Google's Chrome OS on Dell PCs sounds like a nightmare come true for Microsoft. It's
all talk for now, but if and when they get ready to do something, how will this affect the enterprise
and Microsoft's stranglehold on them? And what does that mean to sysadmins everwhere, many with their careers tied to Microsoft's OS hits (and misses) of the last few decades?
Maybe it's time for Google to start mapping out a certification program -- the time seems right to tout one's Google Chrome OS deployment skills.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 06/22/2010 at 11:59 AM5 comments
Say what you want about him, but here's something that's undeniable: The screaming dude has some earning power! Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has marked off 30 years at Microsoft this week (what he's
going to be doing in the next 10 is up in the air).
This post at Gearlog.com says that Ballmer at hiring made $50K (was a Harvard grad, so his Ivy League education after the 10+ year mark maybe isn't included in
this study to keep the results from skewing wildly); I can't vouch for the figure, so I'm going with it. Over 30 years, that comes out to...well, I just broke my TI-89 trying to figure it out. His value in percentage over time is just ungraphable.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 06/17/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
A
report at MSNBC gives mixed signals on the topic of the value of a college degree in the world of work: yes, it can be valuable, and moreso over time. The report cites Payscale.com's findings, showing the values of a non-Ivy League vs. an Ivy League education, with the latter just entering the workplace at a salary advantage of better than $12K. The news is better for those with tenure, as those with 10 or more years pulled in almost $30K more than their non-Ivy League counterparts.
We've found in our own Redmond Salary Surveys that higher education can do wonders to one's salary over just attaining a vocational certificate, and that those conferred with higher degrees make even more. Sorry for being vague here, as I'm not about to steal my own thunder and give away those results until the survey is ready for prime time. Just know that the results look an awful lot like 2009's results.
Certification in general, on the other hand, is having negligible impact on earning power, it seems. We'll have more information on the latter when we conduct the MCPmag.com Salary Survey later this year.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 06/17/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
Several sites (like
Gizmodo, for example) say that Microsoft will open retail shop number 4
in San Diego. Yes, I'll be there with camera in hand. I'll also see what's up at the Apple store, as the MS Retail grand opening takes place when the new iPhone 4G debuts. Microsoft
opened retailer #3 in Lone Tree, Colorado, last week.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 06/15/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
It's the try-before-you-buy concept, only for Microsoft exams.
MeasureUp is behind this cool feature on the Microsoft Learning site (MeasureUp is one of the Microsoft-approved test materials providers), where you can be poked and goaded by e-mail for the next seven weeks into answering questions for Exams 70-640 TS: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuring or 70-536 TS: .NET Framework, Application Development Foundation. Comes with video review each week, which is a nice touch. It's like having your own personal MCT. To find out more and to register, click
here.
Noteworthy: Exam 70-512 TS: Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2010, Administration is now available, sayeth Born2Learn.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 06/15/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
Another win for Microsoft in the cloud, as the state of
Florida turns to Windows Azure to host its portal for census information. Key snip from the press release: "The Florida House chose to host the application in a cloud environment because application use is expected to be high for only a few critical weeks and then gradually fall off over time."
Posted by Michael Domingo on 06/11/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
The oneupmanship continues between Google and Microsoft, with a Google engineer publicly disclosing info on a Windows XP remote code execution flaw rather than doing the right thing and offering that info to Microsoft to deal with. The dumb move by the company that's also a verb certainly falls outside the "Don't be evil" category, not because it is making Microsoft scramble for solutions now that the info is out in the wild, but for the piling on the stupidity causing grief to Google's own customers, many of whom undoubtedly are still on XP.
Who's wrong here? Google for divulging the flaw, or Microsoft for not working fast enough to plug it?
Posted by Michael Domingo on 06/11/2010 at 11:59 AM1 comments
As per a
Born2Learn post, Exam 70-681 TS: Deploying Windows 7 and Office 2010 exam goes into beta soon. A guide doesn't yet appear on the Microsoft Learning site to explain what to study up on or what certification this exam fulfills. Our guess is that it fits in as a requirement for the MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Support Technician or MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Administrator titles.
Remember that beta exams are free, and if you pass it, it's like getting a free Microsoft credential. But you have to be invited and get a code. Details here.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 06/10/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
Here's yet another reminder that the Microsoft Learning Group's
exam retake offer ends this month. That means you have to register, take an exam, fail it, then retake the failed exam before June 30. Whew! Just saying it makes me short of breath.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 06/10/2010 at 11:59 AM1 comments
If it's good enough for Microsoft, is it good enough for you? The company has been getting higher and higher into the cloud, so much so that now it's predicting that internal use will hover near 100 percent by the end of this decade. We're not talking just using Office apps online, either. It'll be key line of business apps sitting in the Azure cloud, so the company is making a leap that's based on more than faith. Mary Jo Foley, a
Redmond magazine columnist, confirms the company's plans in an interview she did with Microsoft CIO Tony Scott while at Tech-Ed (over at
ZDNet), so we know the information is reliable.
So, let me repeat in so many words, but have you answer back: If Microsoft is putting the majority of its company into the cloud, what percentage of your company can you see being in the cloud by the end of this decade?
Posted by Michael Domingo on 06/10/2010 at 11:59 AM2 comments
Microsoft Tech*Ed, happening this week in New Orleans, hasn't had lots of exciting news that maybe a Zune Phone might engender. But there is a hint that Microsoft might be making some progress in its cloud strategy, starting with the
announcement that there's a sizable number of users of its Windows Azure services. Azure might not be generating Windows 7-type profits yet, but it's a start. Who else can lay claim to a customer base like that in the cloud (okay, besides Amazon and Google)?
There were some other important announcements from Microsoft, mainly on the tools side. Check out this report from Kathleen Richards, which covers much of it for those who couldn't be there.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 06/08/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
When Gates left, we all probably expected a high-energy, high-pitched Ballmer would maintain the financial and innovation-oriented momentum going forward. Redmond has been holding its own amid the crisis, but overall, it's been lagging and just recently has been lapped by Apple, at least
in regard to market cap, and perhaps Apple has always had the upper hand in innovation all along.
Some folks are now contemplating what it would take to bring Gates back to right the listing ship.
Nearly a decade after Gates officially announced his departure (it'll be 10 years come July), we can look back at Bill's legacy (crushing IBM, Windows on every desktop, monopolistic practices challenged in court, software genius on a trampoline, etc.) but who would have predicted what his future held? And that future has been nothing short of amazing, what with his mega-philanthropy. He's not one to spend his wealth whimsically on megayachts or Cold-War era fighter jets (well, not that we know of).
Which brings me back to Ballmer. I don't have the goods on his announcing his retirement any time soon, but I thought it'd be a fun mental exercise to predict in 10 years what we'll remember about Ballmer, who's sure to give up the reins in the next 6 or 7 years (he'll be in his 60's soon enough).
Will we remember him for the Vista debacle (whether or not it was his fault)? The craziness expressed in viral videos or his rumored chair-throwing incident? How about his dominance of the smartphone segment? (He has a few years to work on this yet...) Will he become a former IT exec/now-active NBA owner, a la Mark Cuban? I'm all ears here for predictions of his future, not just legacies.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 06/08/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments