The IT Humidor » MCTS

I Never Thought This Day Would Come. . .

Slowhand — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 01:34:01 +0000

So, I’m studying for a new cert. . .
Yup, Exchange is going to be my “special friend” for the next month or two while I study for the MCTS certification test on it. I’ve gotten started on some training material, like beginning the CBT Nuggets video series and labbing out a couple of Windows Server 2008 R2 boxes in VMWare Player. I’m also going to try to get my hands on the Inside Out book and possibly the Sybex book. I haven’t decided if I want to do the exam for the full MCITP: Enterprise Messaging Administrator 2010, we’ll have to see how crazy I feel.

So far, I’ve done a bare-bones install of Exchange 2010 three times, (once almost without any screw-ups,) in a lab environment consisting of a domain controller and a member server both running Windows Server 2008 R2. Baby steps, baby steps.

Launch Events for Visual Studio 2010 and Office 2010

Slowhand — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 01:33:22 +0000

It’s been a while since I last posted, so I thought I’d blog about a freebie from Microsoft as my triumphant return to the IT Humidor.

Coming up this month will be the launch of Office 2010, Visual Studio 2010, SQL Server 2008 R2, and SharePoint 2010. To kick things off, Microsoft is holding launch-events in various parts of the country. Be a part of the launch of Microsoft’s new products, (and take home free copies of the software,) by signing up for an event in your area. For those of you who can’t make it to a live event, there will also be a live keynote by Stephen Elop, President of Microsoft’s business division on the launch of the new software suites.

There are two paths for each event, IT Pro and Developer:

For IT Professionals, focuses more closely on Office 2010 and SharePoint 2010

For developers, focusing on Visual Studio 2010 and SQL Server 2008 R2.

The events are free to sign up for, but space fills up fast.

Interoperability Between Linux and Active Directory

Slowhand — Wed, 27 May 2009 18:35:58 +0000

I came across this blog the other day and I definitely felt the need to share. Keith Combs has put together a set of great videos on making Linux play nice on a Windows Server 2008 network by managing Linux workstations through AD.

Check out Keith’s blog for the full description of the following videos:

$100 Discount on TechNet Plus

Slowhand — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 22:28:51 +0000

TechNet Plus, (download only, not the kind where they ship you DVDs,) from Microsoft usually runs $349 to sign up for a year, then $249 per year after that. A friend of mine shot me an email today for a $100 dicount on a subscription. I’m not sure if it’s part of a special event or it’s simply a discount code for the sake of signing up new customers, but it’s a great opportunity to save some money and pick up just about every piece of software Microsoft makes. Keep in mind, this not only includes the software that is out now, but any new software that’s eligible for TechNet, as well as updates to things like Office or Windows, (think Office 2010 and Windows 7). Sadly, developer-tools like Visual Studio are not included in TechNet since they are considered to be under the MSDN umbrella. This is good for a new subscription only, not renewals.

The subscription page can be found here.

Select Microsoft TechNet Plus Direct Subscription, enter the promo code TW7OBA in the field that reads If you have a Promotion Code, please enter it here and then hit the button to go to the next page. Enjoy!

Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Beta Available for Download

Slowhand — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 19:58:25 +0000

Go download it!

Microsoft Announces Beta Exam for 71-680: TS: Windows 7, Configuring

Slowhand — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 19:42:16 +0000

Microsoft has announced that April 27th will be the day that they make the Windows 7 beta exam open to the public. This will be a similar exam to 70-620 which focuses on configuring Vista, and 70-270 which is all about Windows XP Pro. No news yet if the Windows 7 exam will count towards MCSA/MCSE, but you’d better believe that it’ll count towards MCITP: Enterprise Administrator. You will obtain a stand-alone Technology Specialist (TS) designation with the exam, just as with other next-generation Microsoft exams. For some documentation, take a look at the Windows 7 Technical Library Roadmap. For a good discussion on the ins and outs of the exam check out the dedicated thread on TechExams.net.

Register with Prometric starting April 27th. The actual testing window is from May 5th – May 18th. Oh, and you have to use promo code WIN7J in order to sign up for the exam.

Also, today is National High-Five Day.

Free Expo Pass for the RSA Security Conference in San Francisco

Slowhand — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 21:32:19 +0000

Since this is available to everyone, I felt that I should share. The following is a link to IBM’s voucher for free admittance to the expo floor of the RSA Security Conference in San Francisco, running from April 20th until April 24th.

Free Expo Pass – Be IBM’s Guest

You have to sign up before April 17th to redeem the freebie.