MCTS Online Training

MCTS Overview

Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) certifications are designed to validate your skills on the features and functionality of Microsoft technologies. You can show your depth of knowledge in one specific technology, earn multiple MCTS certifications to show breadth across different products, or build on the MCTS to earn a Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) or Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD) certification.

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MCTS candidate profile

MCTS candidates are capable of implementing, building, troubleshooting, and debugging a particular Microsoft technology.

Why get certified?

Earning a Microsoft Certification validates your proven experience and knowledge in using Microsoft products and solutions. Designed to be relevant in today’s rapidly changing IT marketplace, Microsoft Certifications help you utilize evolving technologies, fine-tune your troubleshooting skills, and improve your job satisfaction.

Whether you are new to technology, changing jobs, or a seasoned professional, becoming certified demonstrates to customers, peers, and employers that you are committed to advancing your skills and taking on greater challenges. In addition, certification provides you with access to exclusive Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) resources and benefits, including opportunities to connect with a vast, global network of MCPs.

MCTS Network Infrastructure Certification

The Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) on Windows Server 2008 credential is intended for IT professionals who work in the complex computing environment of medium-sized to large companies.

The MCTS candidate should have at least one year of experience implementing and administering a network operating system in an environment that has the following characteristics:

250 to 5,000 or more users
Three or more physical locations
Three or more domain controllers
Network services and resources, such as messaging, a database, file and print, a proxy server, a firewall, the Internet, an intranet, remote access, and client computer management
Connectivity requirements, such as connecting branch offices and individual users in remote locations to the corporate network and connecting corporate networks to the Internet.

Job Roles for MCTS Network Infrastructure

This course is for those who work with or plan to work with IP addressing and services, names resolution, file and print services, network access and remote access, and monitoring network services. It is also for those looking to stand out for their specialised knowledge in a Windows Server 2008 environment.

Train for this Microsoft Certification and achieve MCTS status.
Which can be credited towards an MCITP.

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The Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) is a program of professional certifications awarded by Microsoft. Individual certifications are received upon passing one or more exams. The MCP program itself is designed for software developers and all kinds of IT Professionals. Microsoft also awards a variety of more targeted certifications (e.g., Microsoft Certified IT Professional).

Like Apple, Cisco, Oracle, Red Hat, Sun and Ubuntu programs, the certifications mainly focus on their respective product, as opposed to employment aptitude tests designed for programmer trainee jobs. These branches of technical series with the MC (Microsoft Certified) prefix include Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP), Microsoft Certified Master (MCM), Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA), Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD), Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS).

Each exam costs depending on the region and certification track.Exams usually take between two and three hours to complete and consist of between 40 and 90 multiple-choice, drag-and-drop, and solution-building questions; and simulated content with respect to which students must perform certain common administrative tasks.

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MCTS offers different fields of specialization to IT professionals. 

The Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist – MCTS certification provide the foundation for Microsoft Certification. These certifications are designed to validate your skills on the features and functionality of key technologies. You can show your depth of knowledge in one specific technology, earn multiple MCTS certifications to show breadth across different products, or build on the MCTS to earn a Professional Series credential.

MCTS candidates are capable of implementing, building, troubleshooting, and debugging a particular Microsoft technology.

 MCTS certifications can be achieved in following technologies:

* Windows technologies

* Microsoft Visual Studio and Microsoft .NET Framework technologies

* Microsoft SQL Server technologies

* Microsoft Office System technologies (including Office SharePoint Server and Office Project Server)

* Microsoft Exchange Server technology

* Other technologies

Certification and Exam number Windows technologies

Business Desktop Deployment Exam 70-624

Connected Home Integrator Exam 70-625

Windows Embedded CE 6.0: Application Development Exam 70-571

Windows Essential Business Server 2008, Configuration Exam 70-654

Windows Mobile 5.0, Applications Exam 70-540

Windows Mobile 5.0, Implementing and Managing Exam 70-500

Windows Server 2003 Hosted Environments – Configuration and Management Exam 70-501

Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Configuration Exam 70-640

Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure Configuration Exam 70-642

Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure Configuration Exam 70-643

Windows Server Virtualization, Configuration Exam 70-652

Windows Small Business Server 2008, Configuration Exam 70-653

Windows Vista – Configuration Exam 70-620

Microsoft Visual Studio and Microsoft .NET Framework technologies

Dot .NET Framework 2.0 Web Applications Exam 70-536 and Exam 70-528

Dot .NET Framework 2.0 Windows Applications Exam 70-536 and Exam 70-526

Dot .NET Framework 2.0 Distributed Applications Exam 70-536 and Exam 70-529

Dot .NET Framework 3.5 ADO .NET Applications Exam 70-536 and Exam 70-561

Dot .NET Framework 3.5 ASP .NET Applications Exam 70-536 and Exam 70-562

Dot .NET Framework 3.5 Windows Communication Foundation Applications Exam 70-536 and Exam 70-503

Dot .NET Framework 3.5 Windows Forms Applications Exam 70-536 and Exam 70-505

Dot .NET Framework 3.5 Windows Presentation Foundation Applications Exam 70-536 and Exam 70-502

Dot .NET Framework 3.5, Windows Workflow Foundation Applications Exam 70-536 and Exam 70-504

Microsoft SQL Server technologies

SQL Server 2005 Exam 70-431

SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence Exam 70-445

SQL Server 2008, Business Intelligence Development and Maintenance Exam 70-448

SQL Server 2008, Database Development Exam 70-433

SQL Server 2008, Implementation and Maintenance Exam 70-432

Microsoft Office System technologies (including Office SharePoint Server and Office Project Server)

Enterprise Project Management with Microsoft Office Project Server 2007 Exam 70-633

Communications Server 2007, Configuration Exam 70-638

Groove 2007, Configuration Exam 70-555

Live Communications Server 2005 Exam 70-262

Performance Point Server 2007, Applications Exam 70-556

Projects 2007, Managing Projects Exam 70-632

Project Server 2007, Configuration Exam 70-639

SharePoint Server 2007 – Configuration Exam 70-630

SharePoint Server 2007 – Application Development Exam 70-542

Visio 2007, Application Development Exam 70-545

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 – Application Development Exam 70-541

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 – Configuration Exam 70-631

Microsoft Exchange Server technology

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 – Configuration Exam 70-236

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Microsoft 70-640 Exam Quick Pass Tips ( Windows Server 2008)
As the your know that getting good job you need pass Microsoft exams and get certified to eligible for the job. Some Microsoft exams are not as simple and easy to pass; you need get the core concept of the exam this article will help you to under stand Microsoft Server 2008 for the exams of 70-640, 70-642.

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WHAT IS WINDOWS SERVER 2008
Windows Server 2008 R2, or simply R2 for short, is the second release of Windows Server 2008 . It isn’t a completely new release, but rather adds additional features and refinements to the existing release . In this book, we focus on the new features and refinements in R2 . We assume you have at least a general knowledge of Windows Server, and that you have some familiarity with Windows Server 2008, although we don’t assume you’re actively running Windows Server 2008 . Where an R2 feature is a refinement of a feature that was new in Windows Server 2008, we provide background on the Windows Server 2008 feature to provide context .

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The Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) certifications enable professionals to target specific technologies and to distinguish themselves by demonstrating in-depth knowledge and expertise in their specialized technologies. An MCTS is consistently capable of implementing, building, troubleshooting, and debugging a particular Microsoft technology.

Start by showing companies that you mean business by certifying on the technology that you already know. And let DreamSpark to lend you a hand by providing you with a free certification exam while supplies last from now until June 30th, 2009. You have the knowledge; now put it to the test and advance your career!

Technology Series (MCTS)

The Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) credential enables professionals to target specific technologies, and are generally the first step toward the Professional-level certifications. There are currently 20 MCTS certifications which can be roughly grouped into the following specializations, each requiring certain examinations to be passed:

Office specializations

Managing Projects with Microsoft Office Project 2007

Exam 70-632: Microsoft Office Project 2007, Managing Projects

Enterprise Project Management with Microsoft Office Project Server 2007]

Exam 70-633: Microsoft Office Project Server 2007, Managing Projects

Forefront Client and Server, Configuration

Exam 70-557: Microsoft Forefront Client and Server, Configuration

Office SharePoint Server 2007, Configuration

Exam 70-630: Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, Configuring

Office SharePoint Server 2007, Application Development

Exam 70-542: Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 – Application Development

Sharepoint 2010, Application Development

Exam 70-573: TS: Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Application Development

.NET Framework specializations

.NET Framework 2.0 Web Applications

Exam 70-528: .NET Framework 2.0 – Web-Based Client Development

Exam 70-536: .NET Framework 2.0 – Application Development Foundation

.NET Framework 2.0 Windows Applications

Exam 70-526: .NET Framework 2.0 – Windows-Based Client Development

Exam 70-536: .NET Framework 2.0 – Application Development Foundation

.NET Framework 2.0 Distributed Applications

Exam 70-529: .NET Framework 2.0 – Distributed Application Development

Exam 70-536: .NET Framework 2.0 – Application Development Foundation

.NET Framework 3.5, ASP.NET Applications

Exam 70-536: .NET Framework – Application Development Foundation

Exam 70-562: .NET Framework 3.5, ASP.NET Application Development

.NET Framework 3.5, Windows Presentation Foundation Applications

Exam 70-536: TS: .NET Framework – Application Development Foundation

Exam 70-502: TS: .NET Framework 3.5, Windows Presentation Foundation

Application Development

.NET Framework 3.5, Windows Communication Foundation Applications

Exam 70-536: TS: .NET Framework – Application Development Foundation

Exam 70-503: TS: .NET Framework 3.5 – Windows Communication Foundation Application Development

.NET Framework 3.5, Windows Workflow Foundation Applications

Exam 70-536: TS: .NET Framework – Application Development Foundation

Exam 70-504: TS: .NET Framework 3.5 – Windows Workflow Foundation Application Development

.NET Framework 3.5, Windows Forms Applications

Exam 70-536: TS: .NET Framework – Application Development Foundation

Exam 70-505: TS: .NET Framework 3.5, Windows Forms Application Development

.NET Framework 3.5, ADO.NET Applications

Exam 70-536: TS: .NET Framework – Application Development Foundation

Exam 70-561: TS: .NET Framework 3.5, ADO.NET Application Development

.NET Framework 4, Windows Applications

Exam 70-511: TS: .NET Framework 4, Windows Applications

.NET Framework 4, Web Applications

Exam 70-515: TS: .NET Framework 4, Web Applications

.NET Framework 4, Service Communications Applications

Exam 70-513: TS: .NET Framework 4, Service Communications Applications

.NET Framework 4, Data Access

Exam 70-516: TS: .NET Framework 4, Data Access

SQL Server specializations

SQL Server 2005

Exam 70-431: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 – Implementation and Maintenance

SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence

Exam 70-445: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence – Implementation and Maintenance

SQL Server 2008, Installation and Maintenance

Exam 70-432: TS: Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Installation and Maintenance

SQL Server 2008, Database Development

Exam 70-433: TS: Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Database Development

SQL Server 2008, Business Intelligence Development and Maintenance

Exam 70-448: TS: Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Business Intelligence Development and Maintenance

SQL Server 2008 Designing, Optimizing and Maintaining a Database

Exam 70-450: PRO: Designing, Optimizing and Maintaining a Database Server Infrastructure using Microsoft SQL Server 2008

SQL Server 2008 Design Database

Exam 70-451: PRO: Designing Database Solutions and Data Access Using Microsoft SQL Server 2008

SQL Server 2008 Business Intelligence

Exam 70-452: PRO: Designing a Business Intelligence Infrastructure Using Microsoft SQL Server 2008

Upgrade SQL Server 2005 Certification to SQL Server 2008

Exam 70-453: Upgrade: Transition Your MCITP SQL Server 2005 DBA to MCITP SQL Server 2008 DBA

Upgrade SQL Server 2005 Certification to SQL Server 2008, Database Development

Exam 70-454: Upgrade: Transition Your MCITP SQL Server 2005 Database Developer to MCITP SQL Server 2008 Database Developer

Upgrade SQL Server 2005 Certification to SQL Server 2008, Business Intelligence

Exam 70-455: Upgrade: Transition Your MCITP SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence Developer to MCITP SQL Server 2008 Business Intelligence Developer

Business intelligence specializations

BizTalk Server 2006*Exam 70-235: Developing Business Process and Integration Solutions Using Microsoft BizTalk Server

Live Communications Server 2005*Exam 70-262: Office Live Communications Server 2005-Implementing, Managing, and Troubleshooting

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Configuration*Exam 70-236: Exchange Server 2007, Configuring

Windows specializations

Windows Mobile 5.0 Applications

Exam 70-540: Windows Mobile 5.0 – Application Development

Windows Mobile 5.0, Implementing and Managing

Exam 70-500: Windows Mobile 5.0, Implementing and Managing

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, Application Development

Exam 70-541: Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 – Application Development

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, Configuration

Exam 70-631: Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, Configuring

Windows Vista Configuration

Exam 70-620: Windows Vista, Configuring

Windows Vista and 2007 Microsoft Office System Desktops, Deploying and Maintaining

Exam 70-624: Deploying and Maintaining Windows Vista Client and 2007 Microsoft Office System Desktops

Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Configuration

Exam 70-640: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuring

Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure Configuration

Exam 70-642: Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure, Configuring

Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure Configuration

Exam 70-643: Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure, Configuring

Upgrading from Windows Server 2003 MCSA to Windows Server 2008, Technology

Specializations

Exam 70-648: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuring and Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure, Configuring: upgrade of Windows Server 2003 to Server 2008 for the two above aforementioned MCTS credentials consisting parts of exams 70-640 and 70-642

Windows 7 Configuration

Exam 70-680: Windows 7, Configuring

Windows 7 and Office 2010, Deployment

Exam 70-681: Windows 7 and Office 2010, Deploying

Windows 7, Enterprise Desktop Support Technician

Exam 70-685: Windows 7, Enterprise Desktop Support Technician

Windows 7, Enterprise Desktop Administrator

Exam 70-686: Windows 7, Enterprise Desktop Administrator

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MCTS Online Training At No. 1 Site Certkingdom.com

Microsoft MCTS Certified is Certification Next

Technology is advancing day by day in fact the new technology is no killing the old technology in reality it is advancing the previous versions, peoples are more and more easy and secure way to in technology usage, Microsoft is always been a very fast detector how to reshape the new technology is all software’s like Microsoft Office, Operating systems like windows XP to Windows 7, Internet Explorer 8 IE8, and more,
Intro on MCTS Certification
The MCTS certification is the one, which helps the candidate to step into the IT industry. MCTS also helps the professional who are already in the IT industry to get into a good position in the field. The candidates who are applying for the MCTS certification exam should have experience about the network connectivity, desktop operating system, security, and applications. Those who are very good in these areas can have the MCTS certification without any problem and they may be experienced in a particular filed. The future of the certification will be very good and more demand will be there for MCTS certified professional. There are lots and lots of products that are developed with Microsoft Technology. Microsoft develops products which is very helpful for the users.

What expertise and skills MCTS certification demands?

Though you can acquire a reputable status by obtaining this certification, but it obviously demands a few expertises’s that you must have. For this reason, you must be able in:
* Computer network literacy
* Solving logon related problems
* Creating as well as maintaining the desktop applications
* Executing password resets and others alike

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MCTS: .NET Framework 3.5, Windows Workflow Foundation Applications
Exam 70-536 and Exam 70-504
Microsoft SQL Server technologies
MCTS: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Exam 70-431
MCTS: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence Exam 70-445
MCTS: SQL Server 2008, Business Intelligence Development and Maintenance Exam 70-448
MCTS: SQL Server 2008, Database Development Exam 70-433
MCTS: SQL Server 2008, Implementation and Maintenance Exam 70-432
Microsoft Office System technologies (including Office SharePoint Server and Office Project Server)
MCTS: Enterprise Project Management with Microsoft Office Project Server 2007 Exam 70-633
MCTS: Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, Configuration Exam 70-638
MCTS: Microsoft Office Groove 2007, Configuration Exam 70-555
MCTS: Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005 Exam 70-262
MCTS: Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007, Applications Exam 70-556
MCTS: Microsoft Office Projects 2007, Managing Projects Exam 70-632
MCTS: Microsoft Office Project Server 2007, Configuration Exam 70-639
MCTS: Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 – Configuration Exam 70-630
MCTS: Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 – Application Development Exam 70-542
MCTS: Microsoft Office Visio 2007, Application Development Exam 70-545
MCTS: Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 – Application Development Exam 70-541
MCTS: Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 – Configuration Exam 70-631

Microsoft Exchange Server technology
MCTS: Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 – Configuration Exam 70-236

Other technologies
MCTS: BizTalk Server 2006 R2, Custom Applications Exam 70-241
MCTS: BizTalk Server 2006 Exam 70-235
MCTS: Designing and Providing Volume Licensing Solutions to Large Organizations Exam 70-672
MCTS: Designing and Providing Volume Licensing Solutions to Small and Medium Organizations Exam 70-671
MCTS: Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, Configuration Exam 70-656
MCTS: Microsoft Forefront Client and Server – Configuration Exam 70-557
MCTS: Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2006, Configuration Exam 70-351
MCTS: Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007, Configuration Exam 70-401
MCTS: Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007, Configuration Exam 70-400
MCTS: Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008, Configuration Exam 70-403
MCTS: Microsoft Team Foundation Server: Configuration and Development Exam 70-510
MCTS: Microsoft Virtual Earth 6.0, Application Development Exam 70-544

*Multiple required exams for a certification may be taken in any order.
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Smartphones, tablets, social networks, and cloud services are all popular, incredibly useful — and a security risk. These days, the security focus is on mobile devices, as they tend to be used a lot to work with corporate information, but the variety of platforms, the fact many are employee-owned, and uneven security capabilities all add up to a real — sometimes impossible — challenge to manage them in the same way as the corporate PC.

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The issue is not so much hacking; outside of malware easily available in the Android Market, mobile devices are safer than PCs from hackers. Instead, the issue is inappropriate information usage, where employees inadvertently spill the beans about contacts, embarrass people, violate any number of privacy regulations, and neglect compliance obligations. Most people do it by mistake, while some people do it deliberately; what matters is that they do it.

That puts organizations in an uncomfortable position. Survey after survey shows that technologically empowered users are happier and more productive, so businesses want to tap into that benefit. But they also have to safeguard their secrets and comply with regulations. The good news is that although the methods and tools are still new, there are known, proven approaches to reducing those risks without disabling the benefit of consumerization.

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Oracle moved quickly on Friday to lay out its plans for the HCM (human capital management) software market, a couple days after rival SAP did the same thing.

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SAP and Oracle have each made significant acquisitions of cloud-based HCM vendors in the past few months, with SAP paying US$3.4 billion for SuccessFactors and Oracle announcing plans to buy Taleo for $1.9 billion earlier this month.

While many companies have already invested in a core human-resources software system for areas such as payroll and benefits management, Taleo will bring Oracle applications on the fringes of the HCM category, such as recruitment and employee onboarding, that can be sold into existing and new accounts. Taleo will also give Oracle increased relevance in the cloud software market, as well as staff with hands-on experience running a SaaS (software-as-a-service) business. SAP is seen as getting similar benefits from SuccessFactors.

Once the Taleo acquisition is complete, Oracle will have “the most comprehensive set of enterprise cloud offerings in the world,” said Oracle Co-President Mark Hurd during a webcast event on Friday. And Taleo’s software “clips directly into” Oracle’s own Fusion HCM cloud application, he added.

Oracle wants to offer customers a complete suite of HR applications that includes embedded BI (business intelligence), social network and mobile capabilities, said Thomas Kurian, executive vice president of product development. “We feel we’ll allow organizations to find the best people, have lower turnover and have the best results.”

Kurian sought to explain how Taleo’s products will work alongside Oracle’s existing HR software.

Customers will be able to “plan, predict, and optimally source [their] workforce,” he added. They’ll also gain the ability to identify employees who may be at risk of leaving through predictive analytics, Kurian claimed. Those top performers can then be retained with help from a combination of Taleo and Oracle’s software for internal career development, compensation management and other areas, he added.

Taleo’s recruitment and employee on-boarding software, for which it is well-known, will become preferred offerings, according to a slide Kurian presented.

But Oracle intends to unify the companies’ performance management software into a single product, while providing “a seamless upgrade for all customers,” Kurian said.

Oracle intends to integrate Taleo with its Oracle Public Cloud, on which Fusion HCM runs. This will give the Taleo applications new capabilities for identity management, data services and analytics, Kurian said.

Executives repeatedly noted that Taleo Business Edition, which is aimed at smaller companies, will continue to be offered and supported. This was likely done to quell concerns from customers about that version, since Oracle has focused mostly on how Taleo’s Enterprise version will fit in with its products, said IDC analyst Lisa Rowan.

Kurian also emphasized that Oracle will continue offering talent management software for use with Oracle as well as non-Oracle HR systems, both on-premises and in the cloud.

This likely reflects a fear on Oracle’s part of losing Taleo customers who are now running applications from competitors like SAP, Rowan said.

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Oracle bending to customer demand or playing a crafty hand?

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Chris Kanarakus reports that Oracle has waivered extended support fees. Given what we know about Oracle’s masterful account control in its customer base you might be forgiven for wondering why this is the case. Citing Forrester analyst Paul Hamerman, Kanaracus offers several possible explanations including:

Keep customers happy while not force marching to Fusion
Waiting for Fusion to reach feature/function parity with eBusiness Suite
Keep customers from straying into the arms of third party maintenance providers like Rimini Street

I sense the decision is much more pragmatic. As Kanaracus observes, maintenance fees are extraordinarily lucrative, generating gross margin north of 90%. Until recently, maintenance fees have been a small fraction of total IT spend. When weighed against for example the cost of upgrade, they often look like little more than a rounding error. So what has changed? I sense there are several factors in play:

Direct IT department spend has stagnated or is falling yet demands for IT to deliver value are rising.
Newer technologies and especially those that are sold on a consumption basis are coming in directly via line of business departments rather than IT.
While most commenters recognise that cloud based applications will remain a minor part of the overall landscape for the immediate future, the long term threat is real for incumbents like Oracle.
Oracle, like every other incumbent on-premise player is desperate to maintain margins while figuring out a way of getting on the cloud bus.

My guess is that Oracle is viewing this combination of factors as creating an environment where treading lightly keeps the cash register ticking over while giving the company breathing space. The question in my mind is just how long that breathing space will last.

In The New Technology Elite, Vinnie Mirchandani makes the bold statement:

For too long IT has been an expensive and low-payback back-office investment. Now technology in the companies’ products is allowing them to generate revenue and growth.

As I look back over time and think about the numerous ERP failures, the lack of genuine innovation, the stress that some companies have felt and yet balance that against the fat margins companies like Oracle, SAP, Infor, Microsoft and others make I wonder whether the maintenance chickens are finally coming home to roost.

In Oracle’s case, the problems are compounded by a less than stellar performance in its hardware story. As Larry Dignan observed:

The problem, however, is that Oracle saw new software license revenue gain only 2 percent in the second quarter from a year ago to $2 billion. Updates and support revenue was up 8 percent to $4 billion. Hardware systems revenue fell 14 percent from a year ago to $953 million in the second quarter. In addition, Oracle couldn’t blame currency fluctuations either—the growth rates in constant currencies mirrored the actual results.

As Oracle closes out its Q3, analysts will be watching all line items to better understand where the real weaknesses are in Oracle’s business model.

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Still, there is a definite plus when you reach graduate degree in certain subjects such as economics, accounting, management, business administration degree, science, etc.. “These are often exempt from some introductory courses in the second degree, while graduates in other subjects are usually required to complete certain courses, to meet the graduate entrance requirements.
Not too distant past it was possible to study MBA only a limited number of universities. But today the situation is significantly different, when many colleges have received recognition and approval from the Council for Higher Education to award an MBA. Colleges teaching courses MBA are designed to give graduates the knowledge, skill and professional skills related to the different management areas, which constitute important background for management positions at various levels.

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Online MBA – Courses of Study
Master’s degree in business administration are very wide studies, which include a wide range of subjects and specialties. Master’s degree in business administration is well educated, who could face the many challenges of management professions. Curriculum MBA includes specializations in functional, such as strategic management, accounting, human resource management, ethics and law, business law, decision making, behavioral science in management, management in a competitive market,

management decisions under uncertainty, information systems, project management management, marketing, production management, financial management, operations research, general management, banking, capital markets, international market, internet, business consulting, and more.
The degree program MBA usually takes two years, but this varies among colleges. Colleges offer a wide range of graduate courses in Business Administration: Some of the tracks are tracks Online MBA in IT. Master of Business Administration)) non-research track, and some of them holds an MA in Research (MA.). Also, some of the colleges is a special Executive MBA course for managers. In addition, during the school year MBA student can choose a particular specialty of specialties offered by the same route to college.

Minimum requirements for an MBA different from a college to college, but most colleges require at least some of the following requirements: experience in a managerial or command a certain seniority, minimum undergraduate grade, personal interview, test G”imt, personal connection, recommendations and more. Consult the requested College examine the specific admission requirements that it requires.

MBA MA in Business Administration – Employment Options
Most have top positions in the economy are graduates of MBA. Graduates of the MBA are highly knowledgeable in various management, and take up key positions in professional and managerial positions in many, and wages and conditions are significant benefits. Graduates of the MBA, one of the specialties available at colleges, senior roles in organizations in a variety of areas, including business enterprise, and more.

During graduate school business administration must select a primary specialty. Existing specialties are marketing, finance, insurance, information systems, information technology, accounting and human resources.
Distance Education MBA degree business administration courses include a range of compulsory subjects of management fundamentals. The courses include: Math, English, writing theoretical business, Introduction to Economics – Micro, Introduction to Economics – macro, math managers, Introduction to Information Technology, statistics, principles of behavior, introduction to organizational behavior, structures and processes in managing organizational system overall, trade secret law, introduction to finance, accounting system fundamentals, fundamentals of accounting, managerial accounting, financial accounting, fundamentals of marketing, consumer behavior, the Israeli economy,
contract law, computer applications management, enterprise information systems, operations research, quantitative methods, applied research foundations, price theory, the tax system in Israel, Introduction taxes, capital markets in Israel.

In recent years more and more academic institutions offer MBA and because the Council for Higher Education has awarded permits many educational institutions leading to the opening of a variety of routes in the area. All graduate his degree can study MBA, those who came from the economy or the manager will be required to complete courses work. Graduate business manager prepares the graduates to acquire tools in the business world. Many places are given priority over employment graduates only. MA There are many specialized purposes such as accounting, human resource management, ethics and law, business law, behavioral science in management, management in a competitive market, information systems, project management, marketing management, production management, finance, operations research, banking and capital markets, international market , internet, business consulting, and more.

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Mozilla said yesterday that it will build a “proof-of-concept” version of Firefox for Windows 8′s Metro touch-first interface next quarter, then follow that with more functional editions later in the year.

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The company is the first of Microsoft’s browser rivals to publicly commit to a Metro edition. Microsoft has said it will ship both Metro and traditional desktop versions of Internet Explorer 10 (IE10) with Windows 8 and Windows on ARM (WOA), the new OS targeting tablets and other low-powered devices.

Metro is Microsoft’s label for the touch-enabled interface at the center of both Windows 8 and WOA. Windows 8 will run Metro and traditional 32- and 64-bit Windows applications, but WOA will run only those third-party apps designed for Metro.

In an update to its 2012 roadmap published Sunday, Mozilla said that it would craft a “technology proof of concept” of Firefox on Metro as a first step. “This is not [an] alpha or a beta, but should demonstrate the feasibility of Firefox in Windows 8 Metro,” Asa Dotzler, the product director of Firefox, wrote in a roadmap overview.

The proof of concept is currently slated to roll out in the second quarter of 2012. Alpha and beta versions of the browser will follow in July through December.

“The Alpha will prove the installation path and basic browsing features, [and] the beta will be feature complete for a 1.0-capability product,” Dotzler added.

In a more detailed planning document, Mozilla spelled out some specific goals of Firefox on Metro, saying that it will rely on existing Gecko libraries in 32-bit Windows to avoid having to port the bulk of the browser’s code to the WinRT API (application programming interface).

Gecko is the Firefox browser engine, while WinRT refers to “Windows Runtime,” the new programming model Microsoft is promoting for developing Metro apps in Windows 8.

“Firefox on Metro [will be] a full-screen App with an Appbar that contains common navigation controls (back, reload, etc.,) the Awesomebar, and some form of tabs,” the document stated.

If Mozilla’s assumptions are correct — that it will power Firefox Metro on Windows 8 via current Gecko libraries — its new browser would run only on Windows 8, not on WOA.

Mozilla has already put considerable resources into Firefox for Android, and has talked about creating a Web-based operating system of its own, dubbed “Boot to Gecko,” for tablets and smartphones.

Mozilla said it will have a better idea of the work necessary to create a Metro Firefox on Windows 8 after Microsoft ships the Consumer Preview of the new operating system on Feb. 29.

Metro apps will be distributed only through the Windows Store, Microsoft has said.

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“Microsoft Voice and Unified Communications is essential reading for anyone using–or considering–Microsoft’s range of VoIP options, from consumers to small business owners to enterprise customers.”

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–Xuedong Huang, General Manager, Microsoft Research Communications, Innovation Center

“Joe Schurman has captured the essence of Microsoft’s vision and implementation in the areas of Voice and Unified Communications. This is an important book for those interested in connecting the dots between the present and the future in human communications and understanding why things are evolving in that way.”

–Gurdeep Singh Pall, Microsoft Corporate Vice President, Unified Communications Group

Microsoft® Voice and Unified Communications is a book that provides insight into Microsoft’s Voice and Unified Communications portfolio of products and services related to Microsoft Windows Live, Microsoft Response Point, and the Microsoft Unified Communications platform.

Here’s What You’ll Find Inside. . .

· Microsoft’s vision of voice products and services for consumer, small/medium businesses, and enterprise organizations including a foreword by Gurdeep Singh Pall, Microsoft Corporate Vice President, Unified Communications Group, and commentary by Xuedong Huang, General Manager of the Microsoft Research Communications Innovation Center.

· Technical guidance and information related to Microsoft Windows Live, Microsoft Response Point, and the Microsoft Unified Communications platform, including the newly released Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2.

· Sales guidance for selling Microsoft voice solutions in the SMB and Enterprise markets.

· Examples of customized Microsoft voice and unified communications applications.

· Overview of Microsoft voice and unified communications security.

· Latest Microsoft voice and unified communications research and development.

· Understanding of voice, unified communications, and telephony concepts and terms as well as the history and evolution of communications technology.

Online Sample Chapter

The Communications Renaissance
Sample Pages

Download the sample pages

Table of Contents

Foreword     xiii

Preface     xv

Acknowledgments     xvii

About the Author     xx

Chapter 1: The Communications Renaissance     1

Telephony Revolution     1

Telephony Evolution     5

SIP’ing VoIP     8

The Presence of SIP     10

The Battle for Voice Quality     12

Voice Protocols and Codecs     15

Securing Voice Communications     16

The Microsoft Vision of Software-Powered Voice     17

Chapter 2: Consumer Voice Communications with Windows Live     19

Setting Up a Windows Live Messenger Account     21

Signing Up for VoIP Service     23

Adding Contacts     25

Communicating with a Contact     27

Collaborating Using Microsoft Messenger for Mac     32

Windows Live Call Voice Architecture     35

Chapter 3: Small Business Voice Communications with Microsoft Response Point    37

Microsoft Response Point Hardware     38

D-Link VoiceCenter     39

Syspine Digital Operator Phone System     42

Aastra AastraLink RP     44

Microsoft Response Point Software     48

Microsoft Response Point Base Unit Software     48

Microsoft Response Point Administrator     50

Microsoft Response Point Assistant     51

Microsoft Response Point Internet Telephony Service Providers     54

Innovative Microsoft Response Point Features     56

Response Point and Small Business Server Integration     60

The Gateway to Voice and Unified Communications     62

Quintum Response Point Gateways     62

Evangelyze Communications SmartVoIP     63

Experiencing Voice with Microsoft Response Point     64

Step 1–Purchase a Response Point System     64

Step 2–Configure Microsoft Response Point Hardware     65

Step 3–Configure Response Point Software      66

Step 4–Configuring Phones, Users, and Features     67

Step 5–Testing Response Point Features     72

My Personal Response Point Response     82

Microsoft’s Internal Perception of Microsoft Response Point     83

Chapter 4: Enterprise Voice with Microsoft Unified Communications     85

Microsoft Office Communications Server     88

From RTC to UC     88

Office Communications Server Editions     89

Microsoft Office Communicator     108

Office Communicator (PC Edition)     109

Office Communicator Attendant Console     113

Office Communicator Web Access     114

Group Chat Client     115

Office Communicator Mobile     116

Office Communicator Phone Edition     117

Microsoft Messenger for Mac OS X     118

Microsoft Office Live Meeting     121

Microsoft Exchange Server     122

Unified Messaging     123

Microsoft Office Live Meeting and Communicator Integration     126

Calling Features within Outlook 2007     128

Microsoft Exchange Server Push E-mail for Outlook Mobile     128

Microsoft Unified Communications Devices     129

Microsoft Entourage 2008 for Mac OS X     131

Microsoft Exchange E-mail for the Apple iPhone     132

The Microsoft Unified Communications Vision     134

Chapter 5: Simply Speaking: The Integration of Speech Recognition with Voice and Unified Communications     135

The Vision of Speech within Microsoft’s VoIP Products and Services     136

Microsoft Voice and Speech Integration     137

Microsoft Office Communications Server Speech Integration     137

Microsoft Response Point and Speech Recognition     140

The Future of Speech with Voice-Enabled Applications     143

Chapter 6: Voice Collaboration     145

Microsoft Office and Voice     145

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server     152

Microsoft Office Outlook     153

Microsoft Unified Communications and Microsoft Office “Better Together” Videos     160

Chapter 7: Customizing Voice Applications     161

Microsoft Office Communications Server Customization     161

Office Communications Server 2007 SDK     162

Unified Communications Managed API SDK     163

Microsoft Office Communicator Customization     167

Office Communicator Automation API     168

Microsoft Office Communicator Tabs     169

Unified Communications Client SDK     171

Unified Communications AJAX SDK     171

Microsoft Office Live Meeting Customization     174

Live Meeting Portal API     175

Microsoft Exchange Server Customization     176

Exchange Web Services for Unified Communications     176

Exchange Server Unified Messaging Web Service     178

Custom Speech Development     179

Developer Resources     180

Chapter 8: Securing Voice     181

Voice and UC Security Threats     181

Voice and Unified Communications Security Solutions     183

Providing a Secure Platform Architecture     184

Instant Messaging Filtering     195

Industry-Recognized Voice Security Products     197

Chapter 9: How to Sell Voice and Unified Communications     201

Know the Lingo     202

Understand the Voice and UC Competitive Landscape     203

Microsoft Versus Cisco     206

Microsoft Versus IBM     209

Microsoft Versus Nortel, Avaya, Siemens, and NEC     211

Microsoft Versus the SMB VoIP Competition     213

Leverage Microsoft Voice Sales Incentive Programs     215

Step 1–Become a Microsoft Partner     215

Step 2–Engage with Microsoft     217

Step 3–Differentiate Yourself     218

Learn How to Sell Voice and UC Consulting Services     220

Introducing the UC 1-2-3 Methodology     220

UC 1-2-3 Business Plan     221

Microsoft Response Point 1-2-3     228

Sales Summary     229

Chapter 10: The Virtualization of Voice     231

Virtualizing Microsoft Unified Communications     231

Virtualizing Microsoft Response Point     235

The End of Telephony-Based Hardware     238

The Partner Opportunity for Voice Software Services     241

Virtual Resources     243

Appendix A: Closing Comments and Resources     245

Resources     246

Index     249

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Here are 10 of the worst transgressions for any geek. Doing any one of these will put your geek credentials at risk. Do two of them and your geek card immediately gets revoked.

TechRepublic has previously talked about some of the things you can do to increase your geek cred. Naturally, there are also some things that can hurt your geek cred. In fact, we’ve put together a list of 10 of the worst transgressions for any geek. Doing any one of these will put your geek credentials at risk. Do two of them and your geek card immediately gets revoked.

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10. Admitting that you like iTunes

Sure, it’s convenient for buying music and media in one place and syncing it to an iPod or iPhone, but iTunes has a draconian DRM system (still in place for media), makes it difficult to manage your library on multiple systems, and it started out as one of the worst pieces of bloatware ever built. And, it hasn’t gotten much better.

9. Not knowing the difference between binary and hexadecimal

Binary is the basis of all computing and is simply composed of zeros and ones. Hexadecimal is a 16-digit numeric system — based on numbers 0-9 and letters A-F — that represents binary in a more friendly way. Know the difference.

8. Not knowing what MMORPG stands for

Even if you don’t play games (or rarely play) you should know that an MMORPG is a “massively multiplayer online role-playing game,” also known as the alternate reality for geeks. The biggest one is World of Warcraft (WoW), a cultural phenomenon with over 12 million subscribers.

7. Loving your cable or telecom company

Geeks built the Internet. Geeks live on the Internet. Geeks love the Internet. However, the companies that bring us the Internet to our homes and offices — the telecoms and cable companies — are doing everything they can to wall it off, manipulate it for their own financial gain, and stop geeks from using it so much. For as long as they do that, they will remain at war with the geekosphere.

6. Not knowing the name of the book that Blade Runner was based on

Blade Runner is one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time. If you’re a true geek, you’ve seen it multiple times. But, not only that, you also know that it’s based on Philip K. Dick’s “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” which is one of the best-titled stories in all of literature and an absolute classic in science fiction.

5. Confusing Star Wars and Star Trek

If someone mentions a Wookie and a Klingon and you’re not sure which one was part of the Star Wars universe and which one belongs to the Star Trek milieu, you are definitely not a geek.

4. Believing the “free” in open source refers to price

Repeat after me, “Open source does not mean it doesn’t cost anything.” Sure, some open source software is freely available to download at no cost. But, that’s not a requirement of open source. There is plenty of open source software that requires a fee. When open source talks about “free” software, they are referring to “free” as in “freedom.” It is freedom from overreaching licensing agreements. You’ll also hear this concept referred to as “Gratis verses Libre.”

3. Defending Facebook for its privacy transgressions

Look, Facebook is lucky the entire geekosphere hasn’t dropped it like a bad habit after all of the crap they’ve pulled in changing and violating their own lackluster privacy policies. Leo Laporte nearly led a geek revolt out of Facebook in May 2010. The only thing that prevented it was lack of a viable alternative.

2. Taking something into Geek Squad to get fixed

Best Buy’s Geek Squad has a few legitimate geeks on staff; however, too many of their technicians are completely clueless and can do more harm than good to your equipment. Besides, if you’re geek, just geek-up, open up the case, and fix it yourself. (Exception: It’s acceptable to go to the Geek Squad counter to exchange a DOA device that is still under warranty. Just don’t let us catch you asking for advice.)

1. Buying a paper computer book at Barnes & Noble

In 1999, if you wanted to quickly learn more about HTML or Exchange 5.5 or Apache or how to earn CCNA certification, you’d typically make a quick trip to your nearest book superstore like Barnes & Noble or Borders and comb through the huge selection of computer books. However, this is 2010. Any computer book you find at a bookstore is at least six months out of date. Almost everything you need to know is available on the web for free or in ebook format that you can quickly download to your laptop or tablet. Buying a dead-tree tome about a new technology is an immediate tip-off that your geek credentials are in question.

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Survey confirms that small businesses are the most natural place for public cloud adoption.

When talking about public cloud and Software as a Service, the most natural market is small to medium-size businesses. (Defined as companies with fewer than 500 employees). Larger organizations are more likely to have bigger IT departments, and many of their own resources.

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Sure enough, a new survey finds that cloud adoption among SMBs is pretty fast and furious.

Nearly one-third of small to medium-size businesses have adopted cloud computing technology, with medium-sized businesses (42%) showing the highest utilization, a new study from the CompTIA industry trade group finds. Another 35% of all SMBs plan to use the cloud in some form in the next year.

Presumably, they’re talking about accessing public cloud solutions from third party suppliers.

The CompTIA survey found that storage and backup solutions are the most heavily used cloud applications, with 71% of SMBs using the cloud in this way. Email (62%), document management (59%), collaboration (56%) and customer relationship management (53%) are other popular options.

Among SMBs now using cloud computing, 92% of firms say their experience has been “positive or very positive”; and 97% report that their move to the cloud “has produced the desired result, with cost and flexibility most frequently cited as the benefits of a cloud solution.”

In addition, seven out of ten of the SMBs surveyed said they expect to increase their technology spending over the next 12 months, and one-third of the companies surveyed expect to increase their IT budget by 10 percent or more.

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The ongoing legal battle between Google and Oracle is complicated. My ZDNet colleague Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols is eager to step up to Google’s defense, but his “history” is incomplete and inaccurate. Don’t take my word for it. Here’s what Google’s own lawyers have to say.

My ZDNet colleague Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols is eager to step up to Google’s defense in the company’s legal battle with Oracle.

To that end, he has written “A Google Android and Java history lesson” that attempts to debunk some of the issues I raised in my post last night about the latest documents filed in that case.

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Here’s the thing about history, though. In order to write it, you have to start with facts. And I hate to say it, but Steven just plain has his facts wrong.

Don’t take my word for it, either. I’ll let Google’s own defense attorneys dismantle Steven’s flawed history.

Here’s what Steven writes:

Recently, some people were shocked-shocked I tell you-to discover that Google had looked at Java to help create Android’s Dalvik …

First, there’s the accusation that Android used Java code in creating its Dalvik virtual machine (VM). This is news? When Android first came out, Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz, then Java’s owner, greeted the news of Android’s birth with “heartfelt congratulations.”

Oh, by the way, anyone could look, use, and, yes, copy Java’s code too. You see, Sun had open-sourced Java under the GPLv2 in November 2006. Sun wanted Google and anyone else to use and copy its code. That’s kind of the whole point of open-sourcing a program don’t you know.

Oh dear. If this is true, then how on earth did this lawsuit ever get past the first day?

Perhaps because virtually none of that history actually matches up with the facts. The following quotations are taken, verbatim, from Google Inc.’s Answer to Oracle’s Amended Complaint. (I’ve bold-faced the interesting parts.) If you want to follow along, please turn to pages 16 and 17. And remember, this is what Google’s lawyers said. This isn’t an accusation by Oracle or a loose summary by some blogger:

[I]n response to the urging of open-source advocates and in the hopes of increasing the number of Java users, Sun officially announced that Java would become open-source. In 2006 and 2007, Sun released some but not all of the source code for Java SE (as well as the other editions of the Java Platform) under the terms of the GNU Public License, version 2 (“GPLv2”) open source license. This open-source aspect of Java contributed to its widespread acceptance among software developers.

So, Sun released some, but not all of the source code? That might change things…

Google’s lawyers even criticize Sun and its successor Oracle America for not being open enough:

Only two months later, in April of 2009, Oracle Corp. announced that it would be acquiring Sun (renamed Oracle America after the acquisition was completed in January of 2010). Since that time, and directly contrary to Oracle Corp.’s public actions and statements, as well as its own proposals as an executive member of the JCP, Oracle Corp. and Sun (now Oracle America) have ignored the open source community’s requests to fully open-source the Java platform.

Let’s continue:

Sun also released the specifications for Sun’s Java platform, including Sun’s Java virtual machine, under a free-of-charge license… [links here and here] The license allows developers to create “clean room” implementations of Sun’s Java specifications. If those implementations demonstrate compatibility with the Java specification, then Sun would provide a license for any of its intellectual property needed to practice the specification, including patent rights and copyrights.

So, no, that part about anyone being able to “look, use, and, yes, copy Java’s code too”? Not true. In fact, there’s the crux of the copyright case. If it were really permissible to simply copy the Sun/Oracle code, Google’s lawyers would be able to raise a big middle finger as their primary defense. Instead, this is what they argue on page 12 of their Answer:

The Android Platform, including the Android operating system, the Android Software Development Kit and the Dalvik Virtual Machine, was created independently and without reference to any works protected by the Asserted Copyrights.

They had to say that, of course. The definition of a “clean room” implementation is that the engineers writing the code have no direct exposure to the original, copyrighted material, incuding code, specifications, and other documentation. Here’s the Wikipedia definition, which is consistent with the claims in this case:

Clean room design is useful as a defense against copyright and trade secret infringement because it relies on independent invention. However, because independent invention is not a defense against patents, clean room designs typically cannot be used to circumvent patent restrictions.

The term implies that the design team works in an environment that is ‘clean’, or demonstrably uncontaminated by any knowledge of the proprietary techniques used by the competitor.

That’s a problem for Google, as I noted in yesterday’s post, because there is substantial evidence that the engineers working on the project had direct access to the copyrighted material. A number of Google employees and contractors who worked on Android previously had access to Sun’s Java code. One, Joshua Bloch, “was an architect of the Java platform at Sun [and] now works for Google … his name appears in the source code of several Java library files.” The copyrighted documentation was available to the so-called “clean room” engineers. That spells trouble for Google.

And even if Google followed those procedures, they were not guaranteed to succeed. Once again, I quote from Google’s own defense team:

The only way to demonstrate compatibility with the Java specification is by meeting all of the requirements of Sun’s Technology Compatibility Kit (“TCK”) for a particular edition of Sun’s Java. Importantly, however, TCKs were only available from Sun, initially were not available as open source, were provided solely at Sun’s discretion, and included several restrictions, such as additional licensing terms and fees. In essence, although developers were free to develop a competing Java virtual machine, they could not openly obtain an important component needed to freely benefit from Sun’s purported open-sourcing of Java.

Those were impossible restrictions for Google. As Professor John C. Mitchell noted in his expert report, filed under oath and made public earlier this week:

Developers creating compatible, independent implementations can obtain a license from Oracle on these or similar terms. Google could have entered into a license such as this, but chose not to. Google’s Android is not a complete implementation, without subsetting or supersetting. In addition, I understand that Android has not passed the relevant Java compatibility test suites that would check for and ensure total compatibility and Google has not attempted to complete this process. As Android founder and chief Andy Rubin wrote, “They [Sun] will never certify our VM, or put another way, I will not submit Dalvik for certification.” (GOOGLE-01-00026813.) Of course, there is no sense in submitting Android for certification — because it is intentionally incompatible, it would fail.

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Here’s a list of the 10 accreditations with the greatest potential for technology support professionals, administrators, and managers seeking employment within consulting firms or small and midsize organizations.

This post originally appeared on TechRepublic. It is also available as a PDF download.

By Erik Eckel

Just as with many popular arguments — Red Sox v. Yankees, Chelsea v. Manchester United, Ford v. Chevy — IT certifications are popular fodder for debate. Except that certifications, in an IT professional’s microcosm of a world, have a bigger impact on the future. Just which certifications hold the most value today? Here’s my list of the 10 accreditations with the greatest potential for technology support professionals, administrators, and managers seeking employment within consulting firms or small and midsize organizations.

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1: MCITP

This best certification list could be built using 10 Microsoft certifications, many of which would be MCITP accreditations. The world runs on Microsoft. Those professionals earning Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) certification give employers and clients confidence that they’ve developed the knowledge and skills necessary to plan, deploy, support, maintain, and optimize Windows technologies. Specifically, the Enterprise Desktop Administrator 7 and Server Administrator tracks hold great appeal, as will Enterprise Messaging Administrator 2010, as older Exchange servers are retired in favor of the newer platform.

2: MCTS

With operating systems (Windows 2000, 2003, 2008, etc.) cycling through every several years, many IT professionals simply aren’t going to invest the effort to earn MCITP or MCSE accreditation on every version. That’s understandable. But mastering a single exam, especially when available examinations help IT pros demonstrate expertise with such popular platforms as Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, and Microsoft SQL Server 2008, is more than reasonable. That’s why the Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) accreditation earns a spot on the list; it provides the opportunity for IT pros to demonstrate expertise on a specific technology that an organization may require right here, right now.

3: Network+

There’s simply no denying that IT professionals must know and understand the network principles and concepts that power everything within an organization’s IT infrastructure, whether running Windows, Linux, Apple, or other technologies. Instead of dismissing CompTIA’s Network+ as a baseline accreditation, every IT professional should add it to their resume.

4: A+

Just as with CompTIA’s Network+ certification, the A+ accreditation is another cert that all IT professionals should have on their resume. Proving baseline knowledge and expertise with the hardware components that power today’s computers should be required of all technicians. I’m amazed at the number of smart, intelligent, and seasoned IT pros who aren’t sure how to crack the case of a Sony Vaio or diagnose failed capacitors with a simple glance. The more industry staff can learn about the fundamental hardware components, the better.

5: CSSA

SonicWALLs power countless SMB VPNs. The company’s network devices also provide firewall and routing services, while extending gateway and perimeter security protections to organizations of all sizes. By gaining Certified SonicWALL Security Administrator (CSSA) certification, engineers can demonstrate their mastery of network security essentials, secure remote access, or secure wireless administration. There’s an immediate need for engineers with the knowledge and expertise required to configure and troubleshoot SonicWALL devices providing security services.

6: CCNA

Although SonicWALL has eaten some of Cisco’s lunch, the demand for Cisco skills remains strong. Adding Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) expertise to your resume does no harm and helps convince larger organizations, in particular, that you have the knowledge and skills necessary to deploy and troubleshoot Cisco routing and switching hardware.

7: ACTC

Here’s where the debate really begins. Increasingly, my office is being asked to deploy and administer Mac OS X networks. In the real world, divorced from IT-industry rhetoric, we’re being asked to replace older Windows networks with Mac OS X client-server environments. We’re particularly seeing Apple traction within nonprofit environments. We’ve found the best bet is to get up to speed on the technologies clients are requesting, so it stands to reason that earning Apple Certified Technical Coordinator (ACTC) 10.6 accreditation won’t hurt. In fact, developing mastery over Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server will help provide confidence needed to actually begin pursuing Apple projects, instead of reactively responding to client requests to deploy and maintain Apple infrastructure.

8: ACSP

Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP) 10.6 accreditation helps IT professionals demonstrate expertise supporting Mac OS X client workstations. If you work for a single organization, and that firm doesn’t use Macs, you won’t need this certification. But larger organizations adding Macs due to demand within different departments or consultants working with a wide client base will do well to ensure they have Snow Leopard client skills. The ACSP is the perfect way to prove mastery.

9: CISSP

Unchanged from the last 10 best certifications list, ISC2’s security accreditation for industry professionals with at least five years of full-time experience is internationally recognized for its value and validity. The Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) title demonstrates expertise with operations and network security, subjects that will only increase in importance as legal compliance, privacy, and risk mitigation continue commanding larger organizations’ attention.

10: PMP

I fear organizations begin cutting project managers first when times get tough. Management roles and responsibilities often get passed to technical staff when layoffs occur. Even in challenging economic times, though, IT departments require staff familiar with planning, scheduling, budgeting, and project management. That’s why the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) Project Management Professional (PMP) accreditation makes the list. The cert measures candidates’ expertise in managing and planning projects, budgeting expenses, and keeping initiatives on track. While there’s an argument to place CompTIA’s Project+ certification in this slot, PMI is a respected organization that exists solely to further professional project management and, as such, deserves the nod.

Honorable mentions: MCSE, ITIL, RHCP, Linux+, VCP, ACE, QuickBooks, Security+

In the previous version of this article, readers asked where NetWare certification stands. It’s not on the list. That’s not a mistake. It’s gone the way of BNC connectors, in my opinion. Microsoft owns the market. MCSEs have more value.

ITIL has its place, particularly in larger environments. RHCP (or Linux+) and VCP have roles within enterprises dependent upon Red Hat/Linux and VMware virtualization technologies certainly, but those organizations remain hit or miss.

Acronis’ ACE deserves a look. With some 3 million systems being backed up now by Acronis image software, it would behoove technology professionals to learn how to properly use the software. I think it’s fair to say there’s still some confusion as to the software’s tremendous potential.

SMBs are also demonstrating a surge of interest in QuickBooks technologies. From QuickBooks Point-of-Sale to QuickBooks Enterprise platforms, there’s strong, growing demand for QuickBooks expertise in the field. The company’s growth is impressive. There’s no other way to describe it. In a crappy economy, Intuit’s growing.

Security+, really, is a no brainer, but I’ll get lit up if I include nothing but CompTIA certifications in the top 10 list. However, my advice for anyone entering the industry or even veterans seeking their first accreditations would be to load up on CompTIA certs. How can you go wrong with the manufacturer-independent certifications that demonstrate mastery of fundamentals across a range of topics, including project management, hardware, networking, security, and voice networks? You could do much worse.

A word on the methodology

There’s no double-blind statistically valid data analysis run through a Bayesian probability calculus formula here. I’ve worked in IT long enough, however, and with enough different SMBs, to know what skills we need when the firm I co-own hires engineers and sends technicians onsite to deploy new systems or troubleshoot issues.

Sure, I could have thrown in ITIL to satisfy enterprise professionals, included RHCP to sate the rabid open source crowd, and added VCP to look hip modernizing the list with a virtualization element. But I’m just not seeing the demand for those skills in companies with up to several hundred employees. My firm’s been asked to deploy exactly one Linux server in almost seven years. And we’ve virtualized maybe a dozen systems. Therefore, I feel it would be a disservice to readers to include such accreditations when I see, on a daily basis, vastly greater demand for these other skill sets.

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Golvin says it is conceivable that Microsoft might avoid new partnerships with companies whose products compete directly against Microsoft.

But Elliot says he thinks Microsoft is likely to expand the number of platforms Skype works on. “They would like to have as many companies interact with Skype as possible,” Elliot says.

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A problem might arise, though, if Microsoft competitors decide to back out of current integrations with Skype because of their rivalries with Microsoft, he says.

Companies like Cisco and Avaya make SIP trunks that are compatible with Skype, but “if the Skype-compatible trunks become something that is competitively advantageous for Microsoft, they might be a little less enthusiastic,” Elliot says.

Still, Elliot says Cisco and Avaya are more likely than not to preserve Skype integration.

Microsoft, of course, will do its best to integrate Skype functionality into products like Office and Lync, its unified communications platform, which competes against Cisco and Avaya.

Although Skype has primarily been a consumer brand, Elliot says he expects “that Skype will offer a premium, business-oriented service that includes the rich presence, various federation and security services, the kinds of things that enterprises want.”

Keeping Skype open to competitors would not harm Lync — it would make it easier for Lync customers to communicate with non-Lync users, Elliot says.

Skype is expected to become a Microsoft division, led by Skype CEO Tony Bates, as opposed to being swallowed up into another product division.

In a short analysis published May 12, Gartner analysts wrote that “Skype’s independent position, which Gartner expects it to maintain for at least three to four years, will allow it to continue relationships with Microsoft competitors Avaya and Cisco, as well as other mobile platform vendors.” (See also: “Microsoft’s top 12 rivals”)

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Microsoft is building a native USB 3.0 software stack for Windows 8, which could aid in competition against Thunderbolt

Microsoft is incorporating a software stack in its upcoming Windows 8 OS to natively support devices based on the USB 3.0 interconnect, which is in a battle for adoption with Intel’s Thunderbolt.

USB 3.0 is the successor to USB 2.0 standard and can transfer data 10 times faster between computers and external peripherals such as cameras and storage devices. Most laptops and desktops today come with USB 2.0 ports and many PC makers are offering USB 3.0 ports as an option. The current Windows 7 OS does not include native support for USB 3.0, but device makers offer drivers to ensure products are compatible with the OS.

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The growing support for USB 3.0 and wide usage of USB 2.0 was a compelling reason to improve the USB software stack, said Dennis Flanagan, Microsoft’s director of program management for the devices and networking group, in an entry on the company’s Building Windows 8 blog.

“By 2015, all new PCs are expected to offer USB 3.0 ports, and over 2 billion new ‘SuperSpeed’ USB devices will be sold in that year alone,” Flanagan wrote.

Microsoft is writing a new software stack and controller for Windows 8 based on the “design principles” of USB 3.0, which will bring plug-and-play support for new devices such as external storage, webcams and keyboards, Flanagan wrote. The company is retaining the existing software stack to support older USB devices.

But there are few USB 3.0 devices available today, so to create the new software stack the company had to simulate and build virtual USB 3.0 hardware, including ports, hubs and devices.

The hardware support for USB 3.0 is also growing. Intel has already said it will integrate USB 3.0 support in chipsets for processors code-named Ivy Bridge, which will reach PCs early next year. AMD has already integrated support for USB 3.0 in its Fusion chipsets, which are already shipping for PCs.

USB 3.0 transfers data at speeds of up to 5 gigabits per second, which is slower than the transfer speed of rival interconnect technology Thunderbolt. Developed by Intel, Thunderbolt can transfer data between host computers and external devices such as displays and storage at up to 10 gigabits per second. Thunderbolt has been viewed as an alternative to USB 3.0, but Intel has the said the technologies are complementary. Apple uses Thunderbolt in its products.

Thunderbolt currently supports the PCI Express and DisplayPort protocols, and the interconnect does not require any OS support beyond existing software stacks for those protocols, an Intel spokesman said in an e-mail.

But Microsoft’s backing will aid the fast growth of USB 3.0 and provide higher transfer speeds for consumer devices, said Jim McGregor, research director at In-Stat.

“Thunderbolt will be one of many peripheral options available, just like IEEE1394 and Firewire, but I think USB will be the predominant interface because it is so heavily tied to the largest growth segment of the market, mobile devices, for both interconnectivity and power,” McGregor said.

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