Microsoft Certifications

New Training on Channel 9

Gerry O'Brien — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:11:20 GMT

Are you trying to find more information to help you prepare for certifications? Perhaps you would like to go a little deeper on some of the technologies. Channel 9 has always been a great go-to place for developers looking for the latest information...(read more)

Visual Studio 2010 Exams Update

Gerry O'Brien — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:47:32 GMT

We are just finishing up week two of intense exam design sessions today. Last week we created the outline for the MCTS Windows and Web exams. Lots of great discussion by a group of excellent subject matter experts for each session. Please...(read more)

Win 7 and VS2010 Training Courses LIVE

Gerry O'Brien — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:23:01 GMT

Want to learn more on the latest versions of Visual Studio and Windows coming out of Redmond? Do you like how-to videos and hands-on labs? Just got word on some Visual Studio 2010 and Windows 7 training from Channel 9. Check out...(read more)

Dates Set for Visual Studio 2010 Exam Design

Gerry O'Brien — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 00:01:50 GMT

October and November will be busy months around here as we start design on the Visual Studio 2010 exams. These sessions will be a little different than what we did for VS2008 as we are working with our Portfolio Design team on a combined effort...(read more)

Developer Certification Changes

Gerry O'Brien — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:10:57 GMT

Early information but at this point, it looks as though there will be two new exams for SharePoint developers coming. An MCTS and an MCPD for Office SharePoint Server. Some of you asked for the MCPD at PDC and I indicated at the time that...(read more)

Windows vs WPF

Gerry O'Brien — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:10:27 GMT

Wow, what a lot of feedback on both blogs around the Windows Forms vs WPF debate. All good comments and excellent feedback folks, thanks very much. For those who haven’t read or partaken in the discussions, allow me to provide some background....(read more)

Visual Studio 2010 Exams Are Changing

Gerry O'Brien — Thu, 28 May 2009 21:21:51 GMT

Well, just a little. After much thought, and then some more, along with discussions with the community, the product groups for Visual Studio and .NET 4, our own internal folks and anyone else who wanted to chime in, we have finally decided on most of...(read more)

Certification Update and Small Survey

Gerry O'Brien — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 01:26:11 GMT

We are almost locked on our Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4.0 certification track. Lots of discussions around this internally and a potential change in the landscape. At this point in time, it’s looking like the MCPD track will change...(read more)

All is Quiet on the Cert Front

Gerry O'Brien — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:55:25 GMT

Too quiet actually. I know a lot of people are waiting to see what the new cert plan will be for Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4.0. I can’t tell you yet because we are working on it now. The main reason for this post and the title is more related...(read more)

Exam 70-565 Prep Guide

Gerry O'Brien — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 19:39:33 GMT

Some of you are asking about information on what this exam will cover and the prep guides are not updated on the public pages yet. In the meantime, I have posted the prep guide information here. Target Audience Candidates for this exam work...(read more)

Career Assist

Gerry O'Brien — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 23:16:18 GMT

The current economic situation leaves many people wondering about their careers and future job prospects. The IT industry is not immune to these conditions. We all face many challenges and decisions in the months ahead on how to best position...(read more)

Keeping Up to Date and Going Backwards at the Same Time

Gerry O'Brien — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 03:20:32 GMT

Part of my role as a Product Planner is to keep up with technology changes in the industry as they impact the audiences that I focus on. For me, that means developer technologies and SQL Server trends etc. For the most part, this is an enjoyable...(read more)

Status Update on Exam Release Dates

Gerry O'Brien — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 20:42:51 GMT

A few are asking, so I thought I would post this morning what our current release dates are for the remaining exams. SQL Server 70-433 – February 27, 2009 Visual Studio 70-505 – February 5, 2009 70-563 – February 3, 2009 70-565 – February 23, 2009 70-566...(read more)

Designers Are Next

Gerry O'Brien — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 02:21:46 GMT

Yes that’s right, I will be looking at what to do with some of the Expression Suite of products in my planning for this next fiscal year. I will be meeting with representatives from the Expression Design team this afternoon to discuss training and...(read more)

Quick Update for the New Year

Gerry O'Brien — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 02:52:00 GMT

I know it’s been awhile since I posted and for that I have to say, oh well. I spent two weeks at home over the Christmas holidays and didn’t touch a computer for the purposes of work The break was nice for a change. Since I have been back, things have...(read more)