MCITP: Enterprise Administrator

Earning a MCITP Enterprise Administrator certification in Windows 2008 is a definite step up for your career in the IT industry. This well recognised MCITP certification is held in high regard and will provide to your current and future employers that you have the skills and knowledge to implement and maintain a Windows Server 2008 network infrastructure. People who hold a MCITP Enterprise Administrator certification have one of the highest salaries on average compared to other MCITP certifications, if you wish you can view our comparison of the average MCITP salaries.

To gain MCITP: EA status you will need to gain a pass mark in 5 exams. Four of these are core exams and the last one is an elective which you get to choose.

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MCITP Enterprise Administrator core exams: (you need to pass all 4 these)
Exam 70-640 TS: Configuring Windows Server 2008 Active Directory
Exam 70-642 TS: Configuring Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure
Exam 70-643 TS: Configuring Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure
Exam 70-647 Pro: Enterprise Administrator, Windows Server 2008

MCITP Enterprise Administrator Elective exams: (you need to choose and pass 1 of these)
Exam 70-680 TS: Configuring Windows 7
Exam 70-681 TS: Deploying Windows 7 and Office 2010
Exam 70-620 TS: Configuring Microsoft Windows Vista Client
Exam 70-624 TS: Deploying and Maintaining Windows Vista Client and 2007 Microsoft Office System Desktops (retired)

The best place to start when studying to become a MCITP Enterprise Administrator is by getting yourself a copy of MCITP Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Administrator Self-Paced Training Kit. This package below contains all the study material you need to pass all 4 core exams 70-640, 70-642, 70-643, and 70-647..

Facebook may have missed revenue projections by $500 million

According to new analysis, the report suggesting Facebook’s revenue doubled to $1.6 billion for the first half of 2011 is actually bad news.

Earlier this week, we learned that Facebook reportedly doubled its revenue to $1.6 billion for the first half of 2011. Was this really the good news it was made out to be? PrivCo, an analyst firm for privately-held companies, doesn’t think so. In fact, the group says Facebook missed its own forecasts by about 25 percent, or nearly $500 million.

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In December 2010, Facebook announced that it had raised $1.5 billion at a valuation of approximately $50 billion, but that it had no immediate plans for the funds and would simply continue to build and expand its operations. The transaction consisted of two parts: in January 2011, Goldman Sachs completed an oversubscribed offering to its non-US clients in a fund that invested $1 billion in Facebook Class A common stock, while in December 2010, Digital Sky Technologies, The Goldman Sachs Group, and funds managed by Goldman Sachs, invested $500 million in Facebook Class A common stock at the same valuation.

PrivCo CEO Sam Hamadeh tells me that the devil is in the details. In the prospectus for the Goldman Sachs placement to its private clients, Facebook had projected first half year sales in 2011 of more than $2 billion and full year revenue of $4 billion. Furthermore, these numbers were based solely on ad revenue.

Hamadeh admits he never saw a copy of the prospectus, but he says he spoke to multiple people who did and could verify the numbers. In fact, he believes that the yearly revenue number was actually estimated to be higher $4.7 billion if you add what the company expected to make from Facebook Credits (sales of virtual goods and other content from Facebook apps and games), for which Facebook takes a 30 percent. Either way, this isn’t good news for Facebook.

“When it sold stock via Goldman Sachs to investors in January at a $50 billion valuation, it provided internal ‘conservative projections’ in investment documents circulated of ‘over $4 billion in revenue for 2011,’” Hamadeh told me. “At revenue of under $1.6 billion for the 1st half of 2011 (actually close to $1.5 according to our sources), revenue will barely exceed $3.2 billion for 2011. Facebook has seriously missed its own revenue forecasts of nearly $2 billion for 1st half 2011 by nearly $500 million, or 25 percent. (If this were a public company such as Google just announcing such results, its stock would be dropping dramatically today, perhaps by a third overnight.)”

“Connect the dots and Facebook’s undergoing a loss of momentum, possibly even a decline (it’s happened before to MySpace, and before that to Friendster), and there’s a disconnect between underlying fundamentals and media hype,” Hamadeh added. “Facebook’s ‘$100 billion IPO’ and ‘being bigger than Google’ etc. is not a given, to say the least.”

Facebook’s valuation has been all over the place in the months following the investment at $50 billion. Some look at the growth and see great prospects. Others see a dip in the last few months and think Facebook is doomed. The truth is we can only make predictions on the little data we have. Facebook is going public next year, possibly as soon as Q1 2012. This will open up the financial data floodgates, and then we’ll finally be able to figure out how far the social networking giant will be able to go.

Measuring the success of Ed Tech: Not all about test scores

Sometimes, technology gets thrown at struggling schools as a panacea for a variety of ills with predictably bad results. How should we be measuring those results, though, in the schools that are doing it right?

The New York Times ran a feature on Saturday called “In Classroom of Future, Stagnant Scores”. The article is part of a series called “Grading the Digital School” and asked some tough questions about whether technology in schools can actually improve student achievement. Most significantly, it pointed to the lack of hard data around the quantifiable success of investing in technology-rich schools. While we have a responsibility to ensure that technology is adding value in schools, I’m inclined to believe that the lack of supporting data is the result of poor measures rather than poor results.

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As noted in the article,

Since 2005, scores in reading and math have stagnated in Kyrene [the Arizona school district featured as an example of a technology-rich environment], even as statewide scores have risen.

To be sure, test scores can go up or down for many reasons. But to many education experts, something is not adding up — here and across the country. In a nutshell: schools are spending billions on technology, even as they cut budgets and lay off teachers, with little proof that this approach is improving basic learning.

Let me start by saying that I’ve seen too many technology implementations in schools that add no real educational value, but take a nice dent out of taxpayer wallets. There are plenty of ways to go about making a school “technology-rich” that actually take away from the real business of learning. When rollouts are half-hearted, teachers and parents don’t completely embrace the approach, students and teachers lack accountability, and teachers aren’t provided with the right training and coaching, then schools end up buying a lot of expensive toys. eSchool News recently highlighted schools in New Mexico that are saddled with hefty repair bills and failing, aging, abused computers from their 1:1 efforts.

I am not in the give-everyone-computers-and-watch-them-succeed camp.

However, I wouldn’t be in the business of Ed Tech if I didn’t think that the potential existed for kids to learn in new, engaging ways that prepared them for real-world challenges and managed to better differentiate instruction so that every student could be better served in our public schools. What’s happening in a district like Kyrene where everything seems to be happening the way educational technologists believe it should? Kyrene has solid community investment, good teacher buy-in, and progressive techniques. Why aren’t standardized test scores following?

On counterpoint in the article sounded fairly familiar:

Karen Cator, director of the office of educational technology in the United States Department of Education, said standardized test scores were an inadequate measure of the value of technology in schools. Ms. Cator, a former executive at Apple Computer, said that better measurement tools were needed but, in the meantime, schools knew what students needed.

It would be nice to think that schools know what kids need, but we also need to find ways to measure the more intangible skills that students acquire using technology in relevant and (I believe) powerful ways. We see technology breaking down barriers to collaboration, improving writing and criticism, providing software that differentiates instruction and gives real-time feedback to teachers on student strengths and weaknesses, and allowing teachers to guide students through rich and varied resources. Standardized tests, all too often, measure students’ abilities to take tests.

Some of the best standardized tests get at students’ critical reasoning skills and their ability to tease out abstract concepts from real-world problems. Even these, though, may not be aligned with the way students are learning, particularly in more constructivist settings where technology enables a different kind of creativity. And even in states with tests widely acknowledged as “good”, most students will see short-term bumps when schools teach to the test.

Real learning, the sort that many hope will happen in technology-rich environments, is rare when curricula are closely aligned with test materials. Don’t get me wrong – Alignment is the name of the game and tests should assess what students are learning. Too frequently, though, schools tweak and rework their curricula based on minute analyses of yearly test items. Those schools that delve deeply into subjects may find their scores for the year distinctly lacking, even if their students are richer for the deep dive. Imagine, for example, a school-wide, year-long focus on statistics and data analysis, where students use spreadsheets, scientific probes, online surveys and other tools to really explore the world around them. Invariably, scores relating to measurement, statistics, expository writing, and reporting will improve overall. However, there won’t be time that year to teach 27 other standards in English and math, no matter how many important skills and concepts students take with them.

The tests will also not measure the ability of students to manage projects independently or search the web for research materials, both of which would have been key outcomes of the project-oriented learning I described above.

Yes, we need better tests. And we need data about the real value of tech in the classroom. But more than that, we need research into pedagogy that supports the use of tech in the classroom. We need students to focus on developing portfolios rather than racking up test scores. We need students to know how to tackle a project when they encounter one (and not just Google “statistics” but really manage resources and develop and implement a plan). And we need teachers to not just have a day of professional development before school starts on how to have kids use Google Docs; they need ongoing coaching from experts in the field to ensure that all of these technology investments are adding real value, even if the tests left over from NCLB don’t have the chops to assess that value.

The 10 best IT certifications

Guest post from TechRepublic’s 10 Things blog: IT pros tend to have strong opinions when debating the value of professional certification — and views become even more polarized when it comes down to a discussion of which certs are meaningful. TechRepublic’s Erik Eckel put together a list of the accreditations he believes currently hold value [...]

Guest post from TechRepublic’s 10 Things blog: IT pros tend to have strong opinions when debating the value of professional certification — and views become even more polarized when it comes down to a discussion of which certs are meaningful. TechRepublic’s Erik Eckel put together a list of the accreditations he believes currently hold value for IT pros.

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IT certifications boast numerous benefits. They bolster resumes, encourage higher salaries, and assist in job retention. But which IT certifications are best?

Technology professionals generate much debate over just that question. Many claim vendor-specific programs best measure a candidate’s skills, while others propose vendor-independent exams are the only worthy way of measuring real-world expertise. Still other observers believe the highest-level accreditations — Microsoft’s MCSE or new Architect Series certification, Cisco’s CCIE, etc. — are the only credentials that truly hold value.

Myself, I don’t fully subscribe to any of those mindsets. The best IT certification for you, after all, is likely to be different from that for another technology professional with different education, skills, and goals working at a different company in a different industry. For that reason, when pursuing any professional accreditation, you should give much thought and care to your education, experience, skills, goals, and desired career path.

Once a career road map is in place, selecting a potential certification path becomes much easier. And that’s where this list of the industry’s 10 best IT certifications comes into play. While this list may not include the 10 best accreditations for you, it does catalog 10 IT certifications that possess significant value for a wide range of technology professionals.




#1: MCITP
The new-generation Microsoft Certified IT Professional credential, or MCITP for short, is likely to become the next big Microsoft certification. Available for a variety of fields of expertise — including database developer, database administrator, enterprise messaging administrator, and server administrator — an MCITP validates a professional’s proven job-role capabilities. Candidates must pass several Microsoft exams that track directly to their job role before earning the new designation.

As with Microsoft’s other new-generation accreditations, the MCITP certification will retire when Microsoft suspends mainstream support for the platforms targeted within the MCITP exams. By matching the new certification to popular job roles, as has been done to some extent with CompTIA’s Server+ (server administrator), Project+ (project manager), and A+ (desktop support) certifications, Microsoft has created a new certification that’s certain to prove timely, relevant, and valuable.

#2: MCTS
The new-generation Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) helps IT staff validate skills in installing, maintaining, and troubleshooting a specific Microsoft technology. The MCTS certifications are designed to communicate the skills and expertise a holder possesses on a specific platform.

For example, candidates won’t earn an MCTS on SQL Server 2008. Instead, they’ll earn an MCTS covering SQL Server business intelligence (MCTS: SQL Server 2008 Business Intelligence), database creation (MCTS: SQL Server 2008, Database Development), or SQL server administration (MCTS: SQL Server 2008, Implementation and Maintenance).

These new certifications require passing multiple, tightly targeted exams that focus on specific responsibilities on specific platforms. MCTS designations will expire when Microsoft suspends mainstream support for the corresponding platform. These changes, as with other new-generation Microsoft certifications, add value to the accreditation.

#3: Security+
Security continues to be a critical topic. That’s not going to change. In fact, its importance is only going to grow. One of the quickest ways to lose shareholder value, client confidence, and sales is to suffer a data breach. And no self-respecting technology professional wants to be responsible for such a breach.

CompTIA’s Security+ accreditation provides a respected, vendor-neutral foundation for industry staff (with at least two years of experience) seeking to demonstrate proficiency with security fundamentals. While the Security+ accreditation consists of just a single exam, it could be argued that any IT employee charged with managing client data or other sensitive information should, at a minimum, possess this accreditation. The importance of ensuring staff are properly educated as to systems security, network infrastructure, access control, auditing, and organizational security principles is simply too important to take for granted.

#4: MCPD
There’s more to information technology than just administration, support, and networking. Someone must create and maintain the applications and programs that power organizations. That’s where the new-generation Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD) credential comes into play.

The MCPD accreditation measures a developer’s ability to build and maintain software solutions using Visual Studio 2008 and Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5. Split into three certification paths (Windows Developer 3.5, ASP.NET Developer 3.5, and Enterprise Applications Developer 3.5), the credential targets IT professionals tasked with designing, optimizing, and operating those Microsoft technologies to fulfill business needs.

A redesigned certification aimed at better-measuring real-world skills and expertise, the MCPD will prove important for developers and programmers. Besides requiring candidates to pass several exams, the MCPD certification will retire when Microsoft suspends mainstream support for the corresponding platform. The change is designed to ensure the MCPD certification remains relevant, which is certain to further increase its value.

#5: CCNA
The Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) accreditation captures most of the networking company’s certification glory. But the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) might prove more realistic within many organizations.

In a world in which Microsoft and Linux administrators are also often expected to be networking experts, many companies don’t have the budgets necessary to train (or employ) a CCIE. But even small and midsize corporations can benefit from having their technology professionals earn basic proficiency administering Cisco equipment, as demonstrated by earning a CCNA accreditation.

As smaller companies become increasingly dependent upon remote access technologies, basic Cisco systems skills are bound to become more important. Although many smaller organizations will never have the complexity or workload necessary to keep a CCIE busy, Cisco’s CCNA is a strong accreditation for technology professionals with a few years’ experience seeking to grow and improve their networking skills.

#6: A+
Technology professionals with solid hardware and support skills are becoming tougher to find. There’s not much glory in digging elbow-deep into a desktop box or troubleshooting Windows boot errors. But those skills are essential to keeping companies running.

Adding CompTIA’s A+ certification to a resume tells hiring managers and department heads that you have proven support expertise. Whether an organization requires desktop installation, problem diagnosis, preventive maintenance, or computer or network error troubleshooting, many organizations have found A+-certified technicians to be more productive than their noncertified counterparts.

Changes to the A+ certification, which requires passing multiple exams, are aimed at keeping the popular credential relevant. Basic prerequisite requirements are now followed by testing that covers specific fields of expertise (such as IT, remote support, or depot technician). The accreditation is aimed at those working in desktop support, on help desks, and in the field, and while many of these staffers are new to the industry, the importance of an A+ certification should not be overlooked.

#7: PMP
Some accreditations gain value by targeting specific skills and expertise. The Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is a great example.

The Project Management Institute (PMI), a nonprofit organization that serves as a leading membership association for project management practitioners, maintains the PMP exam. The certification measures a candidate’s project management expertise by validating skills and knowledge required to plan, execute, budget, and lead a technology project. Eligible candidates must have five years of project management experience or three years of project management experience and 35 hours of related education.

As organizations battle tough economic conditions, having proven project scheduling, budgeting, and management skills will only grow in importance. The PMI’s PMP credential is a perfect conduit for demonstrating that expertise on a resume.

#8: MCSE/MCSA
Even years after their introduction, Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) and Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA) credentials remain valuable. But it’s important to avoid interpreting these accreditations as meaning the holders are all-knowing gurus, as that’s usually untrue.

In my mind, the MCSE and MCSA hold value because they demonstrate the holder’s capacity to complete a long and comprehensive education, training, and certification program requiring intensive study. Further, these certifications validate a wide range of relevant expertise (from client and server administration to security issues) on specific, widely used platforms.

Also important is the fact that these certifications tend to indicate holders have been working within the technology field for a long time. There’s no substitute for actual hands-on experience. Many MCSEs and MCSAs hold their certifications on Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 platforms, meaning they’ve been working within the industry for many years. While these certifications will be replaced by Microsoft’s new-generation credentials, they remain an important measure of foundational skills on Windows platforms.

#9: CISSP
As mentioned with the Security+ accreditation earlier, security is only going to grow in importance. Whatever an organization’s mission, product, or service, security is paramount.

(ISC)², which administers the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) accreditation, has done well building a respected, vendor-neutral security certification. Designed for industry pros with at least five years of full-time experience, and accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the CISSP is internationally recognized for validating a candidate’s expertise with operations and network and physical security, as well as their ability to manage risk and understand legal compliance responsibilities and other security-related elements.

#10: Linux+
While pursuing my first Microsoft certification 10 years ago, I remember debating the importance of Linux with several telecommunications technicians. They mocked the investment I was making in learning Microsoft technologies. These techs were confident Linux was going to displace Windows.

Well, didn’t happen. Linux continues to make inroads, though. The open source alternative is an important platform. Those professionals who have Linux expertise and want to formalize that skill set will do well adding CompTIA’s Linux+ certification to their resumes.

The vendor-neutral exam, which validates basic Linux client and server skills, is designed for professionals with at least six to 12 months of hands-on Linux experience. In addition to being vendor-neutral, the exam is also distribution neutral (meaning the skills it covers work well whether a candidate is administering Red Hat, SUSE, or Ubuntu systems).

Let the debate begin
Technology professionals almost always have strong reactions when debating certification’s value. Listing the top 10 certifications leaves room, of course, for only 10 credentials. That means many favorite and popular designations, such as HIPAA and Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) certifications, have been necessarily omitted. Other important accreditations, including those for VoIP providers and from PC manufacturers, Red Hat, and even Apple, have also been left out here.

Quotations from Chairman Steve

A mosaic of Apple leader Steve Jobs' on-the-record opinions and musings

Apple's former CEO, and now chairman, Steve Jobs does not think in sound bites. Reading through the wealth of interviews in his career, one is conscious of a mind working through both questions and answers, and taking little for granted.

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Herewith, a collection of the on-the-record ruminations of now Chairman Steve on Apple's core talents, being fired, the new CEO, music, optimism, technology, death and more. (Links to the sources are at the end.)
On Apple's core talents and future products

Apple has a core set of talents, and those talents are: We do, I think, very good hardware design; we do very good industrial design; and we write very good system and application software. And we're really good at packaging that all together into a product. We're the only people left in the computer industry that do that. And we're really the only people in the consumer-electronics industry that go deep in software in consumer products. So those talents can be used to make personal computers, and they can also be used to make things like iPods. And we're doing both, and we'll find out what the future holds. -- Rolling Stone, 2003
On Tim Cook, now Apple's CEO per Jobs' recommendation

Not everyone knows it, but three months after I came back to Apple, my chief operating guy quit. I couldn't find anyone internally or elsewhere that knew as much as he did, or as I did. So I did that job for nine months before I found someone I saw eye-to-eye with, and that was Tim Cook. And he has been here ever since. -- Businessweek, 2004

BACKGROUND: Steve Jobs: "I hereby resign as CEO of Apple"
On being a Silicon Valley celebrity

I think of it as my well-known twin brother. It's not me. Because otherwise, you go crazy. You read some negative article some idiot writes about you -- you just can't take it too personally. But then that teaches you not to take the really great ones too personally either. People like symbols, and they write about symbols. -- Rolling Stone, 1994
On "design"

Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it's really how it works. The design of the Mac wasn't what it looked like, although that was part of it. Primarily, it was how it worked. To design something really well, you have to get it. You have to really grok what it's all about. It takes a passionate commitment to really thoroughly understand something, chew it up, not just quickly swallow it. Most people don't take the time to do that. -- Wired, February 1996
On buying washers and dryers

We spent some time in our family talking about what's the trade-off we want to make. We ended up talking a lot about design, but also about the values of our family. Did we care most about getting our wash done in an hour versus an hour and a half? Or did we care most about our clothes feeling really soft and lasting longer? Did we care about using a quarter of the water? We spent about two weeks talking about this every night at the dinner table. We'd get around to that old washer-dryer discussion. And the talk was about design.

Browsing and Privacy: How to Not Get Tracked
All modern browsers have built-in tools and add-ons to protect users from having their Web behavior tracked. But regardless, some sites still find ways to track you. Here are tips for taking matters into your own hands.CIO — If you're old enough to remember the Cold War, you know what an arms race is. One side comes up with a new weapon, the other side matches it, and then the first comes back with something even bigger and so on and so on. That also describes the ongoing battle between computer users who value their privacy and the Web sites and their advertisers that don't.

Clearing the cache is easy: In Firefox, go to "tools," then "clear recent history." In Internet Explorer 9, go to "tools" and "safety," then "delete browsing history." In Chrome, go to settings and then "under the hood." Then click "clear browsing data."

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But remember. We're talking arms race here. The UC Berkeley report also talks about a nasty technique called "respawning," which means just what it sounds like: The cookie recreates itself. These are hard to defeat. One way is to block any caching at all, but as I mentioned, not having a cache will slow your browser down.

There are two Firefox add-ons that are probably helpful, but I haven't had a chance to try them yet. One is called SafeCache, which doesn't yet work with Firefox 6 and RequestPolicy, which does work with Firefox 6.
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RequestPolicy blocks what are called "cross-site requests," which means that a site you're visiting requests data about a site you've visited in the past. That's important information for advertisers and for Web sites that want to know where people are coming from.

But you may think that's intrusive, which is why you may want to use RequestPolicy. (Note: This add-on is probably not suitable for you if you're not comfortable digging under the hood of a browser and making changes.) If other browsers have similar add-ons, I haven't heard of them.

Lastly, let's go over the basic defenses you can use against the most common and less sophisticated tracking techniques.

All of the major browsers have some built-in defenses. The first is called private browsing, which stops your browser from making note of where you've been in its history file. That's worth doing if you're visiting sites that you don't want other users of that computer to know you've visited. It's very easy to turn on private browsing; in Firefox for example, simply click the "Firefox" button and select private browsing. IE 9 has an option called "inPrivate" browsing you can find on the tools tab and Chrome has incognito mode.

But private browsing isn't necessarily all that private. MCITP Online Training – Free MCTS Training – In addition to the super cookie issue, some of the extensions you might add to those browsers can reduce their effectiveness. Still, it's certainly worth using private browsing modes if you're concerned about tracking. You can also check a box that says something like "tell Web sites I don't want to be tracked", and as you'd expect, some Web sites will honor that and others won't.

Finally, drill down. Each of the three major browsers has quite a few settings involving privacy, and it's worth a few extra clicks to check them out.

Whatever Happened to Microsoft Forefront Endpoint Protection?

Will this once promising product go the way of the Zune?

Back in 2007, Microsoft shook the security world when it entered the endpoint security market with what was then called Forefront Client Security (now Microsoft Forefront Endpoint Protection). Forefront was positioned as the endpoint security market for the commercial market while its sister product, OneCare, was aimed at the consumer market. This created a market fire storm, especially at companies like McAfee, Symantec, and Trend Micro that depended on PC security for the bulk of their 2007 revenue. The industry wondered, "would these powerful security companies get Netscaped?

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Microsoft was pretty bullish about its announcement. When Forefront was announced, Bob Muglia, who was VP of Microsoft's server and tools business stated, "we think that this product will provide a level of integration and simplicity that really differentiates it, and really enables a different kind of solution." Microsoft wasn't alone in its expectations. Here at ESG, we had just done some market research revealing that: 1) Most security professionals looked at endpoint as a commodity product, and 2) They were already evaluating Forefront or were willing to do so. In other words, the market was open to Microsoft -- all it had to do was execute and beat the competition on price.

Fast forward to 2011 and Forefront seems like a blip on the endpoint security radar screen. I regularly speak with McAfee, Symantec, Trend and others who rarely if ever mention Microsoft as a primary competitor. From 2007 through 2009, Microsoft briefed me on Forefront progress and plans but then the company re-organized in 2010 and almost all communications stopped. Wondering if it was me, I reached out to some analyst friends to see if Microsoft continues to discuss Forefront with others. I got a consistent response, "not really."

So what happened? Here's a few of my thoughts:

1. Forefront did have momentum out of the gate in 2007 but it faced a few obstacles. First, there is the traditional view that Microsoft products don't hit their stride until Rev 3.0, so customers were willing to wait. More importantly, we are talking about security professionals who are paid to be paranoid. Microsoft would have to work hard to get the benefit of the doubt from this tough crowd.

2. Microsoft tried to make endpoint security an economic rather than an IT issue but putting Forefront on its Enterprise Client Access License (ECAL) which made the product virtually free to companies that bought a bundle of client licenses for Exchange, Sharepoint, etc. It was an "all or nothing deal" whereby you had to buy client licenses for all desktops. From my perspective, Microsoft didn't win many ECAL Forefront deals but did alienate security professionals by pulling the "end around."

3. Forefront management required a number of other pieces of Microsoft infrastructure (Microsoft Operations Manager, SQL Server, ActiveDirectory, etc.). Security professionals were used to more turnkey endpoint security management platforms.

4. Microsoft stopped selling OneCare in the consumer market. Although it replaced OneCare with Microsoft Security Essentials (a free alternative) many people were spooked by this change of plans. With Microsoft out of the consumer market, why would it stick around the commercial market?

5. Microsoft Forefront "Stirling," the next-generation product was delayed by several years.

6. Microsoft re-organized and cut back its Forefront marketing.

7. On average, Forefront was a "B" player in most independent security product testing. Most recently, Microsoft Forefront was characterized as a "niche" product in the Gartner Magic Quadrant.

Most likely there was sub-plot to these issues on the sales side of the house. Microsoft reps and channel partners didn't see much ROI on Forefront sales efforts so they simply stopped selling the product to concentrate on others that were easier to sell.

So the supply side (Microsoft corporate, sales, the channel) slowly backed off while the demand side never really caught on.

I know that Microsoft Forefront endpoint protection 2012 is currently in Beta test. I'm sure the product is superior to the current offering but will it really turn the market and channel around? Given the 4-year track record of Forefront, I doubt it.

Ultimately, Microsoft has to ask itself a difficult but necessary question: Given our limited success, is it worth continuing to invest in this market? Microsoft did this with the Zune music player, perhaps its time to make a similar decision with Forefront.

Inspector Gadgets: Windows 7 Gadgets for Monitoring Your PC

It's been nearly two years since Windows 7 was released, and yet there are still some features that Windows 7 users may not be taking full advantage of -- such as desktop gadgets. Similar to the Mac's Dashboard Widgets, Windows desktop gadgets are mini-applications that reside on your desktop and can display live data, perform simple functions like search or password generation, or give you a sneak peek inside the inner workings of your PC.

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The center of attention, however, is its temperature readings: Core Temp shows how hot it is inside your processor in surprising detail. The gadget displayed not only the temperature in each of my processor's four cores, but graphed them in a line plot. It's excellent information for trying to troubleshoot an intermittent overheating problem.

On top of adjusting the size of the gadget, you can change what information to show, the colors to use and how the graphs are set up. The gadget works with recent AMD and Intel processors, although some Phenom and Phenom II chips have a single temperature sensor and provide only one reading for the entire chip.

In the event that your system does start to overheat, Core Temp has your back. It will display "(!)" next to the temperature reading, open a pop-up warning and even start shutting the system down if you want it to.

Think of it as free insurance for your computer.

Download Core Temp Gadget (389KB)

Process watch

Top Process Monitor

Inside a PC there are thousands of individual software processes running, including those that interact with your computer's CPU, RAM and hard drive. The fabric of a working computer is the sum of these processes.

Top Process Monitor gadget

Use Top Process Monitor to keep an eye on software processes that are using lots of system resources.

The Top Process Monitor gadget acts as your PC's greatest hits chart, showing which processes are using your computer's resources the most. It can show the top processes for various operations including CPU use, memory use, virtual memory use, input-output operations and drive reads and writes.

You can also choose to view any individual process along with its usage data, or have the gadget cycle through any group of them. It's the ultimate snoop to see what's going on inside your computer.

On top of letting you adjust the size of the gadget, Version 2.5 of Top Process Monitor lets you choose which type of operations to display and customize the number of individual processes to show (up to 20) and the colors used.

A nice touch is that Top Process Monitor lets you set a threshold for the amount of system resources any process uses. If it's exceeded, the software gives you a warning. It's a great help if, for example, a sloppy program is using too much virtual memory.

Download Top Process Monitor (139KB)

Connection info

Network Meter

Having connectivity problems? The Network Meter gadget can help you keep an eye on your connections.

IBM: The PC is the new mainframe

PC dead in terms of innovation, but not profit
"The PC is dead!" We've heard that message a lot since the birth of Apple's iPad, but when one of the creators of IBM's first PC added his voice to the chorus, people took notice.

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On last week's 30th anniversary of the IBM PC running Microsoft's MS-DOS, IBM CTO and PC co-designer Mark Dean said PCs are "going the way of the vacuum tube, typewriter, vinyl records, CRT and incandescent light bulbs."

IN PICTURES: Evolution of the PC

While that seems a bit far-fetched, or at least premature, Network World was able to get a second opinion from another IBM luminary during this week's LinuxCon event in Vancouver, British Columbia. Irving Wladawsky-Berger, a 41-year veteran of IBM and one of Linux's biggest champions at Big Blue, said he agrees that the PC is dead -- but only in the same sense that the mainframe is dead.

The mainframe still makes tons of cash for IBM, but it's no longer the center of innovation. IBM sold off its PC business in 2005, but the PC does and will continue to make tons of cash for other companies, even though it will no longer be the center of innovation, Wladawsky-Berger said during an interview.

"I've thought a lot about it, and it depends what you mean by dead," he said. "This is very important. If you ask me, 'Are mainframes dead?' I would say, well we just announced the new z10 last year, and look at IBM's earnings. For a dead product it's making a lot of money. However, if you ask me, 'Are the mainframes the center of innovation for the IT industry?' I would say that would be lovely but we lost that years ago, at least in the late '80s when client-servers came in."

IBM ditched its own PC business -- a move HP is making as well -- in part because it saw that the PC was becoming a legacy platform, Wladawsky-Berger said.

"We saw this coming, that PCs would become more of a legacy platform where you can still make tons of money but the bulk of the innovation will now happen in the mobile platforms, smartphones and tablets and things like that," he said. Luckily, the advances in mobile platforms could apply to PCs and improve them.

"As happened with mainframes, you can integrate those innovations back into the legacy platforms," he said. "Mainframes run Java, mainframes run Linux, mainframes became IP-enabled."

HP said "the tablet effect is real" in explaining its willingness to leave the PC business.

Still, Wladawsky-Berger said there's no reason to feel sorry for Microsoft. "[Microsoft] will continue to be a gigantic cash generation machine for many years to come. It's just not dominant," he said.

Facebook investor Roger McNamee recently claimed that Microsoft's share of Internet-connected devices has gone from 95% to less than 50% in the last three years, as reported by Business Insider and others.

LinuxCon speaker Allison Randal, the technical architect of Ubuntu, brought up this claim in her talk and noted that it's not really clear if McNamee's math would survive serious scrutiny. But the proliferation of smartphones and tablets that don't run Windows certainly has lowered Microsoft's share of devices capable of surfing the Web.

Free 70-620 Exams

This is demo only, this pdf do not include the questions and answers pictures
Exam : Microsoft 70-620
Title : TS: Configuring Windows Vista Client
1. Your computer runs Microsoft Windows XP Professional. The computer has the following hardware configuration:
·512 MB of RAM
·1-GHz processor
·60-GB hard disk
·15 GB of free space
·64-MB video adapter.
You perform a clean install of Microsoft Windows Vista.
You need to ensure that Microsoft Windows Aero Experience is supported.
What should you do?
A. Upgrade the memory to 1 GB of RAM.
B. Upgrade the hard disk to 120 GB with 40 GB of free space.
C. Install a video adapter that has 128 MB of RAM, support for Microsoft DirectX 9, and Microsoft Pixel Shader 2.0.
D. Install a video adapter that has 128 MB of RAM, support for Microsoft Scalable Link Interface (SLI) and Microsoft Pixel Shader 2.0.

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Answer: C
2. You install Microsoft Windows Vista on a new computer that is not connected to the Internet.
After you log on, you receive a warning message about an unknown device.
You need to prevent the display of the warning message until you download an available hardware driver.
What are the two possible ways to achieve this goal? (Each correct answer presents a complete solution. Choose two.)
A. Disable the device.
B. Uninstall the device.
C. Select the Ask me again later option from the warning message details.
D. Select the Don't show this message again for this device option from the warning message details.
Answer: AD
3. You have a computer that runs Microsoft Windows XP. The computer has a custom application installed.
You plan to upgrade the Windows XP computer to Windows Vista.
You need to identify whether User Account Control (UAC) will allow the custom application to run without requiring elevated privileges.
What should you do?
A. Insert the Windows Vista installation media and run mighost.exe.
B. Insert the Windows Vista installation media and run setup.exe /unattended:unattend.xml.
C. Install Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0 and run the Setup Analysis Tool.
D. Install Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0 and run the Standard User Analyzer.
Answer: D
4. You set up Really Simple Syndication (RSS) subscription feeds on your computer.
You need to view the RSS subscription feed in XML format.
What should you do?
A. Disable the Turn on feed reading view option.
B. Enable the Always use Clear Type for HTML option.
C. Configure the RSS feed to be sent to your e-mail client.
D. Enable the Automatically download attached files option.
Answer: A
5. You perform a clean installation of Microsoft Windows Vista on the first partition. Then, you install Microsoft Windows XP Professional
on the second partition of the same machine.
You are able to log on to Windows XP Professional but do not have the option to boot to Windows Vista.
You need to be able to dual boot the computer.
What should you do?
A. Run the bootcfg.exe application with the /fastdetect option.
B. Perform a clean installation of Windows Vista on the first partition.
C. Run the msconfig.exe application and change the order of the operating systems in the boot.ini file.
D. Edit the boot.ini file. Add the following line:
Multi(0)Disk(0)Rdisk(0)Partition(1)Microsoft Windows
Answer: B
6. Your computer fails to produce any audio output. The Device Manager management console is as shown in the following exhibit. (Click
the Exhibit button.)
You need to receive audio output from your computer.
What should you do?
A. Enable the audio hardware.
B. Initiate a Microsoft Windows Update scan.
C. Update the driver for the audio hardware.
D. Download and run the latest installation program for the audio hardware from the manufacturer.
Answer: A
7. You have a computer that runs Windows Vista.
You upgrade the network adapter driver on the computer.
After the upgrade, you can no longer access network resources. You open Device Manager and see a warning symbol next to the network
adapter.
You need to restore access to network resources.
What should you do?
A. Roll back the network adapter driver.
B. Assign a static IP address to the network adapter.
C. Disable the network adapter and scan for hardware changes.
D. Uninstall the network adapter and scan for hardware changes.
Answer: A
8. You have a computer that runs Windows Vista Ultimate.
You open the Windows System Performance Rating tool and receive a Windows Experience Index base score of 1.0. The subscores are
as follows:
·Processor: 4.7
·Memory (RAM): 3.6
·Graphics: 1.0
·Gaming Graphics: 1.0
·Primary Hard Disk: 3.0
You upgrade your video adapter card with a new card that meets the minimum requirements for Windows Aero.
You open the System Performance and Rating tool and notice the base score and subscores have not changed.
You need to enable Windows Aero.
What should you do?
A. Install additional RAM.
B. Install the latest version of DirectX.
C. Update your Windows Experience Index score.
D. Install a USB flash drive and enable Windows ReadyBoost.
Answer: C
9. You install Windows Vista on a new computer. You update the video card driver and restart the computer.
When you start the computer, the screen flickers and then goes blank. You restart the computer and receive the same result.
You need to configure the video card driver.
What should you do first?
A. Restart the computer in safe mode.
B. Restart the computer in debugging mode.
C. Restart the computer in low-resolution video mode.
D. Insert the Windows Vista installation media into the computer, restart, and use System Recovery to perform a startup repair.
Answer: A
10. You configure a subscription to a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed that often includes large videos.
You need to minimize delay while watching the videos.
What should you do?
A. Configure the RSS feed to download attached files.
B. Configure the RSS feed to retain the most recent items.
C. Enable the Turn on feed reading view option of the RSS feed.
D. Enable the Automatically mark feed as read when reading a feed option of the RSS feed.
Answer: A

70-620 Online Exam Training

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The Real MCTS/MCITP Exam 70-620 Prep Kit

This exam is designed to validate proficieny supporting Windows Vista client. This IT Exams will fulfill the Windows Vista Technology Specialist requirements of 70-620 Exam.

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The Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) on Windows Vista credential is intended for information technology (IT) professionals who work in the complex computing environment of medium to large companies. The MCTS candidate should have at least one year of experience in Tier 1 or Tier 2 phone support in an upper midsize organization or enterprise environment.
MCTS candidates should have experience resolving issues concerning network connectivity, desktop operating systems, security, and applications. Their experience should also include addressing logon problems, performing password resets, and resolving most issues with desktop applications.

* Designed to help study for and pass this important MCTS exam on the Vista operating system on the way to MCITP status
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70-620, the required exam for the new Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS): Windows Vista Client certification. There are 2-in-1 kit includes the official Microsoft?? study guide, plus practice tests on CD to help you assess your skills. It comes packed with the tools and features that exam candidates want most--including in-depth, self-paced training based on final exam content; rigorous, objective-by-objective review; free certification exam questions, exam-certified authors; and customizable testing options. It also provides real-world scenarios, case study examples, and troubleshooting labs for skills and expertise that you can apply to the job.

To get MCTS: Windows Vista, Configuration certification, you have to take just one mandatory core test (70-620).

A Brief Glimpse Of The MCTS Certification

I think many people really do not understand MCTS clearly, today, let's take a brief look at MCTS. Career opportunity and advancement in the IT field is often predicated on the amount of experience you have in a given discipline, combined with your breadth of knowledge with regards to specific software applications. And to prove that you have acquired this knowledge, there is no better instrument to use than the certification process. Much like a degree from a college or university acts as a symbol of your overall scholastic accomplishments; a certification is a representation of proficiency in a smaller, more specialized sphere of knowledge.

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Microsoft offers many specific certifications for IT professionals, all of which fall under the umbrella known as the Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist, or MCTS. With MCTS certification you are given the opportunity to demonstrate your proficiency for a specific Microsoft technology, such as a working knowledge of Windows Server 2003 or Visual Basic, or you can earn multiple certifications to validate your skill set across a wide range of Microsoft products. Eventually, you can even build upon your MCTS certification to earn the all-encompassing certification known as the MCITP, or Microsoft Certified IT Professional.

The MCTS certification process is fairly straightforward. Once you feel you have acquired the necessary skills and logged enough experience using a specific product, you can attempt to be certified by taking the requisite exam (or exams) which are used by Microsoft to test for proficiency. When you have passed the required exams, Microsoft will issue your certification.

Possessing MCTS certification makes you significantly more appealing as an employment candidate-more so, for example, than an individual with only dated college coursework as the highlight of his or her resume. This is because MCTS certifications are constantly being updated to reflect current and emerging IT solutions, ensuring that every product and skill you master is 100% relevant to the job you'll be asked to perform.

Microsoft Windows 8: 10 Reasons It Will Shatter Windows 7

Microsoft’s Windows 8 likely won’t be available until next year, but based on what’s known so far, the operating system could very well be better than Windows 7.

Microsoft Windows 8: 10 Reasons It Will Shatter Windows 7 - Reasons Windows 8 Will Best Windows 7

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5. Instant-on is what’s needed.

One of the biggest issues some users have with Windows is that it can take a long time to boot up the operating system. According to recent rumors, the software giant is working on a solution for that that could deliver near-instant-on functionality. It might not seem major, but considering how annoying it can be to wait for Windows to boot up, having much faster startup times sounds awfully nice.

6. It might be more suitable for tablets.

Microsoft has been saying for years now that its operating system is ready for tablets. But as vendors have shown, they’re more likely to invest in an Android-based tablet than try their luck with Windows 7. Thanks to support for ARM-based devices, and the likelihood that Microsoft is working hard on making Windows 8 more tablet-friendly, consumers should expect many more mobile devices running the software giant’s next OS.

7. Better power consumption

One of the issues with Windows 7 is that it doesn’t deliver the kind of efficient functionality that consumers and especially enterprise customers are after. However, leaks surrounding Windows 8 development suggest that Microsoft is working on a vastly improved power-saving feature in its operating system that should drastically improve battery life on mobile devices running the software. If that’s true, there will be many happy customers out there.

8. What’s with History Vault?

Windows 8 might have a new feature, called “History Vault.” According to Winrumors, the feature is similar to Apple’s Time Machine, which provides a simple backup interface to users of Mac OS X. Microsoft’s option will let users restore individual file, edit old documents and much more. Microsoft hasn’t confirmed the feature, but if a robust backup utility like that comes to Windows, it would be quite nice.

9. A better interface

Windows 7 comes with a solid user interface that doesn’t take much time to get used to after coming off Windows XP. And although Microsoft hasn’t said much about its upcoming operating system, it’s becoming clearer that Windows 8 will feature a similar interface. However, this time around, those who follow Microsoft believe the interface will be a bit more streamlined and slightly easier to use. If Microsoft can follow through on that, it might just have a winner on its hands.

10. Microsoft’s lesson learned

Aside from the operating system itself, Windows 8 will likely be better than Windows 7 for one main reason: Microsoft doesn’t want to repeat the embarrassment of Windows Vista. Microsoft’s last operating system before Windows 7 was a nightmare for the company. The software giant became complacent and thought it could coast, but instead failed miserably. The result was a loss of trust from vendors, customers, and investors. It was a bad time for Microsoft, and the company doesn’t want to relive it. So expect the company to do something special with Windows 8. At this point, it has no other choice but to deliver an even better operating system.

4 reasons Windows Phone 7 will beat iPhone and Android

And three reasons it won't

Microsoft has a relatively long history with mobile operating systems, stretching back to the mid-1990s and Windows CE. Developed originally for "embedded systems," Windows CE quickly found its way into PDAs and eventually phones, and while consumers never warmed to the platform, it did achieve a level of success in the enterprise.

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4. Will: Moving beyond tablets and smartphones

Tablets and smartphones are all the rage today, but neither became popular overnight. Who knows what devices will catch fire in coming years?

Chris Fleck of Citrix believes that Microsoft should do its best to bring new classes of mobile devices to market. "The Windows Phone hardware today is good enough to use but not innovative enough to prompt users to change," he says. "A smartphone was a phone plus a PDA. Now, there's an opportunity to develop 'Nirvana phones.' Take the phone and do more with it. Dock it. Connect it to virtual desktops. Connect it to high-resolution video displays."

Of course, such devices exist today — the Android-based Motorola Atrix being the best example — but they're not really capturing consumers' attention yet. As prices come down, that should change, perhaps giving Microsoft just enough time to work on its vision for the so-called "Nirvana phone" before competitors beat them to the mobile punch yet again.

1. Won't: Apple and Android's head start

Windows Phone 7 just came out last fall, meaning that iPhone and Android are generations ahead of Microsoft. Making matters worse, Microsoft has been lollygagging when it comes to updates, which are crucial as Microsoft plays catch-up.

"I would prefer to see much more frequent updates, rather than one big dump. As opposed to 500 updates per year, all coming at once, how about 40 each month?" says Philippe Winthrop, managing director of The Enterprise Mobility Foundation.

The second-generation of the Windows Phone 7 OS, Mango, was released to developers in May, but Mango-based phones won't be out until the end of this year. Meanwhile, iOS 5 phones are due out in the fall, meaning that Apple will have gone from the original iPhone to iOS 5 in less than four years.

Google hasn't been sitting on its hands either. The first Android phone came out in the fall of 2008, and Android Ice Cream Sandwich is due out at the end of this year. Moreover, Ice Cream Sandwich is intended to assuage one of Android's biggest drawbacks, OS fragmentation. Ice Cream Sandwich combines features from Gingerbread (for smartphones) and Honeycomb (for tablets) and will standardize updates across devices from various manufacturers, leading to a more consistent user experience.

2. Won't: The rate of change in the mobile market

Microsoft is accustomed to the slower rate of change of the PC market. Wait a few years between major OS upgrades? With PCs, it made sense.

With handsets, consumers expect a major OS upgrade or two during the short life cycle of the device, and many gadget hounds don't even wait for the carrier contracts to expire before they get a new mobile phone.

Even those who wait tend to replace phones around the time they sign a new contract, cashing in on handset subsidies. According to Recon Analytics, the average replacement cycle in the U.S. is just less than 22 months.

Not all of those users simply replace the handset with another from the same vendor, nor do they always stay loyal to carriers. According to MetaFacts, the churn rate for smartphone users is higher than it was for feature phones, with 21% of consumers planning to shop around when their contracts are up.

Of course, this means that Microsoft has more opportunities to entice users to change platforms. Compelling device subsidies, product tie-ins with, say, Xbox or Kinect, or even being the first vendor to add some new feature that no one is thinking about today could shift things in Windows Phone's favor quickly.

But once users switch over to Windows Phone, will Microsoft be able to keep them? Other platforms, including the PC and even game consoles, require enough upfront investment that people stick with them for a reasonable amount of time. Will Microsoft adapt to how consumers make choices and develop loyalty, especially when a critical partner - the carriers - tends to rank low on customer-satisfaction surveys?

3. Won't: Apps and marketplace

The iPhone App Store currently offers over 500,000 apps: double the number available in the Android Market. Windows Phone lags far, far behind with about 20,000 available apps. Even BlackBerry, often left out of any discussions about the future of smartphones, provides 25,000 apps.

Of course, size isn't everything in an app store. Certain demographics will favor Android simply because it delivers a larger percentage of free apps.

According to Chris Fleck, vice president of mobility solutions at Citrix Systems, it's also important to remember that apps are a secondary, often even tertiary, activity on smartphones. "What's the No.1 thing people spend time on with smartphones? Email," he says.

Despite the popularity of apps, there are three or four common activities that capture the bulk of our attention. Email, texting, Web search, and of course, let's not forget that these things are phones, or something people are buying to actually talk on.

Windows Phone has a long way to go to compete with apps, but simply offering good voice, email and search goes a long way towards leveling the playing field.

Hackers Break Into 70 Law Enforcement Websites

Those hackers calling themselves Anonymous are at it again, this time breaking into 70 law enforcement websites and spreading 10GB of email addresses and confidential credit card data.

Members of the group said they were hacking into the law enforcement websites, most located in the Southern and Central portions of the U.S., in retaliation for arrests of its members in the U.S. and Europe last month. According to the Associated Press, the group said in a statement:

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“We are releasing a massive amount of confidential information that is sure to (embarrass), discredit and incriminate police officers across the US,” adding that it hoped the leak would “demonstrate the inherently corrupt nature of law enforcement using their own words” and “disrupt and sabotage their ability to communicate and terrorize communities.”

The group was apparently following through on a joint statement it issued last month along with members of another hacking group known as LulzSec:

“These governments and corporations are our enemy,” the statement said. “And we will continue to fight them, with all methods we have at our disposal, and that certainly includes breaking into their websites and exposing their lies.”

Anonymous and others have become significantly more successful at breaking into websites in the past few months, targeting such sites as PayPal, the CIA, the U.S. Senate’s site, Sony’s PlayStation Network and Rupert Murdoch’s Sun newspaper.

What is it going to take to stop these criminals?

Oracle Launches Java 7 as Innovation Sprouts From the Community, Others

Oracle will release Java 7 on July 28 with a host of incremental enhancements to make life easier for developers. Meanwhile, Java innovation continues outside Oracle.

Oracle Launches Java 7 as Innovation Sprouts From the Community, Others
( Page 1 of 2 )

With the theme of moving Java forward, Oracle will launch the latest version of Java—Java 7—on July 28.

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Ironically, although Java 7 is the first major Java revision in about five years, the changes in the language and platform are more evolutionary than revolutionary, Java experts say—including Mark Reinhold, chief architect of the Java Platform group at Oracle.

Yet the new moves are welcome by Java developers the world over, as Oracle demonstrated in a Webcast that ran more than four hours. “Java 7 is the most anticipated release ever,” said Bruno Souza, president of SOUJava, a Brazilian Java User Group.

In essence, Java is movin’ on up, but perhaps more in the mode of The Jeffersons’ George and Weezie as opposed to the more revolutionary moving up Curtis Mayfield & the Impressions touted in “We’re a Winner.”

Progressing the language became difficult as Java was plagued by political and market unrest, first at Sun and then at Oracle after its acquisition of Sun. The Java Community Process, which governs the progress of Java, was rife with infighting and accusations of favoritism by Sun and then Oracle. And “Moving Java Forward” became a mantra at Oracle, as if to say, "It’s ours now and we’re going to take it forward no matter what."

“Java 7 is the release everybody has been waiting for, for quite a long time,” said Ben Evans of the London Java Community. Evans, who also is the LJC’s representative on the Java SE/EE (Java Standard Edition/Enterprise Edition) Executive Committee, added that Java 7 is “an enabler” that will give developers more options for building better Java applications—particularly in London’s financial sector, which relies heavily on Java apps, he said.

“The most significant thing is the fact that we’re shipping,” Reinhold said. “It’s been almost five years.”

Meanwhile, Adam Messinger, vice president of product development at Oracle, said Java has been at Oracle for 18 months since the company acquired Sun and Java is in good hands. Acknowledging that Oracle is “standing on the shoulders of giants” with Java, Messinger noted that Oracle is investing heavily in Java by putting together “the largest team ever” to work on the language and platform by combining the HotSpot and JRockit teams. Messinger also said Oracle is working to continue to build out the Java community and has moved to make the JCP (Java Community Process) more open.

“Java is strategic to Oracle; we’ve got skin in the game just like all of you do,” Messinger said to an audience of Java developers during Oracle’s Webcast.

Java 7 brings several new features to the platform, including Project Coin, also known as Java Specification Request 334: Small language enhancements. The project consists of a set of small language changes intended to simplify common, day-to-day programming tasks. The Project Coin language changes enhance developer productivity and reduce the amount of code needed to do certain tasks. Key Project Coin features include the diamond operator, try-with-resources and strings in switch.

With the new InvokeDynamic feature, Oracle has enhanced support for dynamic languages such as Ruby, Python and JavaScript to run on the JVM (Java Virtual Machine). InvokeDynamic enables these languages to run with greater performance on the JVM.

Alex Buckley of the Java Platform Group at Oracle said Java 7 represents “the first time we see the JVM set its own course.”

The JVM was obviously designed for Java, and “all the invocation modes are organized around Java semantics,” said John Rose, an Oracle engineer who headed up the InvokeDynamic effort. “But we add one more mode for other languages,” he said. InvokeDynamic adds “low-level support and a stronger undergirding for other language features” on the JVM.

JDK (Java Development Kit) 7 also features a new API for parallel programming or building applications for multicore systems. The new Fork/Join Framework enables developers to break down problems into subtasks that can be executed in parallel across a number of processors. And Java 7 also adds a new I/O for working with different file systems, new networking and security features, and backward compatibility with other versions of the platform.

Meanwhile, from an industry observer’s perspective, Al Hilwa, an analyst with IDC, said:

“The three big things from a feature perspective here is the multicore support with Fork/Join, the support for dynamic languages and the new file-system API. All these have been on the drawing board for some time, so it is great for Java developers to finally see them happen. One important message that comes through from all that has transpired around Java over the last year and a half is that Oracle appreciates the value of Java and will move it forward through solid investment. This has to be a great relief for the community.”

Support for dynamic languages also resonated with Mik Kersten, CEO of Tasktop Technologies and creator of the open-source Mylyn project. However, Kersten said he believes the bulk of the updates coming in Java 7 are too incremental for most developers to get excited about. Yet, this is a positive indicator of Java’s dominance in the enterprise, which demands slow and steady change, he said.

However, “What is noteworthy is the changes in Java 7 that embrace innovations beyond the Java language,” Kersten said. “The ‘invokedynamic’ instruction promises dramatic performance improvements for dynamic languages like Groovy and JRuby. The new Fork/Join framework will help the implementation of functional languages including Clojure and Scala. Where a decade ago we had to jump through major hoops to create AspectJ on top of the JVM, these new Java 7 features will help the JVM continue to establish itself as the leading runtime for programming language innovation.”

Cisco CCNA Certification Training

The Cisco Certified Network Associate or CCNA certification is Cisco's most popular credential. As an Associate, or entry-level certificate, the CCNA is a common prerequisite for more advanced professional credentials.

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According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employers increasingly prefer to hire certified professionals, so CCNA certification can boost one's overall employment potential, not to mention salary. BLS data shows that the mean wage for network administrators in 2009 was $70,930. According to Global Knowledge's IT Skills and Salary Report, however, the mean wage for CCNA professionals in 2011 was $79,536, an improvement that far outpaces growth attributed to inflation.
Who should consider CCNA certification?

The CCNA cert is designed for either entry-level networking pros or for more advanced professionals who must earn CCNA certification before pursuing more advanced credentials. CCNA certified professionals are often sought out by mid-sized corporations of virtually any industry that rely on secure networks to maintain company operations and communications.
What will CCNA candidates learn?

According to Cisco, the CCNA certification validates one's ability to install, operate and troubleshoot medium-size route and switched networks. This also includes the implementation and verification of connections to remote sites in a WAN. In order to meet these requirements, Cisco's curriculum touches upon the following areas:

* Basic mitigation of security threats
* Entry-level wireless networking concepts and terminology
* Performance-based skills
* The following protocols: IP, Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP), Serial Line Interface Protocol Frame Relay, Routing Information Protocol Version 2 (RIPv2),VLANs, Ethernet, access control lists (ACLs).

What are the CCNA exams like?

Cisco allows CCNA candidates to earn certification two ways. The first option allows students to complete the Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices Parts 1 and 2 (640-822 ICND1 and 640-816 ICND2) separately. Students are given 90 minutes to complete 40 to 50 questions for each exam. Once they pass Part 1, students have three years to pass Part 2. The second option allows students to take a composite exam (640-802 CCNA) combining Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices Parts 1 and 2. This exam is also 90 minutes in length, but includes 45 to 55 questions.

All CCNA certification exams can include the following types of questions: multiple-choice single-answer, multiple-choice multiple-answer, drag-and-drop, fill-in-the-blank, and simulations. Tests are given online, in an official test center. Candidates are not able to return to skipped questions or review previous answers, so they need to be able to manage their time and choose answers wisely. Simulations tend to take the longest and contribute heavily to one's final score, in turn, making them require extra time and attention.

An organized candidate can typically prepare for each of the two separate CCNA certification exams in about a month, or in about a month and a half for the composite exam. One can access official study materials and practice tests on Cisco's website. The Association for Computing Machinery, an organization for IT professionals, also offers study guides.
How long is a CCNA certification valid?

All associate-level Cisco credentials, including the CCNA certification, are valid for three years. According to Cisco, those who wish to re-certify can do so by passing any of the following exams:

* ICND2 exam
* CCNA exam
* CCDA Design exam
* CCNA Concentration exam
* Any 642-xxx Professional-level exam
* Certain Cisco Specialist exams
* CCIE written exam
* CCDE written or practical exam
* Cisco Certified Architect (CCAr) interview and board review

What are CCNA specialties?

Cisco offers additional CCNA certifications in the following specialties:

* Security
* Service Provider Operations
* Voice
* Wireless

Note that these CCNA credentials are different from the basic CCNA certification described above, which serves as a prerequisite for specialty-based certifications.

Should Microsoft unload Bing? Heck, no!

A pair of bloggers in the New York Times today recommend that Microsoft sell Bing as a way to pare the company's online losses and fatten the bottom line for investors. Selling Bing may save money in the short term, but in the long term it would ensure Microsoft's eventual irrelevancy in the Internet and mobile future.

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Robert Cyran and Martin Hutchinson, in their Reuters Breakingviews blog, have this to say about selling Bing:

Microsoft needs to concentrate on a different kind of search: finding a buyer for Bing, its online search business. Bing is the industry's distant No. 2 after Google. It has become a distraction for the software giant --- one that costs shareholders dearly. The division that houses Bing lost $2.6 billion in the latest fiscal year. Facebook, or even Apple, might make a better home for Bing. A sale would be a boon for Microsoft's investors.

They go on to claim that Microsoft could sell Bing for $11 billion, based on sales related to search, and that overall, it would result in a 10 percent increase in profit for the company by unloading the search engine.

There's so much wrong with the argument, it's hard to know where to begin. First is that the numbers are off-kilter; Bing didn't lose $2.6 billion for Microsoft in the past year; the entire online division did. There are plenty of other products and services in the division that bring in little or no revenue. As the bloggers themselves write, Bing brought in $2.5 billion in sales for the year that just ended on June 30. So it's hard to know the bottom line numbers for Bing by itself.

Beyond that, though, Bing is central to the future of Microsoft, especially in mobile, where the greatest growth is. Ultimately, a major reason Microsoft needs Windows Phone to succeed is because of ad revenue from online searching, which is a tremendous growth market. In addition, mobile search will become the glue that holds many other mobile services together, an area where Microsoft desperately needs to succeed.

Google, for example, doesn't get any money at all from licensing Android; its revenue comes from search, maps, Gmail, and other Google services. Microsoft will need the same business plan if it is to succeed in mobile. And for that it needs a search engine, and a very good one. And Bing is a very good one, and constantly getting better.

In addition, as the bloggers themselves note, Bing and sites it powers like Yahoo make up 27 percent of the U.S. market. They see this as a bad thing. But it's certainly not that --- 27 percent of the U.S. search market is a tremendous revenue opportunity. In addition, if Microsoft abandons Bing, it might as well just about abandon its entire online presence, because, aside from Hotmail, Bing is its only substantial Internet service. But giving up online as well as mobile would ensure that Microsoft will never see high-growth days.

So yes, selling Bing would certainly be good in the very short term for Microsoft, because it would bring in substantial revenue from the sale and pare short-term losses. In the long run, though, it would be a disaster.

Microsoft expands Intune services

IDG News Service - Anticipating use of Intune by larger organizations, Microsoft is outfitting the managed desktop service with a number of new capabilities that should make its use more appealing in enterprise settings.

The functionality draws from Microsoft System Center, though it has an entirely different interface, Heaton said.

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Other new features include the ability to scan a machine for viruses and malware without manual help from the user -- a step that was required before -- and the ability to tally all the copies of a given third-party software program, which can be handy for assuring software license compliance. Also, the user interface has been updated in various ways to make it more intuitive.

This new beta service, named Intune July 2011, will be run separately from the commercial version of Intune. Eventually, all the new features of the beta will be folded into the paid Intune service, which should take place by the end of this year, Heaton said.

Users of the current Intune service can try the beta of the new version of the service, though the beta service cannot be used on the same computers using the production version of Intune. Users of the commercial version of Intune will be able to use the new features after they have been incorporated into the paid service. At that time, beta users will be able to use the trial service for an additional 30 days. If they wish to use the paid version, they will need to set up their accounts again.