There are many Microsoft certification paths and in my opinion a good overview was missing to determine what exams you need to pass. That is until now, because the overview shown below is great:
For more information, read the original blog post at borntolearn : http://borntolearn.mslearn.net/microsoft_it_academy/b/weblog/archive/2012/11/20/infographic-microsoft-it-academy-certification-roadmap.aspx
Also if you’re planning to pursue a certification, please leave a comment what your plans are and why.
Tags: certification, ICT, MCITP, MCSA, MCSD, mcse, Microsoft, MOS Master, MOS Specialist, roadmap
In the past I’ve used Microsoft’s virtual labs many times and found them really useful.
VMware has also created Hands-On Labs Online (HOL) now as well and you can sign up for the open public beta now. These online labs are ideal for people:
- Who don’t have the hardware to create these labs themselves.
- Who don’t have time to create these labs themselves.
- Who want to have a properly tested and defined lab environment with guidance and documentation.
Read more about the VMware HOL and the labs that are being provided. Also be sure to check out their blog and Twitter account.
I’ve signed up as well and I hope to get access soon.
Tags: Beta, Cloud, Hands-On Labs, Hands-On Labs Online, HOL, ICT, public beta, sign up, virtual labs, VMware, VMware HOL
For those looking to upgrade their existing certification to MCSA Server 2012 by passing the exam “70-417 Upgrading Your Skills to MCSA Windows Server 2012”, be sure to check out these resources:
Also consider using the Prometric discount offer for those who intend to upgrade to MCSE.
For those looking for articles with more detailed information on (specific) Server 2012 features, take a look at one of my previous posts.
Tags: 070-417, 70-417, 70-417 Upgrading Your Skills to MCSA Windows Server 2012, certification, ICT, jump start, MCSA, MCSA Server 2012, mcse, Microsoft, Prometric, Window 2012, Windows, Windows 2012 Server, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 Upgrade Jump Start
Introduction
For those who haven’t read my previous blog posts, here’s a short summary. A couple of weeks ago I decided that I wanted to know more about cloud computing and get certified as well. I used freely available resources to attain these certifications:
In short, my conclusion was that the quality of the freely available resources were not sufficient. ITpreneurs responded to this by giving me access to their own paid ITpreneurs Cloud Essentials eLearning Course which I reviewed here.
I also contacted TrainSignal to get access to their training videos for CompTIA Cloud Essentials because their previous training videos on different subjects have always been great. They were kind enough to grant me access to the training videos which made this review possible.
Review
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: certification, certify, CLO-001, Cloud, cloud computing, Cloud Computing foundation, Cloud Essentials, CLOUDF, CompTIA, CompTIA Cloud Essentials, Exin, Exin Cloud Computing Foundation, foundation, Free, ICT, Learning, study, train signal, trainsignal, video
If you’re looking to attract more visitors to your blog, just writing good articles isn’t enough. You can (and should) take advantage of search engine optimization (SEO) to make it easier for people to find your content.
SEO for wordpress blogs that can use plugins
Thanks to my colleague Dominique Hermans for this informative link about WordPress SEO. Also be sure to check out his blog http://techdom.nl for new interesting posts.
SEO for wordpress blogs that can’t use plugins (by example wordpress.com)
Tags: http://techdom.nl, ICT, internet, plugin, search engine optimization, SEO, techdom, techdom.nl, Web, web page, webmaster tools, webppage, wordpress, wordpress.com
In a previous blog post I compared Windows 8 tablets with other tablets. In it I said that it was nice that you could use memory cards to expand your storage, but unlike Android there is no easy way to move windows 8 / modern UI apps to the memory card and run them from there.
Since I saw the question pop up a couple of times and because I was convinced it would probably be possible, I went to look for a workaround. This is the procedure I used to change the default app install location:
- Close the Windows Store app.
- Make a new folder in the desired location. By example “D:\WindowsApps”.
- Run regedit as administrator
- Create a backup of your registry just in case.
- In regedit go to “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Appx”
- Take ownership of this path and everything below it (inheritance).
- Edit the value of “PackageRoot” to your desired location. By example “D:\WindowsApps”
- Start the Windows Store app.
- Install apps.
- Run apps.
Beware: I’m not entirely sure if and how this affects security, so use this at your own risk.
This article regarding the use of junction points may also interest you.
Tags: appx, ICT, Microsoft, Modern UI, modern ui app, regedit, registry, Tutorial, Windows, Windows 8, windows app, windows apps, Windows store
Introduction
For those who haven’t read my previous blog posts, here’s a short summary. A couple of weeks ago I decided that I wanted to know more about cloud computing and get certified as well. I used freely available resources to attain these certifications:
In short, my conclusion was that the quality of the freely available resources were not sufficient. ITpreneurs responded to this by giving me access to their own paid ITpreneurs Cloud Essentials eLearning Course.
First of all, thanks to ITpreneurs for this opportunity. Also even though they provided me with access to this course, nothing was expected in return. They just wanted to share their knowledge with me. Because of my personality, I felt however that that the very least I could do was to:
- Provide constructive feedback on the course
- Write about how I experienced the eLearning course
And this blog post is the result.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: certification, certify, CLO-001, Cloud, cloud computing, Cloud Computing foundation, Cloud Essentials, CLOUDF, CompTIA, CompTIA Cloud Essentials, Curiosity was framed, Exin, Exin Cloud Computing Foundation, foundation, Free, ICT, Learning, study
[Update 14-12-2013]
It’s been more than a year since my initial post, so here are some updates from my point of view:
- Tablets and ultrabooks are coming closer together due to all the available form factors. Tablet, clam shell, slider, convertible, dockable / detachable, etc. This provides more choice, but makes it also harder for people to choose the device that is most appropriate for them.
- Cheaper Windows 8.1 based tablets (based on the new Intel Atom processors) have become available that make it a more viable alternative to Android and iOS based tablets.
- Windows tablets based on AMD processors seemed interesting to me last year because of their added graphical power, but they didn’t seem to get any traction up until now.
- High end Windows based tablets (Intel Core i5/i7 based) are still relatively expensive.
- Many companies that previously produced Windows RT tablets, stopped making them (Asus, Samsung, HP, Lenovo, HTC. The only companies that are still producting Windows RT tablets are Microsoft, Nokia (largely backed by Microsoft) and Dell.
- Rumours are floating around that Microsoft will be reducing the number of Windows versions and in my opinion it would make sense to get rid of Windows RT.
- The new and improved Intel Atom (quad core processors) are making ARM based Windows RT devices even less interesting because they provide better performance and use less energy than the previous versions while allowing people to run x86 programs.
- Windows tablets have become available in smaller sizes (8 inch) and Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1 have updated to better work with this.
- Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1 have been released and many minor adjustments made it more tablet optimized.
- Most major apps have been released as a “Metro”/Modern app for Windows 8 / Windows RT, but it’s still lagging behind Google’s Play Store and the Apple App Store.
- The graphical performance included in processors is increasing, reducing the need for seperate GPUs for generic use and bringing more options for apps.
- Google Android based tablets are still going strong and provide a lot of bang for buck. Also the Android OS is still getting many useful updates. Security and OS version sprawl is still an issue though, especially in the enterprise. Also there’s a big gap in user experience because there are still very cheap tablets with lots of disadvantages, while the normal and high end models are very good in general.
- The Apple iPad (hardware) and operating system (iOS) received updates and they’re still doing very well what they’ve always done while providing great stability and improving battery time and performance. To me however it’s more of the same without much added value over previous versions. I’m curious to see if, how and when Apple will make their devices more popular for people that want to be able to do more. Maybe some kind power tablet running OS X with touch and iOS options ?
If you have something to add or if you think something that’s incorrect, please leave a comment.
[Update 14-12-2013]
Since I’m seriously considering buying a Windows based tablet, I’ve been very closely following all developments. Even though a lot of information has become available, it’s often spread across many different websites and articles and is often incomplete in my opinion. Since the Microsoft Surface RT tablet is available for pre-order and will be sold when Windows 8 will be available on the 26th of October I decided to write this article.And even though a lot of people have complained about this on various sites, most sites don’t have one article that covers all the things to look out for. In this post I try to do just that. One of the most useful resources I’ve used are the articles from Paul Thurrott on his website supersite for windows.
Also it’s not just consumers that are having trouble understanding / explaining the differences between Windows RT and Windows 8 tablets though, Microsoft employees are also still being trained to properly handle questions.
In this post it’s important to realize that Microsoft Surface RT is not the same as Windows RT, Microsoft Surface RT is a tablet from Microsoft (hardware) that runs Windows RT (software). Microsoft Surface Pro is another tablet from Microsoft (hardware) that runs Windows 8 (software).
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: android, Apple, apps, Google, hardware, ICT, iOS, iPad, Microsoft, Microsoft Surface, Microsoft Surface Pro, Microsoft Surface RT, Office 2013 RT, tablet, Windows 8, Windows 8 Enterprise, Windows 8 Pro, Windows 8.1, Windows RT, Windows RT 8.1
People who know me personally, know that I’m very passionate about ICT. Some of you might also have read about my previous blog post regarding cloud certifications. In this post I described how I prepared for the cloud certifications CompTIA Cloud Essentials (CLO-001) and Exin Cloud Computing Foundation (CLOUDF). In this post I also said that I felt that the quality of the freely available materials was lacking and suggested people would check out other (paid) learning resources like by example the TrainSignal CompTIA Cloud Essentials training videos because they have a good reputation regarding training videos.
Because I was still curious about the quality of the paid training materials, I decided to contact TrainSignal to see if they were willing to provide me with a review copy. I hoped they would agree, but didn’t have high expectations. To my surprise however, they provided me with a review copy.
In the meanwhile, ITpreneurs contacted me to check out their IT Preneurs Cloud Essentials Course. I really liked that they contacted me, because to me this feels like they’re very passionate too and are continuously trying to improve.
I’ve already completed the IT Preneurs Cloud Essentials Course and will be posting my opinion on this blog very soon. I still have to start reviewing the TrainSignal CompTIA Cloud Essentials training videos, but I’ll try to do this as soon as possible as well.
If you have specific questions regarding one of both learning materials, please leave a comment so I can include it in my reviews.
Tags: certification, certify, CLO-001, Cloud, cloud computing, Cloud Computing foundation, Cloud Essentials, CLOUDF, CompTIA, CompTIA Cloud Essentials, Exin, Exin Cloud Computing Foundation, foundation, ICT, Learning, study
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