We're at beta 3 for Longhorn and MIcrosoft Learning just published five E-Learning clinics that should help you get familiar. The best part is that these are free for a while so customers (you) have excellent quality training to get things started with...

If you tried to follow our instructions for accessing the MCP private newsgroups and didn't have any luck, you might want to try again. We made a few updates to the page that might help: Added an NNTP password-reset option Noted that you need...

There are lots of ways a job candidate or employee might show you proof of certification: certificate, wallet card, transcript print out, score report, tatoo, note from his mother, in the pudding .... but my recommendation is to ask him or her to provide...

You all know better than I do that cheaters, braindumps, and accidental-cheaters can do damage to the reputation of your hard-earned passing score or certification. Given the number of questions about related topics: how can i tell if a test-prep...

Just heard from the TechEd 2007 team that there is an XBox raffle for people who register before May 11 ; you are automatically entered in the raffle if you register for the event. What this means to you: you could win one of five "Xbox 360 Elite gaming...

If you work in an MSPP (Microsoft Partner Program) organization, your employer might be wondering how many partner competency points your 'new generation' credentials--MCTS, MCITP, MCPD, and MCA--earn. You could point them to page 13 of the MSPP Program...

Here's the microsoft.com page about exams retiring in 2008: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcpexams/status/examstoretire.mspx . Will look at your questions about this as soon as I get a second, here.

...as announced in our March Live Meeting on server certifications , Microsoft Learning will be retiring a set of exams in one year (on March 30, 2008). The retirement list will be posted on microsoft.com later this month; in the meantime here is the...

As we said earlier, we'll beta the 2003-->Longhorn upgrade exams at TechEd (1st week of June in Orlando, Florida). Next bit is to announce and answer questions about what is being developed for the Longhorn certification roadmap. Here is the information...

"At the end of the day, no matter what technologies, vendors or methodologies are utilized, all IT architects must address very difficult questions for a successful solution. Fifty years ago, today and fifty years from now, IT architects will still need...

Recording of yesterday's Live Meeting on 2007 Office System Certifications for IT pros and devs can be found here . Fast forward to minute 6:45 to skip all the introductory bits. Something I enjoyed in the meeting was when Rob starts to say "Microsoft...

Prep guides for the first few Microsoft Business Certifications I was mumbling about earlier are now live on MIcrosoft.com, if you'd like to learn more about what is covered on these exams and get early training info. Note the "77" in the exam number...

I'm sitting here in my new red office, getting whacked on paint fumes, waiting for our Live Meeting to start.

In tomorrow's meeting we're talking about the IT pro and developer certs available and coming up for Office, so you can register if you want ... we'll talk about Office certs for: Live Communications Server Sharepoint <Server and Services...

Like I says before, exams will be $50 on site at the test center hosted by our outstanding partner Pearson VUE. More info and registration here: http://www.microsoft.com/events/teched2007/testingcertification.mspx . Also, there's this, for those of wanting...

If you are planning to take an exam soon, you might want to check out the free TechNet + Direct offer that is on through April 30. To get the free subscription, you have to buy exam insurance, register for the offer, AND take the exam by April 30, so...

If Hypervisor, running on bare metal, makes you uncomfortable, be glad you did not attend our Live Meeting on application and hardware virutalization a few weeks ago, led by presenter Allen Stuart, MCA. You can now find the recording on the MCP home page...

I know a lot of you are out there flashing your MCP wallet cards to get Much Respect...up in the Clubs, out in the Streetz. I also know that many of you have been wondering why the 'new generation' cards no longer list all of your certifications, resulting...

I heard from a few of you last week (last few days of March, in particular) that your records weren't showing up in your Microsoft transcript even though your test center confirmed that you passed an exam or earned a credential. I wanted to let you...

A. No. We’re not currently planning a Training Kit for the upgrade exam 70-447. But all the objectives for this exam are covered in the Training Kits for exams 70-443 and 70-444. You can purchase both these books separately or as part of an MCITP DBA...

So there is a certification test center at TechEd and we just got confirmation that all exams taken on site are going to cost US$50 as part of the attendee benefits. The test center is open all week (see the hours on this agenda ) and will offer almost...

My Microsoft Learning Neighbor to the North (NTTN) colleague, Jennifer, is a guest bloggette on Microsoft's Canadian IT pro site ...her topic is "certification," perhaps you've heard of it? While you're there, be sure to read her bio at the bottom of...

"On-the-job training was judged the best method of preparing for certification with about 71 percent of respondents ranking it as extremely or very valuable. Practice exams squeaked in just below that — 69.6 percent of U.S. respondents ranked it extremely...

word on the street is that 71-500 has been scored and all results should now be out to customers. if that is not the case, let Howard , or me, know.

So, a booth babe and a geek walk in to a bar after a Longhorn preview. While waiting to be seated, the geek says, "Damn, what a great Server!" The booth babe, looking impatient, says "Server?! We haven't even gotten a table yet!" ALTERNATE ENDING: .....