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 by Michael Domingo on 01/14/2010 at 4:59 PM3 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 [email protected] or post here.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 01/14/2010 at 11:59 AM2 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 by Michael Domingo on 01/13/2010 at 11:59 AM18 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 by Michael Domingo on 01/06/2010 at 4:59 PM0 comments
Net Applications's latest
browser usage report shows that Google's shiny browser has just edged out Safari, with Chrome being used by 4.63 percent of visitors to its Web site over the 4.46 percent for Safari. Both browsers' usages pale in comparison to FireFox (nearly 25 percent) and IE (just over 62 percent).
On the bright side, Safari users can remain smug now that their browser has regained "elite" status.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 01/05/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
Start the new year on the right track with a new course for Windows 7.
This one is targeted to the MCPmag.com crowd, as it covers application compatibility and deployment using the WAIK and Zero Touch Installation as well as handful of other methods.
If you're taking this course, tell us about your experiences here.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 01/05/2010 at 11:59 AM1 comments
First off: Happy New Year! Hope everyone made it safely through these crazy holidays. If you were stuck in a TSA line the last few days, you've got my sympathies.
Speaking of safe: Microsoft's newest OS has been running full speed in sales since its release. That means, of course, that it's bound to become a big hacker target as its adoption grows. But Nick Eaton over at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer blogs about Adobe's apps being an even bigger target. Eaton cites McAfee experts who claim Flash and Acrobat to be a bit easier to compromise via e-mail attachments.
So, to start off 2010, who's going to be first to tell me why they think Nick's sources are right (or wrong, for that matter)? First one to e-mail me with a valid comment gets a cool Redmond Media Group t-shirt.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 01/04/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
It's that time of year when the pundits come out and try to lay claim to what new technology will become the be-all and end-all in the coming one. We've been hearing lots of stuff: virtualization is finally coming into its own, the cloud becomes more real, the browser wars will heat up yet again, and so on. What do you think? Take this poll and maybe leave a few thoughts or predictions. Me? I'm gonna take a risk and call it "the year of prudent decisionmaking."
Posted by Michael Domingo on 12/23/2009 at 11:59 AM0 comments
Buried at the end of
a blog on the new Windows 7 exams is a
link to some information that can have you saving 15 to 25 percent on select Microsoft exams. The offer expires Dec. 31, 2009 or when Microsoft hits whatever limits they've set on those exams, so it behooves you to check out the link quickly and get the details.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 12/16/2009 at 11:59 AM0 comments
Any good news in these times must be worth the Web it's transmitted on (which, I guess has been the way we all get our news these days). For Microsoft, the good news is that the European Commission finally dropped its anti-trust suit against the company. We're not sure if it has more to do with Redmond offering two browsers, or that the EC portends stiff competition in the coming years as MS leaks browser market share.
European users will see a popup on new computers and during Windows updates that will ask to choose among a dozen browser choices,
according to the Associated Press.
As one battle ends, another one that affects the second half of the WinTel monopoly finally gets pitched.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 12/16/2009 at 11:59 AM0 comments
I feel a Mac attack coming, and I'm not talking Apple Macs.
McDonalds says it will offer free WiFi at gazillion locations, which will make it my new office away from the office.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 12/16/2009 at 11:59 AM0 comments
Google might want to write its name on its lunch sack before sticking it in the community fridge. Microsoft's president of North American sales and marketing, Robert Youngjohns,
told an audience at a San Francisco event that it wants to "steal their lunch on search." Sounds more like a schoolyard bully than an industry titan, but we understand the company is under some pressure to work its way back to the top.
Youngjohns might be justified in his bravado. This blog bit from Seattle Post-Intelligencer that shows that Bing is getting some healthy click-thru rates.
On a side note: I had to book some travel recently and I used Bing and Google. Guess what? I found a better rate via Bing. Score one for Microsoft search this time out.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 12/10/2009 at 11:59 AM0 comments