Microsoft has lit a FUSE
"Matt Thompson, general manager of Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) developer and platform evangelism in Silicon Valley, said the software giant is ready to make moves in the social network/collaboration space beyond its already successful SharePoint software. He said Microsoft Research has about 25 different social collaboration projects they've put under one group called FUSE Labs.
"You're going to see some innovative stuff under social collaboration," he said. "We have a vision for where this is going in the future. Video and telepresence is a key piece. And you'll see a lot more interoperability as well. This can't be a single stack."
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Queensland signs whole-of-government deal with Microsoft
Up to 150,000 employees will access Microsoft software licensing through a panel of large account resellers
The Queensland Government has signed a whole-of-government deal with Microsoft to give all departments access to the vendor’s software through a selected panel of Large Account Resellers (LAR).
The three-year enterprise agreement, which was announced on Australia Day, will see all panel participants selected through a tender process.
“In addition, the arrangement gives all state and local government entities the opportunity to purchase other Microsoft solutions with various options, depending upon the needs of the agency involved,” Minister for Public Works and Information and Communications Technology, Robert Schwarten, said.
The major agreement was signed as part of the Government’s ‘Toward Q2 through ICT’ strategy, a five-year plan designed to bring the state’s ICT under whole-of-government arrangements.
The Queensland Government has signed a whole-of-government deal with Microsoft to give all departments access to the vendor’s software through a selected panel of Large Account Resellers (LAR).
The three-year enterprise agreement, which was announced on Australia Day, will see all panel participants selected through a tender process.
“In addition, the arrangement gives all state and local government entities the opportunity to purchase other Microsoft solutions with various options, depending upon the needs of the agency involved,” Minister for Public Works and Information and Communications Technology, Robert Schwarten, said.
The major agreement was signed as part of the Government’s ‘Toward Q2 through ICT’ strategy, a five-year plan designed to bring the state’s ICT under whole-of-government arrangements.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Advance Your Career - Get a Second Shot at Microsoft Certification
Advance Your Career - Get a Second Shot at Microsoft Certification
Whether you are currently unemployed, looking for a promotion, or trying to become indispensable in your existing role, Microsoft Certifications can validate that you have the skills needed to work in the top IT professional and developer jobs in the industry.
Take advantage of our Second Shot offer and get a free retake if you do not pass an IT professional or developer Microsoft Certification exam the first time. You must take both the first and (if necessary) the retake exam before June 30, 2010.
Whether you are currently unemployed, looking for a promotion, or trying to become indispensable in your existing role, Microsoft Certifications can validate that you have the skills needed to work in the top IT professional and developer jobs in the industry.
Take advantage of our Second Shot offer and get a free retake if you do not pass an IT professional or developer Microsoft Certification exam the first time. You must take both the first and (if necessary) the retake exam before June 30, 2010.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Configure Your Windows 7 System to Run Legacy Apps in a Virtualized Windows XP Environment
“Windows XP Mode is an optional download for the Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions of Windows 7. It provides a licensed copy of Windows XP with Service Pack 3, saved in Virtual Machine Hard Drive Image (.vhd) format. When run in Windows Virtual PC, or another compatible program, this virtualized installation of Windows XP lets you run applications that might not run well in Windows 7. Windows XP Mode is also handy if you have an older device with a proprietary driver that hasn’t been updated for Windows Vista or Windows 7. If it worked great in Windows XP but doesn’t work in Windows 7, give it a try in Windows XP Mode.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Microsoft Learning Releases Labs Online Training Product.
On January 15th, Microsoft Learning released their Labs Online training product.
This is great news for any Microsoft training partner (CPLS) for many reasons, several of which are highlighted in the summary below…
• Reduce training delivery costs
Microsoft Learning Labs Online greatly reduce time spent on setting up labs and downloading lab images, giving you a chance to better utilize staff and instructors’ time. In addition, expensive hardware is not required to run Labs Online – reducing hardware upgrade costs and initial set-up costs of building new classrooms or training centers.
This is great news for any Microsoft training partner (CPLS) for many reasons, several of which are highlighted in the summary below…
“The Benefits of Labs Online for Training Partners:
• Reduce training delivery costs
Microsoft Learning Labs Online greatly reduce time spent on setting up labs and downloading lab images, giving you a chance to better utilize staff and instructors’ time. In addition, expensive hardware is not required to run Labs Online – reducing hardware upgrade costs and initial set-up costs of building new classrooms or training centers.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Office 2010 - Pros and Cons - Should You Upgrade?
"With Office 2010 set to launch in June, businesses of all sizes are considering if it is worth the money and hassle to upgrade, especially for small and midsize companies that never moved from Office 2003 to Office 2007.
The Pros:
It Breaks Down Old Boundaries
Forrester lists three features in Office 2010 that make it "boundary breaking": The use of SharePoint Workspace (formerly known as Groove) to share and edit SharePoint content both online and offline; easing enterprise security fears by making Office Web Apps available privately as part of a company's license agreement; and integrating social media tools from sites such as LinkedIn in Outlook through Outlook Social Connector.
These new integration features -- if they work smoothly -- give Microsoft an upper hand over more established online productivity suites like Google Apps and Zoho, according to the Forrester report.
Simplified Suite Options for Enterprises
There are seven total editions of Office 2010, but for volume licensing customers (mostly enterprise-size companies), Microsoft has reduced that amount to two: Standard and Professional Plus. This is half as many as Office 2007 (Ultimate and Enterprise editions have been eliminated).
The Pros:
It Breaks Down Old Boundaries
Forrester lists three features in Office 2010 that make it "boundary breaking": The use of SharePoint Workspace (formerly known as Groove) to share and edit SharePoint content both online and offline; easing enterprise security fears by making Office Web Apps available privately as part of a company's license agreement; and integrating social media tools from sites such as LinkedIn in Outlook through Outlook Social Connector.
These new integration features -- if they work smoothly -- give Microsoft an upper hand over more established online productivity suites like Google Apps and Zoho, according to the Forrester report.
Simplified Suite Options for Enterprises
There are seven total editions of Office 2010, but for volume licensing customers (mostly enterprise-size companies), Microsoft has reduced that amount to two: Standard and Professional Plus. This is half as many as Office 2007 (Ultimate and Enterprise editions have been eliminated).
Friday, January 15, 2010
Five Tips For Deploying Windows 7 – Real World Case Study - BMW
"BMW, with over 85,000 employees worldwide, deployed Windows 7 to 500 employees in 2009 and expects to increase that to 5000 users by October 2010, with a view to have all 85,000 employees using Windows 7 by late 2011.
Being an early adopter and migrating that many people from eight-year-old Windows XP to Windows 7 is a monumental task, but one that many enterprises now face. At BMW, Bernhard Huber is taking a deliberate and systematic approach to Windows 7 deployments, rolling it out in phases.
IT executive Bernhard Huber, offers five tips below for deploying Windows 7 within your organisation:
Being an early adopter and migrating that many people from eight-year-old Windows XP to Windows 7 is a monumental task, but one that many enterprises now face. At BMW, Bernhard Huber is taking a deliberate and systematic approach to Windows 7 deployments, rolling it out in phases.
IT executive Bernhard Huber, offers five tips below for deploying Windows 7 within your organisation:
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Four Options for Free Storage in the Cloud
Here Are Four Options for Free Storage in the Cloud:
DropBox
Google's DropBox offers 2GB of free online storage. Other options include 50GB for $9.99 per month, or 100GB for $19.99 per month. When put your files in a DropBox folder in one computer, they're uploaded to the site's secure servers. Google Docs has a 250MB file size limit, but DropBox has no such limitation. You can access your files from other computers (Windows, Mac, or Linux) or mobile devices that run DropBox too.
Box.Net
Targeted at the corporate crowd, Box.Net is a little less generous in the storage department.
The site's free option provides 1GB of online storage with a 25MB file-size limit. For $10 per month, you get 5GB of storage and a 1GB file size limit. The $15 per month plan includes 10GB of storage, with the same 1-gig file cutoff. Pricier plans for enterprise customers (with unlimited storage) are available too.
Twitter Trials New Business Feature
Twitter Trials New Business Feature
Twitter has announced a trial of a new functionality aimed specifically at business users, indicating a shift toward commercialising the service.
The micro-blogging platform is currently beta testing the new ‘Contributors’ feature, which allows business users to manage how its employees are identified under their Twitter account.
More than one tweep can tweet from a single twitter account. Or in English, multiple users are now able to be credited in the by-line, freeing up the precious 140 character limit and making business to consumer communication more personal.
Pump Up Your Resume - Get IT Certified!
Despite the threat of recession, or perhaps because of it, certifications are proving once again to be a great way for IT professionals to ensure that their resume gets a serious look.
With the US economy slipping into the grip of a recession, there has been a significant drop in number of new job opportunities in the IT sector. Organizations prefer to outsource their non-core IT related jobs to low-cost destinations. Nonetheless, there is still a healthy demand for on-site IT professionals in the states, as organizations look for qualified specialists who are experts in their fields.
Certified professionals are often a preferred choice, as they have proven themselves to be particularly effective in the certified skill set. Certifications are proving once again to be a great way for IT professionals to ensure that their resume gets a serious look.
Pump Up Your Resume - Get IT Certified!
With the US economy slipping into the grip of a recession, there has been a significant drop in number of new job opportunities in the IT sector. Organizations prefer to outsource their non-core IT related jobs to low-cost destinations. Nonetheless, there is still a healthy demand for on-site IT professionals in the states, as organizations look for qualified specialists who are experts in their fields.
Certified professionals are often a preferred choice, as they have proven themselves to be particularly effective in the certified skill set. Certifications are proving once again to be a great way for IT professionals to ensure that their resume gets a serious look.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
4 Strategies To Upskill Your IT Certfication in a Down Economy
4 Strategies To Upskill in a Down Economy
"1. Determine the most relevant courses & directions for upgrading skills in the current situation. Are they relevant right now?
As networks become more sophisticated and increasingly complex, the skills requirements for network professionals have rapidly accelerated and evolved. Networks have grown from basic transport systems for data to a business-critical application and services delivery platform.
To gain a better understanding about how companies can keep pace with new tools, converging technologies and expanding infrastructure, Cisco commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a global survey of 1,500 IT hiring managers across ten countries, including Russia. The results showed that in today's constantly shifting network environment, there is an immediate need to provide dedicated IT professionals with network education, self-assessment tools, and training and certification programs.
The Forrester research cited the most critical new job skills to support the functionality of the network to be wireless, voice, security, and remote office work. These specific areas demand the most urgent attention because innovation in networking tools is outpacing the skills required to implement them and manage them.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Fresh Off The Wire - Microsoft XP SP2 Support Ends in July 2010 - Get Trained on Windows 7 Today!
According to the latest MS Partner News, Support for Windows XP SP2 Ends July, 2010!
SEO Certification – Is There Such a Thing?
SEO Certification – Is There Such a Thing?
IT Training Solutions is in the process of designing a course on Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), so I’ve been doing quite a bit of research on this topic. One of the problems, as outlined in the article below, is how quickly the search engines change their search algorithms. So it’s very easy to find yourself learning SEO tips that are no longer applicable.
I found the article below on http://www.seo-theory.com/ written by Michael Martinez to be very enlightening as to the reality of SEO certification. I’ve take the liberty to edit some of his personal opinions for the purpose of staying on the topic of certification.
“SEO Certification is a really scary topic. There are dozens if not hundreds of Web sites offering SEO Certification and, in an industry that has no professional standards, many of these sites claim to base their certifications on “peer reviewed” processes and nationally recognized standards. I know of only one established peer-reviewing group and that is Search Engine Marketing Journal. I’m not aware of any publications by the body on standards or certification.
In fact, there is only one internationally recognized organization that has anything approaching the credibility of being a “standards body” and that is the Search Engine Marketing Professionals Association.
IT Training Solutions is in the process of designing a course on Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), so I’ve been doing quite a bit of research on this topic. One of the problems, as outlined in the article below, is how quickly the search engines change their search algorithms. So it’s very easy to find yourself learning SEO tips that are no longer applicable.
I found the article below on http://www.seo-theory.com/ written by Michael Martinez to be very enlightening as to the reality of SEO certification. I’ve take the liberty to edit some of his personal opinions for the purpose of staying on the topic of certification.
“SEO Certification is a really scary topic. There are dozens if not hundreds of Web sites offering SEO Certification and, in an industry that has no professional standards, many of these sites claim to base their certifications on “peer reviewed” processes and nationally recognized standards. I know of only one established peer-reviewing group and that is Search Engine Marketing Journal. I’m not aware of any publications by the body on standards or certification.
In fact, there is only one internationally recognized organization that has anything approaching the credibility of being a “standards body” and that is the Search Engine Marketing Professionals Association.
Monday, January 11, 2010
*There is no way to get around this, if you are in IT and you stop learning, then you are doomed to be replaced in the near future.
Today’s laid-off systems administrators, however, are not likely landing these newly formed IT 2.0 jobs. They have been too busy applying duct tape and Band-Aids to existing infrastructures to stay on top of the cutting edge. Nearly a year and a half ago, already, I heard a FedEx Corporate Services IT executive bemoan how ill-equipped his team was to deal with the division’s increasingly fabric-like infrastructure. He was neither the first nor the last to express that sentiment. Source: Gigaom
The next big thing to learn is cloud computing.
Today’s laid-off systems administrators, however, are not likely landing these newly formed IT 2.0 jobs. They have been too busy applying duct tape and Band-Aids to existing infrastructures to stay on top of the cutting edge. Nearly a year and a half ago, already, I heard a FedEx Corporate Services IT executive bemoan how ill-equipped his team was to deal with the division’s increasingly fabric-like infrastructure. He was neither the first nor the last to express that sentiment. Source: Gigaom
The next big thing to learn is cloud computing.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Highest Paying IT Certifications for 2009
This article about the highest paying IT certifications in 2009 was taken from certificationsblog.com
1. PMP ( Project Management Professional)
PMP certification is designed to demonstrate strong level of project management and leadership skills. PMP is with an average annual salary of $101,695, this certification is leading the list of highest paying certification of this year.
2. CAPM ( Certified Associate Project Management)
Next highest paying is PMI’s certification known as Certified Associate in Project Management. CAPM certification holders surveyed have an average annual salary of $101,103.
3. ITIL v2 – Foundations
ITIL v2 Foundations certification came at 3 rd position with an average annual salary of $95,415. ITIL stands for IT Infrastructure library. More information about this certification can be found here
4. CISSP ( Certified Information System Security Professional)
CISSP with an average salary of $94,018 came at number 4 in the highest paying certifications list. CISSP is also known as “gold standard” in security certifications and it is handled by ICS2 (International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium). This is called baseline certification recognized by department of defense and national security agency.
5. Cisco CCIE Certification ( Routing and Switching)
Cisco CCIE Routing and Switching came at number 5 with an average salary of $93,500 in IT industry. Routing and switching are specialized tracks in cisco certified networking expert certification. It is the most famous CCIE track these days covering wide range of subjects, such as LAN, WAN, TCP/IP, Ethernet, OSPF and BGP, IPv6 etc.
1. PMP ( Project Management Professional)
PMP certification is designed to demonstrate strong level of project management and leadership skills. PMP is with an average annual salary of $101,695, this certification is leading the list of highest paying certification of this year.
2. CAPM ( Certified Associate Project Management)
Next highest paying is PMI’s certification known as Certified Associate in Project Management. CAPM certification holders surveyed have an average annual salary of $101,103.
3. ITIL v2 – Foundations
ITIL v2 Foundations certification came at 3 rd position with an average annual salary of $95,415. ITIL stands for IT Infrastructure library. More information about this certification can be found here
4. CISSP ( Certified Information System Security Professional)
CISSP with an average salary of $94,018 came at number 4 in the highest paying certifications list. CISSP is also known as “gold standard” in security certifications and it is handled by ICS2 (International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium). This is called baseline certification recognized by department of defense and national security agency.
5. Cisco CCIE Certification ( Routing and Switching)
Cisco CCIE Routing and Switching came at number 5 with an average salary of $93,500 in IT industry. Routing and switching are specialized tracks in cisco certified networking expert certification. It is the most famous CCIE track these days covering wide range of subjects, such as LAN, WAN, TCP/IP, Ethernet, OSPF and BGP, IPv6 etc.
7 Tools to Better Manage Your Social Networks
This article is from CIO.com.au.
"When you belong to several social networking sites-Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter-(and don't we all?), keeping up with them can seem overwhelming.
Tweet this. Update that status. Share a link here. If you've resolved to get more organized this year, consider these seven tools that save time and streamline your social networking interactions.
My picks: For easy content sharing across platforms, be sure to check out is the browser plugin Shareaholic. And for simple synching and updating of multiple accounts, Atomkeep seems to be the most efficient.
"When you belong to several social networking sites-Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter-(and don't we all?), keeping up with them can seem overwhelming.
Tweet this. Update that status. Share a link here. If you've resolved to get more organized this year, consider these seven tools that save time and streamline your social networking interactions.
My picks: For easy content sharing across platforms, be sure to check out is the browser plugin Shareaholic. And for simple synching and updating of multiple accounts, Atomkeep seems to be the most efficient.
Top 5 Most Popular and 5 Least Popular Microsoft Certifications
*This information can be useful if you’re thinking about getting certified and want to know which certifications are popular and which ones are in demand.
Please note: the numbers below are current as of June 2008.
Top 5 Most Popular Microsoft Certifications:
1. Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) — with over 2 million people certified worldwide, 2,296,561 to be exact
2. Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) – Windows NT 4.0 — with 395,798 people certified
3. Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) – Windows 2000 — with 290,359 certifications worldwide
Please note: the numbers below are current as of June 2008.
Top 5 Most Popular Microsoft Certifications:
1. Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) — with over 2 million people certified worldwide, 2,296,561 to be exact
2. Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) – Windows NT 4.0 — with 395,798 people certified
3. Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) – Windows 2000 — with 290,359 certifications worldwide
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