Let the messaging madness begin: Microsoft Learning just released an Pro-level Exchange 2010 exam at the end of last week.
Exam 70-663 PRO: Designing and Deploying Messaging Solutions with Exchange Server 2010 is currently listed as a prerequisite (along with
Exam 70-622 TS: Exchange 2010 Configuring, which went live in October) for the Microsoft Certified Master: Exchange Server 2010 title, but nothing at the Pro level as of now. Still, expect details on a Pro-Level Exchange 2010 certification in the very near future.
Posted on 02/04/2010 at 11:28 AM0 comments
Windows 7 is the bright spot in Microsoft's Q2 2010 financials, as some analysts predicted it would be. Interesting fact from the financials: Microsoft sold 60 million copies of Windows 7 in its Q2. To put it another way, that's Windows 7 for nearly every person in the top 5 most populous cities on this planet
|
City |
Population
(millions) |
| Mumbai |
13.9 |
| Shanghai |
13.8 |
| Karachi |
12.9 |
| Delhi |
12.2 |
| Istanbul |
11.3 |
| Total |
64.1 |
Source: Wikipedia
Posted on 01/27/2010 at 8:19 PM0 comments
Get ready for Windows 8, which is expected in mid 2011, if this report has any truth to it.
Posted on 01/27/2010 at 3:19 PM1 comments
In my blog last week, I asked you to chime in on Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's effectiveness as corporate leader (one positive reply, but otherwise all I heard was crickets).
I like The Business Insider's chart showing Ballmer's leadership based on the company's stock performance. It was downhill from the start of Gates' announcement that he was retiring and has run flat since then. There was a low point about a year ago, about the time we finally started calling the financial mess a recession, so I suspect charts for most companies that day were rock bottom. Ever since, the stock has been marching upward. Microsoft will be releasing Q2 financials, which includes any real money made from Windows 7.
So, will Microsoft's stock see better days under Ballmer, or is it time for him to go?
Posted on 01/27/2010 at 4:55 PM1 comments
I couldn't believe it when I saw a picture of Steve Jobs holding an Apple iPad. Really, it looked like Jobs had shrunk next to a regular-sized iPhone. Or, maybe it's much more like the iPhone for those who subscribe to Readers' Digest Large Print Edition. Take your pick.
Having realized I'm getting much older, I'm having some difficulty reading Web sites on my iPod Touch. So, all kidding aside, the iPad would be a welcome addition to my gadget clutter, if only to save my eyesight. Short answer: Yes, I like the idea of an iPad. Do you? Tell me at mdomingo@1105media.com or comment here.
And vote in my iPad poll.
Posted on 01/27/2010 at 4:51 PM4 comments
The security folks at Google have
discovered a flaw that has been hiding in Windows since the NT days. Now, that's old. If it were human, it'd have a driver's license.
Posted on 01/21/2010 at 5:05 PM0 comments
Microsoft Learning
blogs about the need this year to get recertified if you have the MCSA: Security specialization and want to retain it as a valid title. The certification was accredited by ANSI last month. Recertification isn't a necessity, unless, of course, you work for an organization that requires it (the blog cites compliance with ISO 17024 as a good one). In most cases, you're safe with what you've earned so far.
But if you need to recertify, all it takes is to pass Exam 70-699: Windows Server 2003, MCSA Security Specialization Skills Update.
Recertification might be a good idea for this particular title, but does it make sense for others? And who among you has recertified due to job requirements? I'd love to hear from you at mdomingo@1105media.com or comment below.
The recert blog item was written by Liberty Munson, Microsoft's resident psycho ... ahem ... metrician. I had an e-mail exchange with her over the holidays, which I then edited into a Q&A that has some insights into the exam development process and exam security. Check out part 1, which was posted last week here, and then read part 2 here.
Posted on 01/21/2010 at 5:10 PM0 comments
Some people might describe Apple and Microsoft as bitter rivals, kind of like Leno vs. Letterman (you know what I mean, if you're into pop culture references). But their rivalry might really seem more like Leno vs. Conan, as both have found common ground and even helped each other at times.
Remember when Microsoft helped Apple with a $150 million loan back in 1997? Well, the modern-day version of this is some deal that BusinessWeek has been reporting on, which might put Microsoft's Bing search engine on Apple's iPhones as a default. Bing isn't Google-sized just yet, but this deal might give Bing the push it needs.
Posted on 01/20/2010 at 5:03 PM0 comments
That incredibly popular MCP exam retake offer disappeared mid-2009, but it's back again. The Born2Learn blog just posted an item about the program going live today. For those of you who don't know what it is, the Second-Shot program is available for any Microsoft IT or Developer and Microsoft Business exam. Register http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/offers/career.aspx here before taking an exam and if you fail an exam, you can take a second crack at the exam for free. The program ends again on June 30, 2010.
Tell me: Who's glad to see the second shot program back? E-mail me or post a comment here.
Posted on 01/14/2010 at 5:05 PM1 comments
If you listened to this week's Redmond Radio podcast, you would have herad me mention in my IT Webgems segment that it was 10 years ago this week that Bill Gates announced his retirement from Microsoft. It took Gates a full eight years to pack up his boxes and abandon the Redmond campus completely, but Steve Ballmer, for all intents, was CEO when Gates made that announcement and handed over the reins.
What do you think of the job Ballmer has done so far? Is Microsoft better or worse off a decade later? Feedback to me at mdomingo@1105media.com or post here.
Posted on 01/14/2010 at 5:07 PM2 comments
I'm going to take a stab in the dark as guess that there aren't that many Chevy owners among MCPmag.com readers. How did I know that? Well, I don't really. But there's a story at Forbes (by way of this Yahoo! Finance article) that claims that a high percentage of Chevrolet auto owners are not that tech-savvy. The claim is that 13 percent of those who own Chevys have never been on the Internet.
What that sounds like to me is just another good excuse for a quick poll....
Posted on 01/13/2010 at 5:02 PM18 comments
All signs point to the recession abating in 2010, and the evidence, as some are saying, is coming from IT departments and IT budgets. Janco Associates's latest study of IT salaries for 2010 shows companies "are initiating hiring and spending freezes, along with layoffs of IT personnel, in mid-management and IT support roles." On the latter part, we're talking mainly about the folks who do most of the work, so who's left?
Janco sees salaries flattening rather than continuing a downward trend, which might be that glimmer that we all hope will trickle to other job segments at some point. But the study also sees most company putting off or cutting out new projects and initiatives, which means most companies are maintaining some sort of survival mode spending.
But then Computer Economics releases a report that calls out the naysayers and says any recession talk should remain with those bad memories of 2009. Their report shows companies who plan to spend has jumped from 11 percent in 2009 to 52 percent in 2010. As for IT workers, "only 7 per cent of those polled said they would make staff layoffs in 2010, and 39 per cent were optimistic that they would add people in the coming year."
Of course, these numbers are predictive and the CE report sampled only 139 companies.
If you could see me, I'm basically tossing my hands up in confusion when I read these reports. The reality is, I continue to get e-mail and comments on blogs in which MCPmag.com readers tell me that they've either been let go at their company or that they've had their salary or bonus cut this year. But then again, that could just indicate that those with jobs and cushy salaries don't gloat much by writing to me.
This looks like a good opportunity to ask you to take a poll, so check this out...
Posted on 01/06/2010 at 12:34 PM0 comments