Born to Learn

Windows Server 2008 R2 Remote Desktop Services Resource Kit: Safari Rough Cuts now available!

Devon Musgrave — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 15:18:05 GMT

Check out Safari Rough Cuts for the first installment (the first four chapters!) of Windows Server 2008 R2 Remote Desktop Services Resource Kit . The authors, Christa Anderson and Kristin Griffin, want your feedback. Check back often as content is added as it is written. Stay tuned for more Microsoft Press titles available on Rough Cuts! Read More......(read more)

CASTING CALL: STUDENT FOR CERTIFICATION TESTIMONIAL VIDEOS

Regine Smith (Microsoft) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 22:33:00 GMT

1. STEM student who is certified or getting certified.

2. Wants a career in IT and knows the value of certification to getting a job – “it will give me an advantage against others vying for the same jobs”

3. Is inspirational and influential and fun personality – a leader mentality who is smart and mature

CASTING DETAILS:

Microsoft Learning needs student testimonials for image of certification product.

If you, or someone you know, are a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) student who is gearing up for a career in IT, we want to hear from you!

We are casting students who can speak to the value of certification to getting a job in IT for for testimonial-style videos for Microsoft Learning. The videos will appear on YouTube, Facebook and on Microsoft websites. We are seeking students with fun personalities, are inspirational & influential and people other students can relate to.

All ethnicities, any gender, 18 to 25 yrs old, in the Seattle, WA area are welcomed to apply

Languages spoken: English

Location: on a college campus in the greater Seattle, WA area

Payment details: no pay

Timeframe: shooting will take place in September

Applications to this casting call require:

A profile photo
Short video of themselves talking about certification

Snacking in the Cloud

Ken Rosen (Microsoft) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 22:11:57 GMT

Last month, we published a few learning snacks for those of you venturing (or considering venturing) into the realm of cloud computing. Enjoy!

Cloud Computing and Microsoft Offerings

Customer Success Stories with Microsoft Cloud Offerings

Windows Azure Platform and Interoperability

Author news: Training by David Solomon coming up

Devon Musgrave — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:52:29 GMT

David Solomon, coauthor of Windows Internals, Fifth Edition , has a couple of training opportunities coming up. The first is next week! Windows Internals with Sysinternals Webinar (September 13 & 15, 2010 – two-day webinar/virtual class) Explore the internals of key Windows kernel components and mechanisms with the Sysinternals tools in this two-day webinar. Topics include kernel architecture, memory management, thread scheduling, interrupt processing, time accounting, and crash dump analysis...(read more)

Lab exam demo for developers: tell us what you think

Susan Filkins (Microsoft) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:43:00 GMT

Exciting things are in the works for developer exams at Microsoft! In Beyond Multiple Choice: Lab Exam Demonstration for Developers, Developer Certification Product Planner Gerry O'Brien demonstrates a proof of concept for a lab that tests your hands-on development skills in the Visual Studio environment. The tasks prototyped in the lab are based on content from exam 70-515: TS: Web Applications Development with Microsoft .NET Framework 4.

Watch the demo, then follow this link to complete a short survey and let us know what you think. (For best viewing results, hover your cursor over the black bar in the lower right corner of the video and select Watch on YouTube. You can expand to full screen from there if you like.) We're exploring the technologies and methodologies that will allow us to make labs a reality for developer exams, so we welcome your honest feedback about possible issues, improvements, and the like.

The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document at the end of post answers common questions about the lab.

Thanks for checking it out!

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Author news: Charles Petzold presenting on Windows Phone 7

Devon Musgrave — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:53:00 GMT

Greetings. Charles Petzold, whose upcoming Programming Windows Phone 7 will be available as a free download at the end of October, will be presenting in New York in October. The presentation’s title is “Multitasking on Windows Phone 7.” You must register at https://www.clicktoattend.com/invitation.aspx?code=150256 to be admitted to the building and attend. Subject: “Multitasking on Windows Phone 7” They say that Windows Phone 7 can't multitask. They're wrong. Join Charles Petzold for...(read more)

Microsoft Server Technologies Learning Plan for IT Managers

Deborah Grauer (Microsoft) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 01:19:00 GMT

One of the best things about a Learning Plan is that Microsoft has done the hard work of finding and organizing relevant resources for you. If you're one of those busy types, what could be better?

This is a great Learning Plan to help IT managers, CIOs, IT generalists and other IT decision makers learn about the latest line of Microsoft server technologies, including Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft Exchange 2010, Microsoft Forefront, Microsoft System Center, Microsoft SQL Server, and Microsoft SharePoint 2010. Check it out and see what you can learn today.

Windows Azure Platform one month pass (US only)

Tjeerd Veninga (Microsoft) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 20:42:17 GMT

We're offering a Windows Azure Platform One Month Pass, so you can put Windows Azure and SQL Azure through their paces. Get a pass to use the platform for a month and enjoy the learning and developer tools. It's a great way to get into Azure, for now the offer is valid in the US only and we will of course let you know of any other offers as soon as we hear about them.

From the Department of “What were they thinking?”

Regine Smith (Microsoft) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 20:31:00 GMT

You accidentally dial the wrong number, calling an old boyfriend by mistake. You compose an e-mail complaining about your boss, and somehow send it to your boss.

It’s never pretty when these things happen; and, when we make mistakes like this we usually feel like idiots. Fortunately, there’s always someone just a little worst to make us all feel just a wee bit better about our own mistakes.

Each quarter, Microsoft Learning will feature several case studies based on a compilation of recent issues. Certain facts will be changed for illustrative purposes and to conceal the identities of the parties involved. The actions described below represent Microsoft’s efforts to curb cheating, fraud & piracy to maintain the value of Microsoft Certifications.

Protecting Microsoft’s IP: Disclosing Microsoft intellectual property (IP)

Chris Preston, who worked at a test center in Dublin, Ireland, was engaged to be married soon. The closer the wedding date arrived, the more he realized he needed extra funds to cover his wedding expenses. Thinking of no better way to make a few extra Euros, Chris chose to sell Microsoft Certification exam content on a popular English tech blog. Chris knew better than to use his real name on the blog; he used an alias: IT GENIOUS (of course!). Every day for a week Chris (a.k.a IT GENIOUS) signed-into the blog using his corporate email address and posted Microsoft Certification exam content. When Microsoft discovered these leaks, we investigated. A few clicks and a few IP addresses revealed the source of the posting: Chris@litwareinc.com. Microsoft requested that the authorities bring criminal charges against him.

Microsoft takes the protection and management of our Intellectual Property seriously. Unauthorized disclosure of confidential information has a profound business impact, and may lead to civil liability or criminal prosecution. Confidential information leaks can devalue Microsoft Certifications, and breach the trust of customers, business partners, governments and communities. Abuses of this nature are not tolerated.

All Microsoft Certification exams, including the content and wording of exam questions, are Microsoft confidential information and protected by intellectual property laws. Microsoft’s Exam Security and Integrity policy states:

Examples of misconduct and/or misuse of the Exam include, but are not limited to, the following: Copying, publishing, disclosing, transmitting, selling, offering to sell, posting, downloading, distributing in any way, or otherwise transferring, modifying, making derivative works of, reverse engineering, decompiling, disassembling or translating any Exam in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, verbal or written, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose

For general questions regarding security issues and questions, contact the Microsoft Learning - Security Team (mlsecure@microsoft.com).

If you have any information regarding piracy, exam fraud, violations or abuse, you are asked to contact Training & Certification Tips (tctips@microsoft.com)

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Theft

Here's a remarkable example of theft.

During a customer event, Microsoft Learning distributed Microsoft Certification exam vouchers to event attendees who participated in a customer survey. The fine print clearly stated that vouchers were available to survey respondents, limit one voucher per customer, and vouchers had no resale value.

Bonnie Kearney, who attended the event, returned to the survey booth multiple times over the 5-day event. She made sure different people were managing the booth and proceeded to answer the same survey over and over again. She walked away from the event with 17 vouchers. The assessed retail value of each voucher was approximately US$150.

One week later, Microsoft Learning Security was informed that Microsoft Certification exam vouchers were being sold on Proseware.com (a popular online auction website). Working with Proseware’s compliance team, Microsoft Learning Security was able to track the seller’s account.

The details of the theft were uncovered as part of a Microsoft Learning Security investigation. Bonnie admitted to fraudulently obtaining and selling “maybe 10” vouchers to out of state individuals who paid US$100 for each stolen voucher. Bonnie Kearney admitted to using the proceeds to pay for her own Desktop Support – Enterprise exam and training resources.

Bonnie was permanently banned from the Microsoft Certification Program. The matter has been referred to law enforcement.

For general questions regarding security issues and questions, contact the Microsoft Learning - Security Team (mlsecure@microsoft.com).

If you have any information regarding piracy, exam fraud, violations or abuse, you are asked to contact Training & Certification Tips (tctips@microsoft.com)

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Not So Sharp!

If you’re ever arrested for smuggling, an excuse that almost never works is “Idunno.”

Last March, Shuh San Chan (曾澍山) walked into a testing facility in China to take Exam 70-668: PRO: Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Administrator. Before walking into the examination room, per the proctor’s instructions, Shuh San = placed his belonging in a locker… all but one…

45 minutes into the exam, the proctor noticed Shuh San pushing himself away from the desk and holding his hand towards the computer screen. Upon further observation the proctor realized that Shuh San was bold enough to sneak a cell phone into the examination room. The cell phone was examined fully and it was confirmed that Shuh San had taken screen-shots of the exam. Shuh San’s response when approached by the proctor: “Idunno”.

This is completely against Microsoft Certification Exam policy. Shuh San’s exam was immediately stopped, the screen shots were purged from his cell phone and he was escorted out of the testing center. But it didn’t end there. Shuh San was permanently banned from the Microsoft Certification Program and is no longer eligible to participate in the program. Worst yet, Shuh San worked for A. Datum Corporation, when his employer requested validation of Microsoft Certification; Shuh San could not provide it and had to reveal that he did not receive his MCITP Certification and was no longer a Microsoft Certified Professional; a requirement of his employment.

Although this particular candidate was blatantly involved in content theft, any type of cheating is not tolerated. It erodes the value of Microsoft Certifications. “Idunno” is not an excuse. Candidates should familiarize themselves with all Microsoft Certification exam policies and procedures prior to taking a Microsoft Certification exam.

If a candidate is caught cheating, violating testing rules, or diminishing the security and integrity of the Microsoft Certification exams in any way, the candidate may be prohibited from taking any Microsoft Certification exams and/or may be decertified from the Microsoft Certification Program. Such fraud includes, but is not limited to, the following:

Modifying and/or altering the original results/score report for this Exam or any other exam records
Violation of the current exam retake policy
Fraudulently impersonating another to gain access to the Exam
Submission of any work that is not completely your own
Providing or accepting improper assistance
Using unauthorized materials in an attempt to satisfy Exam requirements (this includes using brain-dump material and/or unauthorized publication of Exam questions with or without answers)
Disseminating actual Exam content
Possession of non-authorized items at the testing center during an Exam
Misconduct as determined by statistical analysis
Copying, publishing, disclosing, transmitting, selling, offering to sell, posting, downloading, distributing in any way, or otherwise transferring, modifying, making derivative works of, reverse engineering, decompiling, disassembling or translating any Exam in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, verbal or written, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose

For general questions regarding security issues and questions, contact the Microsoft Learning - Security Team (mlsecure@microsoft.com).

If you have any information regarding piracy, exam fraud, violations or abuse, you are asked to contact Training & Certification Tips (tctips@microsoft.com)

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The names of companies, products, people, characters, and/or data mentioned herein are fictitious and are in no way intended to represent any real individual, company, product, or event, unless otherwise noted. Complying with all applicable copyright laws is the responsibility of the user. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), or for any purpose, without the express written permission of Microsoft Corporation.

Wanted: Your Microsoft Office Story

Krista Wall (Microsoft) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:52:43 GMT

The folks at Microsoft Office are looking for a small group of U.S.-based families, students, technology influencers, small businesses, and home-based businesses (1-4 PCs) to participate in Microsoft’s Office 2010 Real Life Stories program.

This program provides a select number of people with a copy of Microsoft Office Professional 2010 on a loaner laptop PC along with dedicated technical support and web-based training in exchange for sharing their feedback and usage with Microsoft and potentially participating in Microsoft’s marketing efforts. At the end, you’ll receive a free copy of Microsoft Office Professional 2010 for your school, work or home use.

So what's the catch? Oh, you'll need to share your experience through videos, interviews, and/or quotes. I bet you know someone who would LOVE to be featured in something like this.

For information about the program and a link to the application, go to: http://connect.microsoft.com/officecustomerstories