You'll find more than online articles--chats, forums, training resources--in the online version of MCP Magazine.

Online Gold Mine

You'll find more than online articles--chats, forums, training resources--in the online version of <i>MCP Magazine</i>.

• By Linda Briggs
• 10/01/1999

If you’re a regular reader and you’re not taking some time each month to visit the online edition of MCP Magazine, you’re missing out. Since we’re constantly coming up with new ideas for www.mcpmag.com, I wanted to use this space to point out the rich content that’s available there now—and to collect your ideas on what else you’d like to see. Although it’s a hugely popular site (over 300,000 unique visitors a month who download some 2 million page views), some of you may not realize all that’s offered.

For example, as editors, we often don’t have space for all the articles we’d like to include in the print issue. Rather than holding overflow material for the next issue, we’ve begun more and more to use the Web site to accommodate it. These aren’t throw-away articles; they’re as valuable and information-filled as the print pieces. We just couldn’t fit them in.

Thus, in this issue online, you can read Bill Heldman, a regular contributor and SMS expert, talking candidly about his first client installation of SMS 2.0 as part of our “tales from the trenches” series. It was a painful learning experience for him, he admits, but it needn’t be for you. In fact, Bill makes it all sound quite amusing; check out his tale of woe, "Journey to the Bowels of the Earth."

Also online only, Patrick Santry talks about the intricacies of the new exam for Site Server, Commerce edition (in the print issue as well, Blair Kovacs reviews the regular Site Server exam). You can also read Chris Brooke using his inimitable wit to explain how to supercharge your scripting skills in "Scripting for MCSEs."

Here’s another example of the kind of content available at our site: I’ve just returned from our August MCP TechMentor conference in San Francisco. The entire presentations of both keynote speakers are currently available on the site (located in the "News" area of our Web site). That means you can listen to an hour-long presentation by Curtis Cummings, technologist for Microsoft’s Internal Technology group, talking about Windows 2000 and Active Directory. (Sample quote: “Does anything work the same [in Windows 2000 as in NT 4.0?]… No, not really.”) You can also listen to Donna Senko, Director of Microsoft Certification and Skills Assessment, talking about the upcoming Windows 2000 exams and answering attendees’ questions. Everything’s there except the MCP toys she threw into the audience.

Join in on one of our monthly real-time chats with the magazine’s writers and editors. Subscribe to our premium area and skim through our searchable archive of every back issue. Visit the popular discussion forums and chat with peers—or just lurk and see what others are saying (first time visitors must register to get access, but registration is free). And coming in October: An MCP database that will let you contact and correspond with other MCPs in your corner of the map.

Although many IT professionals and MCP-wanna-be’s drop by, the site really belongs to you, Microsoft Certified Professionals. You’re the ones we’re working to please, so let me know what you’d like to see.