Ok, without a doubt, the New England Patriots will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. Their win on Sunday against the Colts showed me a team very strong team on both sides of the ball. They beat a great team in a great game. I believe they will play the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLII. Brett Favre is playing like a 28-year-old, not someone 10 years older. It will be some game! What would really make it exciting is if the Packers play the Cowboys for the NFC championship. Remember when they played 40 years ago on the “frozen tundra” of Lambeau Field?
The Pats look simply unbeatable. For those of you who disagree with my choices, feel free to drop me an e-mail and tell me why I’m wrong!
$-Rod
I recently read a report on http://www.ESPN.com/ that Alex Rodriguez wanted at least a $350 million offer from the Yankees before he would even consider meeting with them. There was no meeting. Wow, one-third of a billion dollars for a baseball player.
Instant replay for baseball?
Baseball General Managers voted 25-5 in favor of limited use of instant replay by umpires. Instant replay would be limited to determine only if possible home run balls are fair or foul, go over the fence or bounce back and of course fan interference. Personally, I think replays would make long games longer and would take away the human factor of a game that is played with a stick and a ball. Baseball changes about as fast as molasses flows in January. We’ll see.
gPhone
The folks at Google™ unveiled their long-awaited cell phone strategy. It’s called Android. Essentially, Google would like to make Internet services work on your cell phone the way they do on your computer. You can easily e-mail someone from your PC to their Apple. Although, the multitude of cell service providers and manufacturers make it difficult to do the same thing with your mobile devices. Google isn’t going to manufacture phones like Apple does with its iPhone™, nor do they plan to offer their own cell service. What they plan on offering is an operating system with a full feature Internet browser that will work across all cell phones. Some big names are already signing on including LG® Electronics, Sprint®, T-Mobile®, Qualcomm®, Texas Instruments Incorporated®, Samsung® and even eBay®. Apple® and AT&T® haven’t. Ultimately, consumers will benefit from all of this. As companies like Google offer more and more services, prices come down and we all prosper. Look for it to launch by the middle of next year.
TIME Magazine’s pick of top tech toys
The November 12th edition of TIME® Magazine TIME® Magazine is a must-read if you’re into tech toys. Their invention of the year is on the cover; the iPhone. TIME TIME describes the iPhone as “more than just a gadget. It’s a genuine handheld computer, the first device that really deserves the name.” It is also one of the reasons Video Professor came up with our popular “Digital Devices Made Easy” tutorial. When you invest in tech, it’s best to get the maximum benefit from that investment by knowing how to use it.
Dobbs dumps on candidates
CNN’s Lou Dobbs never hesitates to speak his mind. Speaking this week on Larry King Live, he predicted that none of the existing presidential candidates from either party will be elected. He thinks someone may actually step up with real solutions to the challenges our nation faces. Maybe even a third-party bid.
Hail and farewell to a hero
General Paul Tibbets, who commanded the B-29 that dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan during World War II, died last week at the age of 92. Tibbets was a hero in every sense of the word. His mission over Hiroshima directly helped bring an end to a terrible war. I hope that this nation finds an appropriate way to honor him. If we had invaded Japan, there would have been millions of casualties. Tibbets and his brave crew prevented that. Sadly, Tibbets requested no funeral or gravestone because he feared it would be disrupted, or worse, by protesters. People who still protest against the Hiroshima bombing should take note; it would never have happened if we weren’t attacked first at Pearl Harbor. Just like the attack on 9-11,someone else always starts it. Heroes like Paul Tibbets always step up to bring an end to it.
I salute General Tibbets and all those who continue to serve so bravely to keep us free.
Tech News and Notes
A new Harris Interactive poll shows 80 percent of us now use the Web on a regular basis. That is up from just 9percent 12 years ago when they started polling. Still, that 20percent who don’t use the Web translates into 60 million Americans. (I have a great tutorial for them.)
Research released this week by the Kelsey Group reveals 44.7percent of mobile phone users say Internet capability will be a key factor in buying their next cell phone. (I guess Google really is onto something!)
Next year’s Olympic Games in China are billed as the “high-tech games.” But an attempt to sell tickets online failed when an influx of ticket buyers crashed the site. They’ will try a lottery system instead. They should have called the Rockies first.
I read on http://www.CNNmoney.com/, that the perception of the United States is that we are shedding jobs overseas, but we apparently continue to develop new and better ones like no one else. What are the hot, new careers? Disease mapper, robot programmer, information engineer, radiosurgeon. My favorite?, Second life lawyer ,yep, practicing law on virtual sites like www.SecondLife.com.
Inbox open 24/7
As always, I appreciate hearing your thoughts, ideas and comments. Especially ideas for new products and how all of us at Video Professor can serve you better. E-mail me at ceo@videoprofessor.com.
Thanks,
JWS
John W. Scherer
