FC212.12 Video

Cheryl's newest favorite pocket camera is Kodak's EasyShare V1003 which shoots at 10 megapixels. She shows how the extra megapixels help enlarge a photo or parts of a phot. She also talks about PictBridge, an industry standard from the Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) for printing directly from the camera to any PictBridge printer.

Cheryl gives a gold star (err Crown) to Corel's Ulead VideoStudio 11 Plus video editing software. This new package can handle high definition cameras and camcorders. It has many templates that make advanced techniques easy to use.

Cheryl talks about how her family has used security cameras over the years. Now, as more are being placed by cities and states, she asks it they should record everything that moves in front of them.

Cheryl looks at Crosley's vintage looking audio player. It can take lp records and convert them to CD's. The same goes for taking casette tapes and recording them CDs.

Cheryl reviews Apricorn's Aegis Mini USB Portable Hard Drive (http://www.apricorn.com/). She talks about its capacity, 80 GB, for storing pictures, audio or video. She also recommends the drive as a great way to back up a hard drive. The drive is small enough to fit in a pocket but she has concerns about a purse.

You can equip any car with a rear view color camera and a monitor on your dash to extend what you can see through your rear view mirrors. This is a low cost way to see what's behind your car.

A great way to see how well you or your family drives. Uses the OBDII port in your car. Made by Davis Instruments, http://www.davisnet.com/ and available on the Internet. Show time of day, miles per hour, and how the car is driven. You can also see mechanical trouble codes. It plugs into your car then to a USB port on your computer.

Free Synergy software lets a single mouse & keyboard control several computers.

Check out the options at crystalxp.net to put a new face on a Windows XP computer. If you have the right configuration, you'll get to sample the look of Vista. Also, this site has great graphics, icons, wall paper, and 3d animation.

HydraBrush is designed to brush all your teeth (even those ways in the back). It also massages gums, removes plaque, and gets you out of the bathroom in less than a minute.

Cheryl shows off some professional lighting tricks for a video set and challenges that good lighting can come from Compact Fluorescent Light or LED bulbs. She shows how the cool low watt lights can be muted with plain wax paper. Note: All Cheryl's videos are recorded on a set with only LED and compact fluorescent light bulbs. She's also working on a green screen set with energy efficient lighting.

Here's a bit of computer history and humor with one of Compaq Computer's ads. Compaq was trying to show its computer was compatible with IBM's personal computer. The ad showcases John Cleese comparing the Compaq Computer with a dead fish. See if you get the connection... and the dry humor.

Cheryl reviews Planon's Docupen Pen scanner. It's a portable scanner that looks like a large pen and runs on batteries charged by the USB port. The scanner is available in color and black and white. New attachments are available which she will discuss in another video.

Cheryl discusses two products which monitor email and instant messaging. Parents can install these services and screen for conversations with predators. Although this is a "spy" technique, it alerts parents if dangerous conversations take place. Some parents install the software but tell their children that it's there and won't be used unless certain words pop up in an email or im dialog.

Here's a first look at Windows Vista and my recommendation of how you should buy the first copy...