing to try and protect a lead, but a team will never win in the NFL if it plays the entire second half trying not to lose. Cliché warning: Teams have to play a full 60 minutes in the NFL, or they will get bitten. Anyway, I digress. Here are the games I like this week:

Philadelphia over Dallas: This should be the game of the weekend. T.O. (Terrell Owens), the controversial wide receiver, makes his return to familiar confines. T.O. left Philly last year in a cloud of controversy and found a new home in Dallas. Combine that with the circus of last week’s alleged suicide attempt, and this event could be monumental. Oh yeah, there will be a football game too, and I like Philly to win and win big.

Chicago over Buffalo: The way the Bears are playing right now, how can you bet against them? The Bears dominated Seattle last Sunday night and shot themselves to the top of the list as far as NFC dominance. With a stellar defense and a very capable offense, the Bears look like the team to beat in the early going.

San Diego over Pittsburgh: OK, I didn’t learn my lesson. I know I took the Chargers last week and I know it burned me. But San Diego returns home after a bitter loss, and I think they’ll rebound. They play the Steelers, who don’t really have things clicking yet. Big Ben needs to regain his form from a year ago if Pittsburgh has any chance to get back to the Super Bowl.

John W. Scherer
CEO and Founder
VIDEO PROFESSOR, Inc.