It’s time to stop wishing and stop doing. Technology isn’t slowing down. The longer you wait, the further behind you will fall. And you aren’t alone, many people either don’t know how to use a computer or are not using their computers to their full potential. Wondering what to do? Video Professor classes are available to help you learn how to use a computer and all its features. Video Professor guarantees your learning; so really, what do you have to lose? Learn how to use a computer today with help from Video Professor!

Getting, and Staying, Ahead

Video Professor classes are available on CDs and online. This option is great for many people because no matter where they are, they can learn how to use a computer. Video Professor uses an interactive “What-You-See-Is-What-You-Do” method of teaching. We like to think of it as “computer immersion.” It means that while you are learning and following along on the CD, you are also working in the program, you can’t make a mistake!

Many people might say that to learn how to use a computer, maybe I should just buy a computer tutorial book. Don’t get me wrong now, these books are great, and they do have lots of good information in them, but you need to recall lots of this information on your own afterwards. For many, this is a daunting task. Video Professor’s lessons to help you learn how to use a computer won’t leave you feeling stressed out because the lessons can be paused, stopped and rewound whenever you need to take a break or listen to something again. You are in complete control!

The Computer and Your Career

The office has changed a lot in the past ten years. Nowadays, you need to have a working knowledge of MicrosoftÒ Word, ExcelÒ and PowerPointÒ, to name a few programs if you want to get your foot in the door! How well do you know these programs? Are you a beginner, intermediate or advanced user? Many people use Video Professor classes to help them learn a new program, but did you know that Video Professor is great for those with a working knowledge of a program already, as well? Not only can Video Professor help you learn how to use a computer, but it can help you perfect your knowledge of the computer applications you’ll need to know, as well!

So really, why not do something for yourself? When you learn how to use a computer, you aren’t just doing something for your job or your home, you are doing something great for yourself! Those who learn how to use a computer will find that they have more job options, they have access to a wide array of information via the Internet, and they can organize their home lives better. All this being said, what do you have to lose? Take a leap, get on board and learn how to use a computer today!

It’s Sunday afternoon, it’s raining, and there is nothing to do, save for flipping through the channels on the television. Why not skip the reruns of Cheers on WGN and do something good for yourself? Learn a new computer program and get one step ahead of the game.

Video Professor’s CD Tutorials

Over 20 years ago John W. Scherer, CEO and founder of Video Professor, started a company to help people learn computer programs. To date, Video Professor CD tutorials have been sold to over eight million people across America. And with such a wide range of computer program tutorials to choose from, it isn’t hard to see why success has befallen this once small company. Video Professor lessons cover computer programs like MicrosoftÒ Word and PhotoshopÒ, and lifestyle necessities like wireless networking and digital devices.

A CD Tutorial To Fit Every Niche

Whether you need to learn a program, or simply want to learn one, the question to ask yourself is not “why,” but “why not.” As the job market in America becomes increasingly more technologically based, the more you know, the better off you are. So, for the small business owner, the office executive, or the many of us sitting in tiny offices or cubicles, maybe a CD tutorial with Video Professor is just the thing you need to jumpstart your career to the next level!

How Can Video Professor CD Tutorials Help Out Your Career?

That’s a good question! Did you know that the three most commonly used office programs are PowerPoint, Excel and Word? Many of us think we understand these programs, but really, how well do you know them? Would you say you are an expert at them? If you aren’t, why not give Video Professor’s CD tutorials a try? You have nothing to lose and lots of information to gain!

Think about this, the next time your company is introducing a new program, get Video Professor’s CD tutorials and impress your boss with the initiative you took to learn on your own time!

 How Do Video Professor CD Tutorials Work?

Video Professor’s CD tutorials are proven successful because of a patented ‘What-You-See-Is-What-You-Do’ learning method, created by John W. Scherer. Video Professor’s CD tutorials let you work within the program you are learning, while the CD tutorial is on the screen. Through design, the tutorial will always be in front of the screen, so you can feel free to explore the program you are learning, while still keeping an eye on the lesson itself!

So why not take a chance? If you aren’t satisfied, the CD tutorials can be returned and Video Professor will even refund your shipping and processing charges! This is a risk-free way to make a change in your life!

 Read reviews on Video Professor prducts.

It’s time that you learn how to use a computer. Honestly, if you don’t know how to use a computer at this point, you are behind and need to catch up. I wish there was a logical way to sugar coat it and say that it really isn’t all that important, but computers are a huge part of our lives and you need to at least take a basic computer course. Computers are only going to become more integrated into our society as time goes on. Some of the cell phones that are out today are almost like portable computers. The Internet capabilities of some of these phones mirror what you can do with a computer. In the age of portable computers, you should at least take a basic computer course and learn how to use a computer.

If you are entering the job market, there are almost no jobs these days that don’t require you to at least be familiar with how to use a computer and some basic computer programs. Especially if it something that you want to make a career out of, you will need to take a basic computer course. You should at least be able to use a word-processing program, the Internet, e-mail and access your desktop and files. If you have expertise in certain programs, your appeal will increase on the job market exponentially, but you have to be able to utilize a computer first. For that, you might want to learn with a basic computer course.

Video Professor offers tutorials for many different computer programs, as well as the computer itself. This tutorial allows you the benefit of being able to work on your computer as you view the tutorial. It will walk you through the basic steps of getting your personal computer set up and getting comfortable with all the different parts. This “What-You-See-Is-What-You-Do” method of learning is what makes the Video Professor tutorials so effective. Unlike most basic computer courses, Video Professor gives you both audio and visual guidance through the steps you need to master your computer, so you gain much more information in a shorter period of time. This basic computer course also allows you to pause, fast-forward, rewind and play at any time so you can review the aspects you need more practice on and skip what you already know.

The other day, I was reading one of my favorite blogs when I stumbled upon a video from the early 1960s. Like many videos of that era, it dealt with the future, specifically the wonders that we’d behold in 1975. Needless to say, it was pretty entertaining. Did you know that in 1975 students would be able to take tests on Film Based Teaching Machines? Apparently, teaching machines were going to be huge. Of course, by huge I mean very popular. And while I found the article highly entertaining, I also couldn’t help but think about how truly amazing it is that technology has come as far as it has.

Think about it: how many things do we use today that don’t in some way incorporate a computer? Not many. Computers are used everywhere. Heck, I’m using a computer to type this blog. And you’re using a computer to read it! Okay, maybe I’m being a tad sarcastic, my point is that imagining a world where we don’t use computers is like trying to imagine a world where we don’t drink water.

For many of you, using a computer has become second nature, and you adapt to new technology as it evolves. However, for some of us, evolution doesn’t always come easy. Some of us dinosaurs are a little slower on the uptake. Computers may be used everywhere, but that doesn’t mean they’re not intimidating — which is why some of us need to take computer classes every once in a while.

I, myself, feel pretty confident in my computer usage abilities. Maybe I can’t build a web site or pirate movies with even a modicum of confidence, but I have a blog and that’s a start. Then again, today everybody has a blog. My computer usage is at a level I’m comfortable with. I’m not an addict, and I can quit using whenever I want. My wife may disagree, but she doesn’t know what she’s talking about (don’t tell her I said that).

When I think back to where we were ten years ago and compare our computer usage then to what it is now, I can’t help but be amazed at how prolific our dependence on computers is. Kindergartners learn how to use computers during their first week of school, and kids spend more time in front of computers than they do in front of the TV.

If that’s not amazing, I don’t know what is.

Pat C.

Learning HTML is like learning another language. And while you may not have to brush up on grammatical rules, HTML has its own set of patterns, irregularities and limits. If you understand HTML and its construction, you can build, interpret and analyze web sites. Think of it this way, in the movie The Matrix, Neo can read and understand the construct on the world in which he lives in, if you understand HTML, you can do the same.

 What is a Tag?

When you write in HTML code, you are writing in tags, HTML is comprised completely of these tags. “What is a tag?” you might ask. A tag is something that is surrounded in angle brackets, for example, < and >. Know though that many tags come in pairs. In other words, you have a start tag, which looks like this, <…> and an end tag, which looks like this </..>. Let’s create an HTML tag, learning tags will help you understand HTML better. We want to write a word in bold. To do this you surround the text with the tags <b> and </b>. This is called a formatting tag, it describes to the computer how a piece of text should look. <b>Hello</b> then will look like this on a web site, Hello.

Another group of important tags to learn are headline tags. If you understand HTML headline tags, you can create and upload articles onto the web easily.

So, the tag we will use looks like this, <h1>…</h1>. There are 6 different levels of headings, they start at <h1> </h1> and get progressively smaller, ending in <h6> </h6>.

<h1>Article on HTML</h1>

text here

<h2>Sub header in Article</h2>

etc.

 Understand HTML Color Codes

 HTML colors codes are made up of three sets of hex numbers, one for Red, one for Green and one for Blue. A hex number is a little difficult to understand. There is a web site that can explain what a hex is here, but I will try and summarize it myself. Your computer stores information as single ones and zeros. Each 0 and 1 is a single value that is known as a bit. When you combine eight bits together you end up with a byte. Base 10, the HTML code reads uses these digits to represent a number: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. If we use the ones and zeros there are two possible values for each digit, 0 or 1, so this would be called base 2 or "binary." Many of us have at least heard of binary code. Computers use base 16 because it packs more values into a single space. Hex uses the following digits: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, F. HTML actually helps to save storage space and gain efficiency.

Back to colors:

• 000000 is black (0’s for all three colors)
• FFFFFF is white (255’s for all three colors)
• FF0000 is all RED (255 for Red, 0 green, 0 blue)
• 00FF00 is all GREEN (0 Red, 255 green, 0 blue)
• 0000FF is all Blue (0 red, 0 green, 255 blue)
• FFFF00 is Yellow (255 red, 255 green, and 0 blue)
• 808080 is a gray (128 red, 128 green, and 125 blue)

 
Tricky, I know, but to understand HTML you need only sit down and read a little. You will be amazed at how much HTML affects your life, without you even knowing it. Those who understand HTML have an upper hand in our technological world. Understand how things work is always better than simply accepting that they do work. And hey, maybe you want to build your own web site one day! If you understand HTML, your web site’s limits will only be your imagination!

Learning different skills on the computer is easier today than it has ever been. As long as you know how to turn a computer on and get on the Internet, you can learn any number of computer programs or the many different features of a computer itself. Online computer classes are available to help people learn different programs from word processors to web site design programs to the Internet. Most of these tutorials can be accessed for free. There is no longer a need to try and teach yourself anything relating to computers. There are free and accessible learning materials available online 24 hours a day.

If you want to feel more comfortable working with your computer, you can find multiple web sites that offer free online computer classes. I’m amazed at the amount of these tutorials that are free online. Many people who use computers on a regular basis could benefit from online computer classes. I am like a lot of people in the sense that I use computers regularly, but I don’t know all that much about them. Most people could use more understanding about the intricacies of their desktop and how to organize their folders. There are plenty of people who could manage their memory better, and thus, get better performance from their computer.

Computer security is something that is probably overlooked more than it should be. Far too many people allow their virus protection and other forms of security to expire and don’t perform regular maintenance on their computers. Online computer classes can teach you about the many different options you have to keep your computer as safe as possible. You can also learn what type of protection you should be seeking based on how exactly you use your computer. Different users need different features and many security measures allow you to upgrade your services at a later time if you decide you need additional measures. Online computer classes can also show you how to connect your computer to the Internet in order to receive automatic updates whenever new software is available.

You can also learn how to update the programs on your computer by deleting or adding new programs in order to use your memory more efficiently. You can customize your computer so it is something that is truly helpful to you, rather than the cookie cutter models that are designed to serve the most basic needs. Online computer classes can help you make your computer as personal as possible.

Free tutorials are online for almost every program you would want to know how to use. The companies that make each program have plenty of advice and information on their web sites, and there is also a wide array of independent web sites that offer online computer classes for hundreds of different programs. Web sites like Video Professor give extensive online computer classes on everything from basic computer skills to the newest versions of PhotoshopÒ.

There has never been a time when resources to learn computer skills have been more readily available.

Has anyone seen the new movie “Cloverfield”? I have, and I am not alone. The film hit it big during the holiday weekend of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day raking in almost $50 million dollars. Even though the movie is entirely seen through the shaky hands of New Yorkers taping on a handheld camera as they try to escape from a giant monster, there was certainly plenty to be said about the CGI, Computer-generated imagery that was created for the blockbuster. Personally I thought it was mind blowing without being overdone or over-reaching like I believe so many other Hollywood flicks are. Do you know anything about CGI? I didn’t, really. I just knew that it was all the awesome things that happen on screen that would be too hard to make happen in real life, or things that could not happen in real life like “Cloverfield’s” Godzilla-esque, alien-ish monster. So I decided to look up some information on CGI and this is what I uncovered.

 CGI is the application of the field of computer graphics, usually 3D computer graphics, to special effects in films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation, and even printed media. CGI is used for visual effects because effects are more controllable than other more physically based processes, such as constructing miniatures for effects shots or hiring extras for crowd scenes. CGI allows the creation of images that would not be possible using any other technology. It can also allow a single artist to produce content without the use of actors, expensive set pieces or props.

LightWave 3D Maya and Softimage XSI are the computer software often used to make computer-generated imagery for movies. Recent accessibility of CGI software and increased computer speeds has allowed individual artists and small companies to produce professional grade films, games and fine art from their home computers. This capability has brought about an Internet subculture with its own set of global celebrities, clichés and technical vocabulary.

Two-demensional CGI was first used in movies in 1973’s “Westworld,” though the first use of 3D imagery was in its sequel, “Futureworld” in 1976. The third movie to use this technology was the original “Star Wars” movie in 1977 for the scenes with the Death Star plans. Other movies that started the CGI phenomenon were “Jurassic Park”, “The Abyss”, “Terminator 2: Judgement Day” and “Forrest Gump”.

One thing is for sure, without CGI, movies would not be nearly as spectacular as they are. It had taken the movie experience to the next level. And, by the way, I absolutely recommend taking an evening and experiencing “Cloverfield”.

We all know the super advanced computer nerds who know all the terms associated with your computer. They get going and start throwing words around, talking a million miles a minute and soon enough they have rattled off three consecutive sentences without you understanding much of what they said. These people work knee-deep in technical jargon without realizing other people don’t understand what they are saying. Normally it would be best to just ignore these people, but sometimes you actually need to know what they are talking about in the case that they are helping you with work or fixing your computer.

In an effort to avoid any situation where you end up feeling stupid, I will run through some often heard, but rarely understood computer jargon. So if you find yourself wishing you understood more of what is being said in computer circles, take a scroll through these terms.

BMP – Refers to Bitmap, which is the most common graphics file type for Windows computers. It is an image file format used to save digital images.

Browser – You know what this is, you just never called it by this name. It’s the software or program that displays the pages of the Internet. Internet Explorer and Firefox are the most common browsers.

Compression – The process of reducing the amount of storage space that a file takes up on your computer.

Cookie – A tool that tracks visits to a web site and records the user’s preferences.

Domain name – The address or URL of a web site that you enter to access the site. Ex. www.google.com

Driver – The software that Windows requires to use a piece of hardware such as a printer or hard disk.

Firewall – The program that allows or disallows Internet access to a network or computer.

Flash Player – The software that allows you to create and view animations and videos from web sites.

HTML – Hypertext Markup Language. The lines of code that are used to create web pages.

Hyperlink – A graphic or text that you click one in order to take you from one web page or web site to another. Text that serves as a hyperlink is usually underlined and your mouse icon will usually change appearance from the normal arrow to a small hand when you scroll over a hyperlink.

JPEG – A compressed graphic or picture file that is often used for sending across the Internet.

Malware – Software such as a virus or spyware program that is used to do harm to a computer or help online criminals steal information from people by gaining access to the information in their computer.

MP3 – A compressed music file that is used to transfer online or save space when you are saving them on a disk.

Phishing – Malicious e-mails or web sites that try to trick people into giving their information out over the Internet. Online criminals often use this information for identity theft schemes.

Plug-in – These are extra programs that can be added to another program in order to perform advanced functions. An example of this would be adding a program to your Internet browser that allows you to play specific movie files.

These are just a few of the computer terms that it may be helpful for you to know, but in this day of ever-advancing technology, there is always more to know.

I will be the first to admit that my path to learning HTML, hypertext markup language, was probably not the most thorough way it could have been. I basically just learned by trial and error, and by looking up codes as I needed them. I also initially learned HTML code by reading HTML code and seeing what each code does to a web page. This method is flawed and left me in a lot of predicaments. I think with the boom of social networking sites that allow you to code your own page, such as MySpace.com, many people are not getting the proper knowledge of how to code a page while they might be interested in coding a page, they end up doing basically what I did, which was pick up bits and pieces of HTML code as they moved along. There are smarter ways to master HTML code. The principle for learning HTML code is the basic principle for learning anything; you start as a beginner and finish as an expert. There are seemingly no shortcuts, but there are easier ways to learn. I have personally found that Video Professor’s tutorial Learn HTML is truly the easiest and most fun way to learn HTML code.

Like all Video Professor lessons, the lesson arrives in a 3-CD set or can be ordered online. The lesson can also be completed in as few as three hours, but if you don’t have that time all at once, you can divide the lesson into as many sessions as you need. The lessons can be stopped, paused, fast-forwarded and rewound, so you are never left behind or bored with a slow pace. At the time, I was still in college, and although my major involved computers, of course, it did not include any classes on Web design, so I was kind of left in the dust if I did not take matters into my own hands when it came to learning HTML code, so I did. I learned HTML code with the help of Video Professor. It was not only affordable, it was something I could do on my own time. Each disc takes you from the very basics and fundamentals of learning HTML code to being able to add complex components to my page. I was made quickly aware that all the bits and pieces I had learned before were completely out of context. I barely knew anything. No wonder I hit so many walls coding my web page.

Video Professor also employs a “What-You-See-Is-What-You-Do” method, which enables you to build an actual web page while you are learning! Can you believe that? The lesson plays on top of the page you are coding, so it is as hands-on as anything can be. I wasted no time by learning HTML code with Video Professor.

Whether you are learning HTML code for fun, personal reasons like sharing photos and blogs, or to start up a business, Video Professor’s lessons can help you do it right.

About a week ago I finally restarted my laptop. Usually, I just let it go to sleep and then wake it up when I need it, but I know that every so often you do need to restart the computer. Upon restarting the little computer alert box popped up and told me I had updates that I should install. Updates? Am I already updating my computer? I have only had it for about four months and always thought that updates were yearly issues. Nope, upon looking at that little box harder, I realized that my Mac releases updates almost every other week. Not for every application, but in general. There are system updates, program updates, security updates–you name it. So, there I was, two months into computer ownership, and I was updating my computer.

Sometimes I get apprehensive about updating my computer. Especially program updates. I mean, I am used to how these programs work and look. I am comfortable with them. Once I click yes and start updating my computer, things start to look different. And granted, change isn’t always a bad thing, in fact I have been really happy with some updates. Updates make programs run better, they fix kinks and bugs in the system, they keep you safer when you are online, but sometimes, sometimes they are just a pain. When I updated iTunes&reg; on my Mac, I was unhappy. My iTunes program got all these fancy extra boxes, the iTunes store became a staple on the window and overall, I regretted the update. But once you go forward, you can’t go back.

But the story of updating my computer isn’t a sad one. I am here to help you out. So, you think your computer might need updates, but you don’t know how to get them? It’s easy. Close all the boxes on your screen if you have any open. If you are on a PC, go into System Properties in the My Computer box and click Windows Updates, there you will see the available updates. If you have a Mac, go to the top left hand corner and click on the apple in the left hand corner and go to software updates. Presto’ chango’, you can update your computer fast and easily!

Now that you can update your computer, let me get back to updating my computer. So, I had about seven updates to perform on my Mac. Updates ranging from MicrosoftÒ Word and ExcelÒ to iPhotoÒ and GarageBandÒ. I thought, do I really need all of these updates? Will they just take up more space on my computer and not make any difference to the functionality of the programs being updated? I called up my dad, he knows a lot about computers and how they run.

“Dad,” I said, “do I really need to spend all this time updating my computer?”

“Yes!” he responded enthusiastically, “Of course you do. Updating your computer will help ensure that it runs to the best of its capabilities.”

“What about the memory space it takes up?” I asked.

“It replaces the old programs so your computer isn’t bogged down, you have enough memory, maybe if you are worried, you just get rid of some your pictures and move them to an external hard drive.”