The
Miami Herald reports that superhacker Albert Gonzalez will see what life is like inside prison walls for 20 years. The sentence is in the middle of the recommended sentencing of 15-25. Is Albert getting what he deserves? If not, put yourself in the judge's shoes and tell us what he does deserve.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 03/26/2010 at 11:59 AM2 comments
Heard last night on
The Tonight Show:
Bill Gates is talking with Toshiba about building a small-scale nuclear reactor. This will be Gates' first bomb since, I guess, Windows Vista.
See Jay's monologue here. See the real story here.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 03/25/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
Consider yourself among the best if you've got a title akin to systems administrator, IT consultant, computer security analyst, and whatnot.
A study coming from research firm Focus claims jobs like these are "the best jobs in America" based on salary as well as other factors such as "flexibility, stress and personal satisfaction." Maybe in the real world, but if it were up to me to name the best job in America, it'd be Ben & Jerry's official ice cream taste tester.
Do you agree with the study? Let me hear it at [email protected] or post your comments here.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 03/23/2010 at 11:59 AM2 comments
The Born2Learn blog has
an interesting admission from the folks who are revamping the Microsoft Training Catalog. From the post, we gather that the person who was involved in the revamp -- in this case, kanthi_s, -- had seen a glaringly obvious problem with the search feature in the catalog:
"On day 1 of my job, I landed on the platform and my first action was to search for Sql Training on the search bar and voila [sic], I received 0 results!! Next, I searched for Office training. Again, 0 results! 0 results retrieved for both SQL and office trainings, when MSL has over hundreds of training products..."
An interesting admission, but there's also a lesson to be learned here: Customers may never tell you that you have a problem.In this case, it took a fresh perspective from someone new to discover such a big problem as this one that has potential revenue implications. I wonder how many customers did the same thing as kanthi_s those many months ago, only to give up without mentioning the problem to MSL. (I admit that I'm one of those people who didn't offer up my feedback back then.) Problems like these aren't just inherent to MSL, so you might check even the most minor of customer or client complaints to see if there's anything bigger that's keeping your business back.
Here's a cool side benefit of that problem: The blog mentions a hefty 25 percent discount on training offerings in the catalog, good until May 31, 2010. Sometimes there's nothing better than a lesson that saves you money, too.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 03/23/2010 at 11:59 AM2 comments
No fewer than six betas for all manner of exams targeting Visual Studio 2010 development
hit the beta test stage, with registration opening up on March 17. If you're too late, my sincere apologies for not informing you sooner. Anyhow, my suspicions are that, when you read this just now and are still interested in sitting in on these betas, you're still going to find an open test seat somewhere near you. (And remember that betas are free; don't you want to check them out without losing much but time?)
Good luck and don't forget to let us know how you do!
Posted by Michael Domingo on 03/18/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
Windows 7 Phone could be the next big thing for developers, and
here's why: one survey claims the market for mobile apps in the next few years can be upwards of $17.5 billion. If Windows 7 Phone developers can snag even a small sliver of a piece of that action, it's still potentially huge. No wonder
Windows 7 Phone development got some traction this week at MIX10 in Vegas. Sure enough, it's fairly difficult to find good resources that can point you in the right direction. What's even better is when one that's free comes along, and that's what the folks at Microsoft Learning want you to check out now,
here.
While we can't say for sure that this will help you on any future Windows 7 Phone-related exams (or the WinMo 6.5 ones, for that matter), it can't hurt either. (How's that for making this post at least a bit relevant to MCPmag.com readers?)
Posted by Michael Domingo on 03/18/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
Microsoft Learning's Ken Rosen
blogs about a learning snack for integrating apps via BizTalk Server. BizTalk resources are scarce, so this snack is a welcome little morsel.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 03/16/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
Microsoft has been telling IE 6 and 7 users to get with it and install IE 8. Meanwhile, Microsoft has just unwrapped IE 9 at the MIX10 conference in Las Vegas. The preview version, which you can install but not use to browse the Web, can be test-driven here.
On a related note: Microsoft is streaming some MIX10 sessions to their site, if you're interested in hearing more news fresh from the conference floor.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 03/16/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
If I get what this blogger is saying, Google truly has a "Windows killer" in its forthcoming OS. But maybe Apple should be shaking at its, uh, core, especially as the Chrome OS looks to be more friendly to more devices and form factors. Too early for me to tell, but maybe MCPmag.com readers have been checking out the competition. Let us know what you think, if that's the case.
Of course, this calls for a poll: Does Microsoft or Apple have anything to worry about with the Google Chrome OS?
Posted by Michael Domingo on 03/15/2010 at 11:59 AM3 comments
Even the TSA has troubles, and
they come from within. The lesson here is that we should all be mindful of threats from hackers, but there's always the threat coming from an "inside job," especially in these times of frequent layoffs and unemployment.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 03/11/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
You might remember Elevate America, a program that Microsoft announced early last year. (If you need a refresher, start here and here.) The idea at the time was, with the recession in full swing, to help those newly unemployed or just entering the job force to acquire skills in IT. Rather than just give money away, the company created the initiative to fund local programs that would do the training. Microsoft has been introducing it slowly, going state to state and growing the program.
It's not just states that are taking part in the bounty. Microsoft recently announced $8 million in cash and software it'll provide to support programs aimed at discharged U.S. veterans. According to the press release, the first of these groups is the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. The company cites some interesting stats from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which has shows that unemployment among veterans from those campaigns is higher than among nonveterans.
If you know a veteran, pass this message along. If you are one, let us know how this program is helping you.
Noteworthy: As of this writing, Microsoft launched the Elevate America program in California. Read more here.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 03/11/2010 at 11:59 AM1 comments