Welcome to the I.T. Classroom

Much Love for Mr. Lutz Ziob

It was with great interest that I open my 2 emails from Lutz Ziob, General Manager of Microsoft Learning. For the long wait in the arrivals of the Welcome Kits, he offered a voucher for any Microsoft exam taken before July 2008. Trick or treat!

 

Since I took both an MCTS and MCITP exam, I got 2 vouchers! Thank you Mr. Ziob.

Free Vista Training Courtesy of Microsoft

It never ceases to amaze me that people are willing to spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in I.T. training. I have been guilty of this as well. And it seems that the last place people will go to seek information about Microsoft certifications is Microsoft itself. Did you know that there is tons of information waiting to be read and researched on the Microsoft TechNet website? Did you know you can access On-Demand webcasts on most of the current technology Microsoft has to offer? Do you know about Microsoft Across America or Microsoft Learning?

All of this is FREE.

Oh, I almost forgot the title; Free Vista Training Courtesy of Microsoft. Here you go: Improving Desktop Security and Deployment. A FREE LIVE WEBCAST SERIES.

Comes as you are...

Live meeting. Halloween. Topic... Not too sure to be honest. MCP Program news, Certification news, the number of licks that it in fact does take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop Tootsie Roll -- the world may never know.

Here's your sign: http://blogs.msdn.com/trika/archive/2007/10/11/mcp-program-news-october-31-live-meeting.aspx?CommentPosted=true#commentmessage 

*Gifts will be made available for those with the correct answer to who or what Trika will go as for Halloween.

 

 

 

*not... but good fun regardless.

Listening and... What's this? Changing?!?

Well it seems the folks in Redmond are at it again -- specifically the Microsoft Learning team. What's going on, you say? They are listening and ch-ch-ch-ch-changing (David Bowie homage). Here, let me explain:

By passing the 70-620 exam, you earn the MCTS: Vista Configuration certification. Nothing new there. However when you pass the 70-621 MCDST upgrade to MCITP: Enterprise, you earn both your MCITP: Enterprise AND MCTS: Vista Configuration! Wait... Nothing new there either. So what has changed? Well listen up...

For those certification that required you take and pass the 70-620 as a client requirement, you can now use the 70-621 in place of this. Before this announcement, you had to take the 70-620 even though you already received the credit and certification transitively by passing the 70-621. Not anymore. The good folks at MSL looked at the math again and determined that the original math did not make sense -- I would imagine that the hundreds of emails and complaints concerning this issue also had something to do with this change. Regardless, props to the MSL team for realizing this did not make sense and changing it.

p.s. I have been known to make stuff up, so if you really want straight from the horse's mouth visit Trika's blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/trika/archive/2007/09/19/get-rich-quick-scheme-for-mcdsts.aspx

p.s.s. Trika, that is not to say you are a horse. You know I love ya!

p.s.s.s The flowers are on their way. Building 18 right?

The Gypsy of the Internet

I participate in many blogs and websites, and a friend recently titled me as the Gypsy of the Internet. For those interested in valuable tips for participating in public newsgroups, visit CertBlog to read my two latest entries concerning the subject. The goal of the two post is to get people thinking for themselves, performing research before asking, and ultimately take responsibilities for their own actions. Yes, I was meant to live a life of punishment.

Trimming the Fat.

The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) announced today that it will retire the CompTIA i-Net+ certification exam on December 31, 2007.

The exam will be available until March 31, 2008 in Japan and Korea.

CompTIA i-Net+ was established in January of 2000 as a benchmark certification for individuals who maintained and developed Web-related content and applications. In recent years, these job roles have evolved. Market research and feedback from certification users indicates that the number of Internet-only jobs roles has declined, and IT professionals engaged in the development of Web-related applications have taken on additional, broader responsibilities. CompTIA offers a number of other certifications that are appropriate for these IT professionals.

The pending retirement does not affect the 20,000 individuals worldwide who have achieved CompTIA i-Net+ certification. Their certifications remain valid and they will still have access to CompTIA Career ID services.

I achieved this certification while working at a CLC (Computer Learning Center) in order to teach CIW (Certified Internet Webmaster) courses. Both certifications, in-time and IMHO, proved to be insignificant in the I.T. world. I believe CompTIA is making a good decision to cut the fat out of its certification program. I would like to see CompTIA implement a recertification procedure for their existing certification such as their A+ and Network+ certifications. Do you think that I or an employer places any stock in a certification that I achieved 8 years ago? Does CompTIA think that technology has not changed in 8 years? Require a certified individual to recertify in order to stay current. It adds greater value to the certification and helps weed out those individuals that are just looking to add letters behind their names.

Happy Trails Pearson VUE.

Microsoft Learning announces its decision to move forward with Prometric for delivery of its Microsoft professional certification and Microsoft Dynamics exams. Pearson VUE will discontinue selling Microsoft professional certification exams after August 31, 2007. To accommodate those who purchase Microsoft professional certification exams through August 31, Pearson VUE will continue to administer the exams through December 31, 2007. Pearson VUE will discontinue selling and administering Microsoft Dynamics exams after December 31, 2007. Additional details regarding this transition will follow over the next few months.

• Read the official announcement
• Read official questions and answers

You should see the buzz over this in various newsgroups and blogs. Trika did an excellent job in explaining MLS decision to drop Pearson VUE --err focus their efforts of Prometric. What does this mean for me, a person who has tested with Pearson VUE over the past 5 years? Absolutely, positively NOTHING. Here's the thing, instead of taking my exams at a Pearson VUE center, I will now take them at a Prometric center. Yeah, this is soooo inconvenient. The truth of the matter is that these Pearson VUE centers will more than likely apply to become Prometric exam centers anyway. So what have you really lost? Why the outcry? Why the nasty words to Microsoft concerning this decision? It's their company. It's their exams. They have the right to partner with any one exam center. But I am interested in your views. Let me know what you think.

Trika for MVP?

Is there a rule about Microsoft employees being MVPs? If so, we so need to change this or make Trika the exception. Here is everything you wanted or needed to know about the new Windows Server 2008 certifications.

http://blogs.msdn.com/trika/archive/2007/06/14/windows-server-2008-certification-paths.aspx

Because I Care...

For those experience MCDST's looking to upgrade to MCITP: Enterprise and just don't have the $125 dollars for the exam, fear not. Here is your upgrade promo code for 40% off. Go forth and ... ... ... I lost that train of thought.

</mindless chatter>

post script: Please take notice that I said "experienced". If you do not know Vista, please pass. Certification integrity is important to me.

post script 2: When you successfully negotiate the 70-621 exam, you not only achieve your MCITP: Enterprise but your MCTS: Vista as well.

post script 3: ... oh nevermind.

Certification Integrity and the NDA Webcast

You all know better than I do that cheaters, braindumps, and accidental-cheaters can do damage to the reputation of your hard-earned passing score or certification. Given the number of questions about related topics:

• how can i tell if a test-prep site is legitimate?
• why are betas not offered in <fill in the blank> country?
• does Microsoft ever actually do anything about cheaters?
• what can I tell my friend about the exam i took? does it really matter?
• what exactly am I agreeing to when i ok the exam non-disclosure agreement (NDA)?
• what's up with TestKing?

...and the helpful nudging i got from a few members of our esteemed community, we will be having a Live Meeting to talk about what's happening now on this topic (there is a lot happening...), let you know how you can get involved, and hear your concerns and suggestions.

The presenters will be

• Rob Linsky from the certification team,
• Shon Hong who works on anti-piracy for Microsoft Learning,
• Robert Williams of CertGuard,
• Mitch Garvis of lots-of-different-things,
• and Michael Alligood, who originally brought up the many questions about our NDA that got this whole ball rolling.

I think it will be a good discussion. Let me know if you have any related questions in advance.

Protecting the integrity of Microsoft Certification (worldwide)

• May 23, 2007: 7:30 AM PST - Click to register.
• May 23, 2007: 5:00 PM PST - Click to register