A few weeks ago, I
asked through this blog if you were planning to upgrade to Windows 7. I got some awesome replies on the site, but I'm also looking for those same people to cc me via e-mail so those folks can be entered into a drawing for some MCPmag.com baseball caps.
Well, the contest gets a little better, now that I've convinced Microsoft Learning Group to offer up two exam vouchers as prizes. Yes, thanks to their generosity, those of you who submit your Windows 7 Upgrade stories to me for inclusion in my compilation feature will be entered into a contest to win one of two vouchers for a Microsoft exam.
So, all you have to do is send me an e-mail at [email protected], put Windows 7 Upgrade on the Subject line of your message, and then tell me:
- Whether you plan to upgrade
- If so, what you're upgrading from
- And if you're upgrading, what features of Windows 7 are compelling enough to make the move.
This contest isn't just for those who plan to upgrade; it's also for those who don't plan on upgrading. I want to know why you've decided not to move to the new OS now or in the future.
From all entries, I'll choose two winners for the Microsoft exam vouchers, good at Prometric testing centers in the U.S. (yes, that is the one caveat; if you're chosen and you live outside the U.S., I'll still send you a cap).
Let me hear those Windows 7 upgrade stories!
Posted by Michael Domingo on 10/01/2009 at 11:59 AM9 comments
Forbes has come out with its annual list of the megarich, and as senior editor Matt Miller
tells Bloomberg News, "It was a billionaire bloodbath out there." Sounds like something none of us would want a part of when he puts it that way. In all honesty, can we say with a straight face we sympathize that list-topper Bill Gates' fortunes shrank by $7 billion? I cry for him as I write out another check to pay my overdue mortgage bill.
Ballmer is still on the list, at #15, which is just behind Google's Brin and Page.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 10/01/2009 at 11:59 AM0 comments
You're missing out if you're not listening to the Podbean-hosted version of Redmond Radio. That version of the show is where you'll hear my "IT Webgems" segment; it's just a goofy little aside in which I mention a few events or innovations or some trivia related to technology that took place that week sometime in IT history (this week, it was all about old school tech, Firefox and H.G Wells).
One gem that I didn't include and that bears mentioning is the launch of CompuServe on Sept. 24, 1979; Wired has the story http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2009/09/0924compuserve-launches here. How many of us can claim to have had a CompuServe account back then? (Would love to hear from ya if you did.)
I got a personal CompuServe account when I got my first job as an editor for a San Diego-based technology magazine, and it was all new to me then, this getting online thing and dialing up and whatnot. Even so, I got my account about 10 years after CompuServe's big debut (ancient history in Internet years, no?), when I moderated a few CompuServe bulletin boards hosted by our company. Come to think of it, I've been online for 20 years which, in itself, is interesting and sad at the same time: Interesting because I have made a living doing something that's not really tangible (except for the seeing part); sad because it's like claiming that I've been watching TV for the last 20 years.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 09/25/2009 at 11:59 AM5 comments
I'll keep this one short....
Mary Jo Foley, a Redmond back page columnist, also writes the popular All Things Microsoft blog (like many of my fellow editors, I'm a big fan).
Recently she wrote, "As soon as Microsoft releases the final bits of a new Windows release to manufacturing — and often before — many users’ thoughts turn to what’s next." I think she's wrong by one word. Substitute "users" with "analysts" and I think she nails it.
The typical user often lives in the now and just the near future when it comes to operating systems and software like it. OSes aren't like digital cameras, where innovations like high pixel count sensors and adding live HD video are just around the corner, enticing digital camera users to wait for the next version before pulling the trigger on a purchase. What's cooking in the next OS is really more about giving pundits, analysts and those in tech media something to write and speculate about for the next three years.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 09/25/2009 at 11:59 AM2 comments
We at MCPmag.com tick off the days on the calendar to Oct. 22, the launch date of Windows 7, as if that date matters. Really, it was RTM'ed back in July (so what if it's not in a shrink-wrapped box at Best Buy?) and Microsoft Learning already has training and a number of new exams developed for it and has been in delivery mode on them for some time.
So, why does the Windows 7 launch date matter? I can't say for sure, but it has more to do with marking an ocassion, like a birthday or anniversary. (Apollo 7, back in 1968, splashed down in the Pacific on that day; doubt if there's any connection there.) It certainly gives MS an excuse to trot out the Rolling Stones to launch Win7 to the tune of "Flip the Switch" or, perhaps more appropriate, " Oh No, Not You Again."
In any case, we're wondering if MCPmag.com readers will be flipping the switch come Oct. 22. I'm all ears to know if this version is worth upgrading to, whether you're moving up for personal reasons or because it's going to invigorate your enterprise. Also, what features are you looking forward to? The improvements in BitLocker? The BranchCache stuff? Are you upgrading because it's like Vista without the baggage? Yes, we want to know all.
(Not upgrading? We want to know that too and what some of those reasons are.)
Among all the submissions, I'll compile the best stuff for a future newsletter (oh, say, one that will be published around Oct. 22) and offer up a few of our Redmond Media Group T-shirts to a few lucky submitters.
Personally, I'm excited to see Windows 7. I'm already a Vista user, having upgraded a six-year-old Sony desktop last January (my free copy from the MS launch was on the shelf collecting dust) without too many problems -- a driver here or there, and then there's the fact that I lost access to Windows Media Center, which was almost a deal-breaker, but I worked with it long enough to not turn back. So, for me, it's a no-brainer and I can't wait to upgrade everything -- PC and all -- over the holidays.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 09/24/2009 at 11:59 AM11 comments
Exec. Editor David Nagel
reports on an effort at Georgia Tech's College of Computing to put out of work IT pros into teaching jobs that will grow the next generation of IT workers. The school plans to make a measured study of the effort's effectiveness, in hopes that its successes (if that's the case) can be replicated elsewhere. Peachy idea and I hope it helps to stem the
rising unemployment rate, especially
among the IT ranks.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 09/24/2009 at 11:59 AM0 comments
Microsoft Press just released to manufacturing a
new self-study kit for
Exam 70-680 TS: Configuring Windows 7, which will be available the day before the launch of the new OS (preorder it
here).
In other news, MS Press is partnering with O'Reilly Media to publish and distribute MS Press titles; official press release is here.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 09/24/2009 at 11:59 AM0 comments
My
licensing post got a few good comments, none in defense of Microsoft's upgraded plan. KBR believes Microsoft is looking out for #1:
Microsoft's "byzantine" licensing serves Microsoft very well by enhancing revenue. It was not made to serve the customer.
I can't say that KBR is absolutely right, but Microsoft's efforts to reduce the licensing plans still leaves enough confusion that a small third-party market exists to help to lessen the licensing confusion. On the other hand, Microsoft could remove all doubt and sell every copy at retail.
An anonymous poster mocks MS by making it look like the corporate equivalent of Ebenezer Scrooge (appropriately enough; Christmas is only 98 days away):
Microsoft's so called simplification has only one objective.... remove access to discounted software for charities unless they meet very specific and narrow criteria. Excellent move when it's these organisatiions who are providing support for our community during these difficult economic times.
In my post on fed jobs, another anonymous poster offers encouragement to fellow IT workers who may have recently come under the ax:
My position with local government was terminated Dec, 2007; No one gave my resume a 2nd look even though I'm a 10+ year MCP veteran with 20+ years solid IT experience in a variety of major IT disciplines; Was offered an opportunity with Feds only recently (Aug, 2009); Had a few bad days, but grew increasingly aggressive in job search (didn't give up!); So if you're an experienced IT Pro and have been out of work for awhile...DON'T GIVE UP!!! May have to leave comfort zone (so to speak), but the economy is slowly but surely picking up which translates into positive results for those that want to remain in IT.
Joe IT (for lack of a better name and apologies if it was written by Joanna IT) is in the right frame of mind. It's hard out there and perhaps the desperation is difficult to remove from your facial expressions, but a positive outlook will probably win you, at the very least, the sympathies of those interviewing you. Hiring managers don't want to hire a sad sack.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 09/17/2009 at 11:59 AM1 comments
"Deploy Windows 7 now." That's
Microsoft talkin' to enterprise customers and we're wondering if anyone is listening, or is Windows 7 sales going to get pounded in a proverbial trainwreck in these last few months of 2009?
Consumer sales of Win7 are likely to be better than Vista, so let's ignore that. Instead, let's look at how Microsoft is appealing to the IT pro, an important segment where Win7 sales might prove a bit more difficult. To grab that segment's attention, the oft-cited reasons for deploying Win7 are DirectAccess, BranchCache and an improved BitLocker.
So, that's got us wondering if those are reasons enough in and of themselves to migrate or upgrade. If you're using any of these features or believe any one of them is a compelling reason to consider, do tell us here. (And we'd also like to hear if your company is planning to deploy Win7 soon or why you're planning to stick with Vista or XP.)
Posted by Michael Domingo on 09/17/2009 at 11:59 AM3 comments
Microsoft's software licensing is pretty simple if you pay retail: One package, one license. But for the majority of you who buy software at any level beyond that who seek to maximize savings and get the most use of your software with the most inexpensive licensing scheme, the process can be described with one word: byzantine.
Redmond reporter Herb Torrens cites a report from Directions on Microsoft analysts who describe the process as "so complicated that it is virtually impossible to understand compliance issues." Licensing physical machines is already difficult, but add virtual machines and you could be way out of licensing compliance without knowing it if you're just a bit careless.
The article concludes with a comment from Microsoft, who state that they've made some effort to reduce the licensing plans "from 74 to nine." Those nine ways to license Microsoft software means a bit of confusion still exists. We'll believe it has become simpler when there's no longer a need for a Microsoft Partner certification devoted to licensing issues.
Are you responsible for wading through your licensing options, or do you leave those decisions up to the pros? And has implementing a virtualized environment made the process even more or less complicated? Tell us here or via e-mail.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 09/10/2009 at 11:59 AM4 comments
The job market isn't all gloom and doom. You can find pockets of good news here and there, and there's one in a very unlikely place right now, even amid the recession, if you're an IT pro: the federal governement. Joab Jackson reports that 11K IT-related jobs are to be had over the next three years, which breaks out to about 3,666 jobs each year.
I know that everytime we publish one of these job-based pieces online, we tend to hear about the folks who have lost jobs. Keep those comments coming; those stories of unemployment are incredibly important to know about, as they do exemplify what's happening out there in corporate America. If you've been squeezed out of the IT job segment and don't plan to head back, we'd like to know why and where you're headed. If you plan to stick it out in this segment, we want to know why IT has such high allure.
But I also want to hear about some success stories, of people who left jobs or were laid off and found work soon after. What's your secret and what's the mood at the company you're at now? And if you're coming from another job segment altogether -- sales, food service, what have you -- we want to know what it took to get to your first IT job and if it's all you expected it to be.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 09/09/2009 at 11:59 AM4 comments
Any resemblance to
The Griswolds would be coincidental, uncanny and definitely comical -- some of Microsoft Learning's staff will be taking a European vacation (well, okay, working vacation). What's happening is a repeat of its "
Get On The Bus" tour, this time for a continental audience, with the bus stopping at 11 cities starting Oct. 11 and ending the trip in Berlin Nov. 9 at Tech Ed Europe.
It's a shame that Microsoft Learning isn't running a contest for some lucky MCP to join them on the bus, like they did stateside. The group this time out is looking for applicants to host events along the route. To find out more, the Born to Learn bloggers say to keep apprised of details on its newly designed site.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 09/03/2009 at 11:59 AM0 comments