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The music industry is again going after college students for stealing music. Record labels have now broken the 10,000 mark in terms of people they have sued. The students were using I2 or Internet2, which is just starting up in the States, to get the music. It’s much faster than DSL or T1 speed connections, making it possible to download a movie, for example, in just seconds. Clark agrees that it’s stealing when people take music they haven’t pay for. He understands why the music industry wants to make examples of young people. So, talk to your teen or college student about what can happen to them if they try this. If your kids are doing it at your home, you are the one who gets in trouble because the account is in your name. So, make sure you know what your kids are doing on the Web.

Have you looked in your refrigerator or freezer and wondered whether an item was still okay to eat? It’s hard to know if something that’s been in there for a few days is going to be any good or, more importantly, won’t make you sick. Well, the Greenwich Times published a story in this subject recently. Chicken or turkey in the freezer will last up to a year in the freezer Hamburger is good for three months in a freezer. TV dinners or casseroles are good for three months. And, would you believe leftover chicken can last up to four months in the freezer? Leftovers in the fridge, however, should be eaten within three days. And, they should be kept in a Tupperware or airtight container. You can’t tell if food is okay by looking at it or smelling it. Also, refrigerators with special drawers do not keep food any fresher than other kinds. If you find some cheese in your fridge and it has some mold on it, just cut it off. It’s fine to eat. What about prescriptions? Most over-the-counter medicines and prescriptions last much longer than the expiration dates on the bottles. Pharmaceutical companies put very early dates on the labels so patients have to refill and buy more. Sometimes the medicines lose some potency over time, but it takes years.

The Attorney General in California is suing Chase Bank for sending people reward checks that eventually tied those people into paying a $70 to $120 annual membership fee. Chase was specifically looking for foreigners and older people, according to the AG's office. And, an estimated $28 million was taken from victims, according to the L.A. Times. Chase has yet to comment about the lawsuit. But Clark wants to warn you! When you get a check for a couple dollars in the mail, DO NOT CASH IT! More often than not, cashing the check will rope you into some kind of contract. Companies are not going to send you free money for no reason. There is always a catch.

Transportation has changed so much since Clark was a kid, and the industry will continue to morph as his kids turn into adults. Clark remembers when it was a privilege to fly on an airplane, and prices were outrageous. The next era of air transportation is going to be personal aircrafts for entrepreneurs and other people. NASA has put a lot of money into changing how air travel works, according to the New York Times. Private contractors are competing for grants, for example, to provide technology for private planes and to make air traffic control much safer. At the same time, we’re seeing lower cost air service. One service is called SATS Air, which is basically an air taxi with a parachute. If an engine goes out on the plane, it won’t crash because the parachute helps the plane land safely. It costs $350 a flight hour and you can take three people with you. So, it’s not too pricey, and it’s spur-of-the-moment travel. The Eclipse is another personal aircraft that is actually a jet. It costs just over $1 million, which many of us laugh at. But it’s becoming more and more realistic for some people. Mark your calendar today and see what happens five years from now.

Clark has been using VOIP or Internet telephony for several years. He uses Vonage at home and Skype when he travels. With Vonage, he gets unlimited local and long distance calling for $24 a month. He has no complaints whatsoever. But apparently some disagree. A group called Keynote conducted a study of 18 different Internet telephone services and found that quality was good in some cases and bad in others. The biggest problem was incomplete calls. That means when people make a call, it rings at the other end only 94 percent of the time. Vonage was tops in service and quality. Time Warner cable services were also in the top of the crop. Christa, Clark’s executive producer, uses Packet8. She has a couple problems a month and sometimes has to reboot the system. But she’s willing to deal with it because it’s so cheap. These are the pioneers for companies that are going to have more reliable service down the road. IP television or IPTV is also becoming a hot topic. With it you can receive television through your computer and you can get it anywhere, anytime, as long as you have an Internet connection. We’ll keep you posted on all of this.

Are you reluctant to go to a Web site because you’re worried that your information may be stolen or used for nefarious reasons? People are cutting back on the amount of e-commerce they’re doing because they are really concerned. Well, companies are getting wise to this and are increasing the security of their sites and making it more difficult for criminals to hack into their accounts. Clark had to setup three personal questions, for example, when he signed up for an account the other day. It’s called the “challenge system,” and it allows people to have control over their security parameters. You will also have a user name and password. Bank of America is getting on board with this and is going to offer its own verification system so you know you are, in fact, on the BOA site before you do business. eTrade is using a “Smart Key” that you plug into the computer when you go online. You need this to get into your account.