We've chosen two CDs as our tools of the month (something of a novelty for us) especially since these particular tools have been around for quite some time. But, for the few who somehow haven't heard of The Video Professor, or have never tried one of their computer learning CDs, we thought it was about time.

For more than 16 years, the Denver-based Video Professor has been the leader in comprehensive self-paced computer software tutorials. Of course, that didn't just "happen." Back in 1985, when John W. Scherer was an owner of a PC sales company, he discovered that most of his customers realized they needed a computer, but had no idea what to do with them. Because he was focused on providing the best possible service to his customers, John knew that he had to find a solution to the problem of computer education.

By April of 1987, John had produced the first Video Professor tapes (before CDs!) and introduced them to computer owners across America. He was a man on a mission; he had envisioned a future when everyone would be using computers, and when this became reality, he knew that the more people became dependent on computers, the more people would get left behind if they didn't have the knowledge and skills needed to survive the PC revolution.

Fast forward to 2004, and John Sherer-the Video Professor-is now known all across America. With appearances on network news broadcasts like FOX & Friends and ABC's World News Now plus mentions on popular TV shows, including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and America's Funniest Home Videos John has turned his vision of computer education for everyone into a reality. His Company ships over 250,000 lessons every month and, to date, has taught over 5 million people the computer skills they need to remain viable in today's computer driven marketplace. And now VIDEO PROFESSOR tutorials are available to stream directly to your computer. Just go to www.videoprofessor.com. As John says, just click and learn!

The CDs we reviewed are tutorials on two of the most used programs ever: QuickBooks and Excel.

QuickBooks:
Video Professor's QuickBooks tutorial provides quick, easy training in order to use this flexible financial software with confidence. You start this Intuit Quickbooks training tutorial by taking a setup interview, setting preferences, and establishing your company within the program. From there, the QuickBooks training tutorial moves on to invoicing, customer accounts, entering and paying bills, and making adjustments to your check register. You can even learn complex financial operations with simple step-by-step training that covers accounts receivable, reconciling bank statements, and those all-important tax related issues. After taking the Video Professor's Intuit QuickBooks tutorial, you'll be able to finally begin taking control of your finances.

Excel:
Excel has become an essential spreadsheet and analysis tool that can be easily mastered by taking the Video Professor Microsoft Excel 2002 tutorial. From simple loan repayments and daily schedules to complex forecasting, there's something for everyone to learn in this Microsoft Excel tutorial. Video Professor shows you how to do just about everything, including budget building, payroll tables, graphs, formulas, and a whole lot more. This Microsoft Excel 2002 tutorial will also teach you to create graphs and tables with ease, letting you analyze financial data with color and style. You can turn your weekly budget into a 3-D pie chart within minutes of learning. Training with Video Professor's Microsoft Excel tutorial seems like the easiest, and certainly the quickest way to get familiar with spreadsheets.

Now to learn more go to www.videoprofessor.com and start relieving your computer woes.