April 21, 2010
The Death Of My Business
|| posted by chris under business, clueless, epiphany, kma, nostalgia, thumbs down || comments (4) || ||
April 9, 2010
NEW Second Shot Vouchers Now Include Half Off Discount
I was just about to publish a wrap-up post about the results of the two previous voucher giveaways, and then this new development comes flying in over the transom…
For an EXTREMELY limited time, I can issue Second Shot vouchers for MS exams that also include a 50% discount on the cost of the initial exam. And by limited I mean, this offer ends sometime in the next 24 hours.
UPDATE: Also, this is limited to ONLY the following exams (I missed that key info the first time around. Sorry for the confusion everybody):
- 70–432 TS: Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Implementation and Maintenance
- 70–448 TS: Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Business Intelligence Development and Maintenance
- 70–450 PRO: Designing, Optimizing and Maintaining a Database Administrative Solution Using Microsoft SQL Server 2008
- 70–452 PRO: Designing a Business Intelligence Infrastructure Using Microsoft SQL Server 2008
- 70–562 TS: Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5, ASP.NET Application Development
- 70–564 Pro: Designing and Developing ASP.NET Applications Using the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5
- 83–640 TS: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuring
- 70–693 PRO: Windows Server 2008 R2, Virtualization Administrator
- 70–669 TS: Windows Server 2008 R2, Desktop Virtualization
- 70–680 TS: Windows 7, Configuring
- 70–682 PRO: Upgrading to Windows 7 MCITP Enterprise Desktop Support Technician
- 70–659 TS: Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization
- 70–652 TS: Windows Server Virtualization, Configuring
This is basically a first-come, first-served kind of deal, so here’s what you need to do to request vouchers.
|| posted by chris under business, community, freebie, it pro, rx || comments (11) || ||
March 11, 2010
Exam-A-Palooza
This week kicked off Hell Week, certification-wise, for me.
Currently I’ve got a total of four exams scheduled this week. I’m slated to take:
70–648 TS: Upgrading from Windows Server 2003 MCSA to, Windows Server 2008, Technology Specializations (which I passed this Monday, actually)
70–646 PRO: Windows Server 2008, Server Administrator
70–669 TS: Windows Server 2008 R2, Desktop Virtualization (Beta)
70–624 TS: Deploying and Maintaining Windows Vista Client and 2007 Microsoft Office System Desktops
To be honest, that’s really a total of five exams, since 70–648 is actually a combination of the 70–640 and 70–642 exams.
And ALL this is in addition to the beta for 70–693 I took last month, and the pair of exams (70–579 and 70–659) that I took in a single morning while at MVP Summit 2010.
Since I’m a glutton for punishment, I’m eyeing two REAL mindkillers, 70–643 and 70–647, for next week.
|| posted by chris under beta, business, it pro, mid-market it, mobility, tech hand, virtualization || comments (3) || ||
March 9, 2010
A Few Thoughts About Mid-Market IT
Big thanks to Eric Beehler for inviting me to appear on CS Techcast 110 this week. We talked at length about some of the unique challenges facing mid-market IT.
Although the conversation was spurred mostly by the news of Microsoft’s cancelling Essential Business Server v2, we discussed a wide range of topics, including cloud-based services (big shock there) and virtualization.
If you want to skip ahead, my section starts at the 12:52 (or so) mark.
I’ll admit, it was kinda weird being on the other side of the microphone. Flashbacks of SBS Show kept running through my head, but being on the other side of the desk made this the fastest, easiest webcast I’ve ever done.
Check it out. Hope you like it.
|| posted by chris under business, mid-market it, opinion, virtualization, webcast || comments (0) || ||
March 5, 2010
EBS Has Left The Building
Instead of my typically convoluted Funcave windup involving some theoretical physics, Bluetooth and comic book lore a la “The Big Bang Theory,” I’ll just come right out and say what’s up this time:
Essential Business Server = DEAD
That’s officially official as of right now, which should be 8:00 a.m. Pacific Standard time on March 5th, 2010. So what does that really mean?
In the immediate term, it means there will be no v2 of Essential Business Server. Not ever. Which is a damned shame, because v2 was looking completely and totally badass.
|| posted by chris under beta, business, clueless, hardware, it pro, kma, mid-market it, migration, nostalgia, opinion, rant, rx, shoutout, thumbs down, thumbs up, time, travel, virtualization, webcast || comments (2) || ||
