Windows 7, Configuration Certified! Passed Beta Exam 71-680
So I got the email this morning that proudly states:
Congratulations on earning your Windows 7, Configuration certification!
If you remember from a previous post I took the 71-680 beta exam back in early June. I was glad to get confirmation, and it didn’t even take that long really. Im just happy to have it out of the way, and I was glad to be able to give feedback on the exam and hopefully help refine the process.
WordCamp Chicago Recap (Day 1 at least)
On Saturday I spent the day at the UBS tower in donwtown Chicago, hanging out with a bunch of Wordress geeks and soon to be Wordpress geeks at the Wordcamp Chicago event. I was originally supposed to head down with Kasia from TrainSignalTraining.com, but she had a schedule conflict so I headed down all by my lonesome.
Since I live in the suburbs, I had about a 40 minute drive and parked at the Zacuto offices, which was almost a huge mistake, but more on that later. A quick walk over to UBS tower and up to the second floor, to a nice assortment of breakfast type foods and registration. Read more
Windows 7 Beta Exam 71-680
Well it has been quite a while since I started playing with Windows 7 by installing it on my main production machine, and recently I have reinstalled it to put RC on. I have to say that I am very much liking Windows 7 on almost all fronts. When I heard about the beta exam for 71-680 from the MS Learning blog Born To Learn, I called in to secure one of the limited spots available. I was lucky to grab one and quickly scheduled for today May 6th.
Read more
A Week With Windows 7 Beta
So it has been a little over a week since I decided that I was going to really give Windows 7 a workout during its Beta phase. Instead of using a virtual machine that I would have to really be thinking about using, I decided that i would install it on my day to day laptop that I do most of my consulting and article writing on. This would give me a much better idea of what the true Windows 7 experience is.
My Articles….
Been awhile since I published my current crop of articles that went up.. in case you missed them here you go!
Install Windows 7
Windows 7 System Requirements
Configure BIND DNS on Windows Web Server 2008 – Part 2
Getting Started in IT: Desktop Support Role
Moving Up in IT: System Administrator Role
Web Deployment Tool Beta 2
Build Your Own Open Source NAS Device Using FreeNAS – Part 2
Build Your Own Open Source NAS Device Using FreeNAS – Part 1
Disable UAC (User Account Control) on Vista and Server 2008
Configure DHCP on Windows Server 2008
Install DHCP Role on Windows Server 2008
Windows Server 2008 as a LAN Router Running RIP
Why Should You Have a Microsoft TechNet Plus Subscription?
Exam 70-113 Vouchers Arrived Today!
I have been holding up doing my next Microsoft cert because I wanted to use the free vouchers I got for taking the pilot 70-113 and today is the golden day I got the email with my 3 codes so I am going to sift through my schedule and set a hard date for the 70-642 exam. I guess I was one of the first 3000 people, but I don’t believe they hit the full quota yet since they keep extending the pilot phase. You can still sign up till the 17th:
You must register at least 7 days prior to taking the exam. Register before December 17th to take the exam before December 31st.
Please use the following promotional code when registering for the exam: H640 (promo code is active till December 31st)
Receiving this invitation does not guarantee you a seat in the pilot; we recommend that you register immediately.
· Go to the Prometric Website: http://www.prometric.com/microsoft
· Find Microsoft exam 70-113: TS: Windows® Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuring
· Use Promo Code H640 (promo code is active till December 31st)
Send your opinion about exam experience to: http://blogs.technet.com/betaexams/ and to: pbexam@microsoft.com
It actually is a great preview of what I hope all the exams become.
Win a Free Laptop If Your a US Microsoft MVP!
Matt Hester announced on his blog a chance to win a free laptop or some other prizes, all you have to do is create a screen cast that shows the use of PHP and IIS 7. The catch being that you can only enter if you are a Microsoft MVP in the US, which means that those who actually enter should have a great chance at winning.
Doing a screen cast is not that hard to do and actually I do them just for fun. There are some on this site, and also I have a few at another site, even one that deals with Installing PHP on IIS 7. The thing I found the most amazing is the comments on the blog that show generally apathy to actually having to learn something outside their comfort zone. To me a MVP is the best and brightest in his speciality, but not only that but someone who is just technical. They should have no problem picking up something else that really isn’t that hard. There are a ton of tutorials out there:
Installing WordPress on IIS 7 – Part 1
Installing WordPress on IIS7 – Part 2
Install MySQL on IIS7 Server 2008
Someone who is as technical as an MVP should not have an issue reading up and producing something even basic to enter. I think back to a few days ago when I was hanging out with my wife getting things ready for our Thanksgiving party, and Jeopardy came on the tv. She watched for awhile and commented on what a lame game show it was compared to Deal or No Deal. The main reason of course was because the questions were "hard". DOND was much more popular with her, because you could win just as much or more but your really didn’t have to know much to win. Is it out of style to want someone to really earn a chance to win something? I hope not, and I hope that the majority of the MVP community didn’t bother to comment and just went about doing it.
I wish Matt the best of luck with his contest and I hope he gets some amazing entries. I wish I could enter, but I’m no MVP (yet!), but when I do I hope I am one who will just do it!
UPDATE: Well apparently no one is doing it after all, I just saw a second follow-up post from Matt that he has had no entries for this contest from a MVP. How ridiculous is that? Maybe they will open it up to non-MVPs, but I think they will just end up canceling it. Here’s hoping some of the MVPs step up and do it not just for the laptop, but to produce something that could be used to help others work with PHP on IIS 7.
Recent Articles published
I have been pretty bad about updating my article list, so here are the recent ones that have gone up over at Train Signal Training
Here is a quick rundown:
Microsoft Certifications — Past and Future
IIS 7: Install FastCGI & PHP on Server 2008
Install MySQL on IIS7 Server 2008
Install PHPMyAdmin on IIS7 and Server 2008
IIS7: URL Rewrite Extension on Windows Server 2008
Installing WordPress on IIS 7 – Part 1
Installing WordPress on IIS7 – Part 2
Live Writer – Windows Live Tools Beta 3
Microsoft Web Platform Installer Beta
Microsoft Web Application Installer
Install BIND DNS on Windows Web Server 2008 – Part 1
Wow, I really was behind! Enjoy!
getVIRTUALnow roadshow by Microsoft
On Monday I went to the Chicago stop of the getVIRTUALnow roadshow with a some of the Train Signal crew. I like the new direction Microsoft has taken with the product launch/showcase events. In the past I disliked going to these because of they showed very little tech and more marketing, though in the last two I have gone to, it has squarely been a technical show. Between seeing live demo’s by the people who actually implement and work with the product (not just a marketing guy), and having a hands on lab with walk through scenarios so you could get your hands on the product, it was a very informing event.
The presenters also stick around to sit in "Ask the Experts" tables down in the expo area so if you have something you want to ask that doesn’t get answered in the session. I have found this to be extremely cool to go and talk to these guys to get a more "inside" talk about the product as it might apply to your environment.
It wasn’t all sunshine and roses though. I found the Expo area pretty weak on vendors, especially for smaller/midsize business solutions. You would think in these economic times they would be willing to target whoever could buy, but this just wasn’t the case.
While I found the hands on lab very informative, it took a TON of time to complete even one of the labs because of the underpowered PC’s in place. I missed almost an entire session because I was waiting quite a bit during the lab because of the low memory on the virtual machines in the lab. While I realize the problem, someone else might not and think the technology is slower than it really is on a correctly provisioned box. I am not sure if it was a local company providing equipment or if it floats with the show, but I think if they are going to showcase it, they should at least make sure it can do better then the minimum specs.
The venue was nice, but a bit crowded for the show, but nothing too bad. At the end of the show, we got the free t-shirt, a voucher for free E-Learning Collection 6319: Configuring Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 from Microsoft Learning, along with a free voucher for Exam 70-652: TS: Windows Server 2008 Virtualization, Configuring! They will also be mailing out the session slides with some evaluation software to all attendees.
All in all, a good event, I would recommend it for anyone who wants to learn and see how Microsoft is implementing virtualization into its core product offerings.
There are only 5 more stops left as of today at:
Oct 31st: Boston, MA
Nov 3rd: New York, NY
Nov 10th: Washington, DC
Nov 13th: Philadelphia, PA
Nov 17th: Atlanta, GA
You can sign up at https://www.getvirtualnow.com/usevents/cityselect.aspx
Microsoft reaching out to the developer and IT Professional communities on Windows 7
Today marked a launch for two different blogs aimed at two different respective communities from the Windows 7 team and also the Windows Client team, which I take are closely related.
For the developer in you you can see the new Windows 7 Blog for Developers which promises in its first post to put Windows 7 new features into a context that developers can use to improve their code and make it “Light-Up” using this new version.
The other new blog, Springboard Series: The Resource for Windows Desktop IT Professionals, went online today with its first post being written by Celine Allee. It promises to allow IT professionals to connect with the Windows Client division. They are looking for feedback on what you need as a professional going forward from the Windows Client team.
I am always happy to find new avenues of information from Microsoft that have the potential to be interactive and I look forward to seeing how these blogs develop.