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Dell 'Windows Vista Bonus' is a PC with Windows XP instead
Dell 'Windows Vista Bonus' is a PC with Windows XP instead
According to Microsoft, Windows XP died on June 30th when it stopped sending it to the likes of Dell and HP, as well as ceasing shrink-wrapped distribution. According to Dell, new buyers can have a Windows Vista Bonus: a machine with a copy of Windows XP pre-installed instead...In what has to go down as one of the most bizarre bits of sales and marketing involving the Microsoft Windows OS in recent years, Dell has announced the availability of a special offer for those business customers who are not quite ready to say goodbye to XP just yet. Microsoft has been quite clear that June 30th was the official 'end of sales' as far as Windows XP is concerned. It does admit, however, that "Windows XP isn't going to disappear overnight. You may still see copies of the software or computers pre-loaded with it for months as stores and PC makers work through their inventory."
The whole story is at...
Windows Server 2008: Much Talk, Little Action
Windows Server 2008: Much Talk, Little Action
When Microsoft's new back-end operating system launched earlier this year, a number of new features caught the eye, and it's fair to say that it was generally very well received. But now that the OS has been out for a while, is it all it was stacked up to be? This, it turns out, is a harder question to answer than it looks. Finding organizations that have adopted the OS are noticeably thin on the ground. In part that's because the product is so new, but there appears to be more to it than just that...The problem seems to be that although Windows Server 2008 may be a great operating system, few people feel the need to actually use it right now. "The codebase of Server 2008 is the same as Vista, and no one wants Vista," said Roy Illsley, senior research analyst at Butler Group. "Equally, there is no compelling case to implement Server 2008 just yet," he added.
To see if you agree with this writer's...
Security Certification Rules Could Shake Up IT Management
Security Certification Rules Could Shake Up IT Management
Requirements for professional security certification for IT workers in civilian agencies, now being readied by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), would have a major impact on how government and industry recruit, train and manage their IT staffs, a security expert said Wednesday.
"They are going to affect every one of us in the field," contractors and government employees, said George Datesman, a senior manager at Noblis Inc., a nonprofit high-tech consultant.
Datesman -- who holds a master's degree in criminology and has 30 years experience in law enforcement, including a stint with the Justice Department -- said at a Digital Government Institute conference on cybersecurity that OMB is finalizing minimum requirements for professional certification. He had no time frame for their release.
To see the whole article, see...
Cisco Launches Security, Voice, Wireless Specialties for CCNA
Cisco Launches Security, Voice, Wireless Specialties for CCNA
On Tuesday Cisco Systems announced three new specialties -- Security, Voice and Wireless -- that can be added on to its popular entry-level certification, the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA).
Each of the specialties, which Cisco calls concentrations, requires CCNAs to pass one additional exam. The Security (640-553) and Voice (640-460) exams are now live at Pearson Vue testing centers worldwide for $250 each -- the same price as the standard CCNA exam. The Wireless (640-721) exam will debut July 26.
Source
CCNA Wireless
CCNA Voice...
200,000 sites spreading web malware, Chinas hosting the most
200,000 sites spreading web malware, Chinas hosting the most
Yesterday, the Stopbadware.org initiative released a report entitled May 2008 Badware Websites Report summarizing the findings out of analyzing over 200,000 sites spreading malware. With recent data for malicious sites provided by Googles Safe Browsing diagnostic, Stopbadware.org also received responses from affected parties such as Google itself, The Planet, SoftLayer and iEurop. Here are more details on the methodology used, and whos who in hosting the most badware sites for May, 2008 :
Using data from Googles Safe Browsing initiative, StopBadware.org analyzed over 200,000 websites found to engage in badware behavior. The analysis found that over half of the sites were based on Chinese network blocks, with a small number of blocks accounting for most of the infected sites in that country. The U.S. accounted for 21% of infected sites, and these were spread across a wide range of...
Move Over, AJAX, ARAX Is Here
Move Over, AJAX, ARAX Is Here
Microsoft promotes Asynchronous Ruby and XML development.
Move over, AJAX; Microsoft is pushing a different scenario, known as Asynchronous Ruby and XML, or ARAX.
At the RailsConf conference for Ruby on Rails developers in Portland, Ore., on May 30, John Lam, creator of the IronRuby project at Microsoft, told eWEEK that as Microsoft's Silverlight rich Internet application environment takes off it will provide Ruby developers with a way to deliver AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML)-style applications without having to use JavaScript.
"If you're a Ruby programmer and you like Ruby as a language, context-switching into JavaScript is just something you have to do," Lam said. "It's a tax. You're trading productivity away arbitrarily because that's just what runs in the browser. And it's much more interesting when you can run the same language on both sides [the client and the server] so you don't have to...
IBM 'advises' staff to opt for a Microsoft Office-free world
IBM 'advises' staff to opt for a Microsoft Office-free world
Big Blues 20,000-strong techies have been advised to ditch Microsoft Office and use open standards software such as Lotus Symphony instead.
IBM chief information officer Mark Hennessey and veep Gina Poole issued a memo yesterday urging the firms staff to take a new, more integrated approach to desktop productivity software", reports the Irish Times.
The memo doesnt explicitly mention Office but it does subtly put the boot into rival Microsoft by noting that Symphonys use of Open Document Format (ODF) "makes digital information independent from the program in which it was created allowing information to be used in new, innovative ways".
To read the whole article, click here.
You'd understand them apart from the fact that Office 2k7 sp2 will support ODF, see...
Revenge of the Nerdette
Revenge of the Nerdette
As geeks become chic in all levels of society, an unlikely subset is starting to roar. Meet the Nerd Girls: they're smart, they're techie and they're hot.
GIRL POWER!!!!!!!
http://www.newsweek.com/id/140457?GT1=43002
SolarWinds Certification Program Sneak Peek
SolarWinds Certification Program Sneak Peek
Are you a master of network management? Do you thrive on solving the most challenging network issues to keep your network fine tuned? Do you know more about SolarWinds products than Indiana Jones knows about archaeology? Promote yourself by becoming a SolarWinds Certified Professional (SCP)!
SolarWinds will be introducing a SolarWinds certification program in the second half of 2008 and we want to invite you to sign up for early information on the certification program. Sneak peek benefits include helping to define an industry-recognized certification, getting early information on the program details, and even saving a few bucks on the test fees!
For the whole page, see here.
-Ken
While it's not "news" news, as this is a certification forum I've decided to post...
Microsoft releases first Open XML SDK
Microsoft releases first Open XML SDK
Microsoft has released the first finished version of the software development kit (SDK) for the Open XML Format, the default storage format for Microsoft Office 2007 and the basis for a standard that is currently awaiting publication by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). Open XML SDK 1.0 , available from the company's website, is designed to allow developers to produce code enabling their applications to create, access and manipulate Open XML documents, Microsoft said. The SDK includes an application programming interface (API) simplifying the creation of code for searching documents, creating documents, validating document parts, modifying data and other tasks, Microsoft said.
The rest of the story is at TechWorld.com.
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